Ne-Yo’s PMG taps Samuel Ku to lead Korea expansion

What kind of Korean artists will emerge when global R&B star Ne-Yo joins forces with veteran K-pop producer Samuel Ku?

Pacific Music Group announced Wednesday that Ku will lead its newly established Korean branch beginning in March and spearhead efforts to discover K-pop artists and support their expansion into the local market.

“The launch of PMG Korea marks an important starting point in our global strategy,” Ku said in a statement. “With a clear artistic vision, we aim to organically connect markets across Asia and beyond.”

“We will focus on connecting artists with global audiences while achieving sustainable growth through meaningful partnerships that transcend culture, community and borders,” he added.

Ku is a Korean American producer and songwriter with over 15 years of experience, having worked with major artists including GOT7, f(x) and Olivia Marsh, sister of former NewJeans member Danielle. He also previously led the English-language label MPLIFY, launched by Warner Music Korea in September 2024, serving as executive producer.

PMG said it plans to leverage Ku’s industry expertise and network to launch multigenre labels spanning pop, R&B, hip-hop and electronic music, while producing content that reflects Korea’s musical identity.

The company was founded in November by Ne-Yo alongside Sonu Nigam and Jonathan Serbin to discover and develop Asian artists for the global market.