Former Stray Kids member Kim Woo-jin to drop new music under Kustomade label

Singer and actor Kim Woo-jin [KUSTOMADE]

Singer Kim Woo-jin, a former member of boy band Stray Kids, will release new music in April under the freshly minted production label Kustomade, the company said Monday.

This will be Kim’s first music release in eight months after his second EP, “The moment: bounce,” dropped in August last year. It is also the first release for the singer under Kustomade.

Kustomade, a label under SM Entertainment’s subsidiary Kreation Music Rights (KMR), announced its launch on March 18. The label was created to become involved in the entire production process for an artist’s brand, spanning preproduction, production, marketing and management.

KMR was established in 2023 to spearhead SM Entertainment’s multilabel system via which it buys smaller K-pop agencies and allows them to pursue their respective music styles with the backing of a larger portfolio. KMR acquired 10x Entertainment, which at the time only represented Kim, for 2.2 billion won ($1.6 million). This led to speculations that SM Entertainment had overvalued the company, prompting an investigation by shareholder Kakao in January.

KMR currently houses Kim and singer and YouTuber Yelo.

Kim made his debut under JYP Entertainment as a member of Stray Kids in 2018. He left the band in October 2019 citing “personal issues.” He started his solo artist career under 10x Entertainment with his first digital single “Still Dream” (2021).

He has since been active both as a singer and an actor and played the male lead role in “Além do Guarda-Roupa” (2023), becoming the first Korean to play a lead role in an HBO Max original series.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]