Hybe continues to rely heavily on BTS for profit despite diversification push
Despite Hybe's ongoing efforts to diversify its business and reduce dependence on BTS, new data shows the K-pop powerhouse still relies heavily on its flagship group for generating profit.
Earlier in August, the company announced a record quarterly revenue of 705.6 billion won ($504.4 million) with 63 percent coming directly from artist-driven activities such as concerts and albums.
While overall album sales fell 8.4 percent year-on-year, concert revenue offset the decline. Concerts alone accounted for 26.7 percent of total revenue, jumping 31 percent year-on-year to 188.7 billion won, leading overall growth.
Nearly 40 percent of Hybe's concert revenue in the second quarter came from BTS member J-Hope's 'Hope on the Stage' world tour, according to Kim Hyun-yong, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities, speaking in a local news show Tuesday. If accurate, it would mean J-Hope generated about 75.5 billion won — roughly 10 percent of Hybe's total quarterly earnings.
J-Hope's tour ran from February to June across 16 cities, staging 33 shows and drawing about 500,000 fans, including sold-out stadiums in Los Angeles and Mexico City. The finale took place at Goyang Sports Complex in Gyeonggi Province in June.
BTS member Jin's solo tour boosted Hybe's performance, as did Seventeen's fan meetings in Japan and world tours by Tomorrow X Together and Le Sserafim, which together attracted 1.8 million concertgoers worldwide.
Indirect revenue streams such as merchandise, licensing, content and fan club memberships accounted for 37 percent, or 257.8 billion won, of Hybe's total revenue.
Hybe's Disney-style vision faces limits
Since 2022, Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk has promoted Hybe as a '360-degree business,' likening it to Disney in its pursuit of intellectual property-driven growth across music, tech and fandom platforms. He has described Hybe as 'half a tech company,' aiming to be self-sustaining and not reliant on any single artist.
However, the latest results suggest otherwise. Most of Hybe's profits still come from direct artist activities, raising questions about the pace of its diversification strategy.
Hybe has been investing in new groups and expanding its global fan platform Weverse, but so far no act has been able to match BTS' sales power. NewJeans emerged as a next-generation K-pop star in 2022; however, NewJeans' ongoing legal dispute with Hybe subsidiary Ador has kept the group inactive.
Meanwhile, Hybe America's girl group Katseye, launched with Geffen Records under a localized K-pop training system, has yet to make a significant financial impact despite placing two songs — 'Gabriela' and 'Gnarly' — on the Billboard Hot 100 within just over a year since its debut.
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