BTS’s management company, Hybe Entertainment, claims it is no longer a one-act show and that it has planned for the band’s military service break.
It promises a multi-label strategy, an expanded artist roster supported by four new “teams,” increased international growth, and rapid technological adoption in the wake of in-house developments and acquisitions.
The BTS band members are “going forward with plans to fulfil their [compulsory] military service,” according to Hybe and label Bighit Music, with the oldest Jin set to enlist first after releasing his solo single this month. It continued, “Both the company and the members of BTS are looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025, following their service pledge,” stating that the band members are proud to serve.
In an effort to convince investors that Hybe is larger than BTS, Hybe published a letter to its shareholders soon after the Monday shock. In the letter, Hybe stated that it was confident in the framework that had been established over the previous ten years.
It was unclear right away if the financial markets would accept that kind of remark. The company’s shares ended the Monday trading session at KRW115,000 per share, down a tiny 2.5%.
That stands in stark contrast to the situation in June of this year, when it was alleged that the word “hiatus” had been incorrectly translated from Korean to English, causing the shares to drop by a third, from KRW227,500 to KRW145,000, and for the company to watch more than $1 billion be subtracted from its market capitalization.
The shares have since risen to a high of KRW 188,000 but have now fallen back to their current levels. The corporation is now valued at KRW4.76 trillion ($3.31 billion) at these prices, and comparisons are made worse by the weak Korean Won relative to the US currency.
It trades at a 20-fold premium to previous earnings. When the company first debuted on the Korean stock exchange in September 2020, that was a lot more sober investment judgment of the business. In the early going, a combination of institutional FOMO and fan excitement drove the stock price. Prices have decreased by an uncomfortably unpleasant 72% from November 2021, when they peaked at an absurd KRW421,500.
The artist roster presently includes Seventeen, Tomorrow x Together, Enhypen, Le Sserafim, New Jeans Zico, Fromis 9, Ariana Grande, and Justin Bieber. There are currently nine independent labels under Hybe.
In the letter, Hybe CEO Park Jiwon stated, “By allowing authority to each label, we ensure that a wide diversity of music and content are developed [and] even healthy rivalry.” He provided visuals demonstrating the nearly three-fold increase in artist revenues between 2020 and 2022, excluding BTS.
Technology is anticipated to play a significant role in Hybe’s continued growth, even with a return to live performances and touring following COVID. 49 million people watched the BTS concert this past weekend in Busan, demonstrating the viability of the July merging of the Weverse fan platform with Naver V Live.
Over the following 15 months, the business intends to introduce subscription services and add Japanese and American acts to Weverse. Following the debut of “In The Seom with BTS,” there will be more games, and starting next month, there will be more information on this development axis.
New methods of content generation, such as AI-based vocal synthesis for speaking and singing, are being heralded by the recent acquisition of Supertone. If Asian Karaoke and “social music” enthusiasts are any indication, that market might become very rich in the future.
IMAGE SOURCES: BTS FB
