This April, Las Vegas could have a new vibe. For two weekends, the members of South Korean supergroup BTS will perform to sold-out crowds at Allegiant Stadium, bringing tens of thousands of fans of their high-energy K-pop to the city. BTS’s global tour schedule has been mainly stopped due to the virus, thus it’ll be a comeback to live performance form. Despite the obstacles, the organization has flourished. The savvy management firm behind the world’s most successful musical group is directly responsible for the band’s continued success. Bang Si-hyuk launched Big Hit Entertainment in 2005, and the firm went public on the Korean exchange in 2020 as HYBE, with a market capitalization of $9.5 billion.
HYBE is more than a record label and a management firm. “HYBE’s goal has always been ambitious—to the point of presumption,” Bang says over Zoom from the company’s Seoul headquarters. (It has bases in the United States and Japan as well.) “With music as our cornerstone, our mission is to become the world’s premier entertainment lifestyle platform.” Bang is serious and genuine in his replies, even as he is aggressive in his aspirations. He is a former musician, dubbed Hitman for his certain musical intuition. He prefers a more behind-the-scenes role these days, and has delegated CEO tasks to Jiwon Park while remaining chairman of the firm.
From ticketing to product shops to live artist broadcasts, events, and discussion boards, HYBE has set itself apart by investing in technology that allows it to virtually stream concerts and dominate the artist-fan connection. Weverse, a place where fans can find everything about HYBE musicians, is a “wonderful idea,” according to Bang. VLIVE, a digital platform that enables for live video broadcasting to viewers, was also recently bought by HYBE.
Bang’s idea of a new, better-functioning economic model for artists includes the NFT dilemma as one component. The struggle for fractional royalties between artists, labels, and streaming platforms is one of the most pressing issues in the worldwide music industry. Bang’s strategy for avoiding the minefield is to diversify the revenue streams of HYBE musicians. “We came up with a new model last year while pondering things like, ‘How can we please fans and broaden the artist’s reach while also creating a longer life cycle for music through narrative structure?'” Bang adds.
For BTS, this meant disregarding the constraints imposed on previous K-pop groups and establishing themselves as global pop’s princes. It means being a music agency, a tech pioneer, and a creative powerhouse all at the same time for HYBE. Bang, like BTS, has always had great ambitions. So, why is he acting in this manner? Why not, right?
