HYBE
BTS, Justin Bieber Concerts Boost HYBE’s Quarterly Earnings
Korean music company HYBE, home to K-pop superstars BTS, posted revenue of 285 billion KRW ($226 million) in the first quarter of 2022, the company announced Tuesday (May 3). The result — which marks a nearly 60% revenue increase year over year but a decrease of 37.8% from last quarter — followed a record-breaking year for HYBE in 2021, when the company surpassed $1 billion in revenue for the first time thanks to its acquisition of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. The Q1 results were bolstered by a return to large-scale live events, including BTS’ Permission to Dance shows in Seoul in March, which drew over 45,000 fans in person. An additional 1.4 million fans viewed the livestream, which smashed box office records; the March 12 screening alone grossed $6.9 million in North America, making...
HYBE Revenue Jumps 58% to $1.1B in 2021 Following Ithaca Acquisition
HYBE, the home of BTS, blew past US $1 billion in revenue for the first time in 2021 thanks to the South Korean entertainment company’s acquisition of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. Formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment, HYBE posted revenue of $1.06 billion, up by 58% from 2020 and 114% greater than 2019. At the same time, operating profit lifted to $158 million, up 30.8% from the prior-year period. Ithaca Holdings helped HYBE’s album sales grow about 110% in 2021. Sales of HYBE’s Korean artists grew 18% to 15.1 million (in South Korea only). Ithaca Holdings contributed 7.5 million album equivalent units by SB Projects artists, mostly from Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, and another 4.8 million album equivalent units from Big Machine (HYBE’s earnings release gave U.S. sales only...
HYBE’s Quarterly Earnings Get Boost From Ithaca Holdings as BTS Concerts Await
Content featuring BTS and management fees from Ithaca’s clients helped generate record revenue in the third quarter. It took a coalition of songs, artists and merchandise — plus a big acquisition — to help Korean music company HYBE, the home of BTS, recover from a fourth straight quarter without touring revenue. BTS’ hit “Butter” and revenue from Ithaca Holdings, which HYBE acquired in April, helped the company post record quarterly revenue of 341 billion KRW ($288 million) in Q3, up 79.5% from the prior-year period, the company announced on Thursday (Nov. 4). HYBE held up remarkably well while the pandemic has brought its concert business, historically a major money-maker, to a complete standstill. Concerts accounted for 29% and 33% of HYBE...
HYBE Leadership Shakeup: Bang Si-hyuk Out as CEO, Scooter Braun to Lead U.S. Unit
HYBE’s purchase of Ithaca married the two companies’ diverse range of services, including management, labels and publishing, for a deep roster that includes K-pop supergroups BTS and Seventeen, and U.S. pop stars Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. Braun will continue to lead Ithaca Holdings, the parent of SB Projects and Big Machine Label Group, while also acting as co-CEO of HYBE America. Jaesang Lee, who led HYBE’s acquisition of Ithaca, will be moving to the US as Braun and Yoon Seok-jun’s chief operation officer. Over in Japan, HYBE is establishing a new regional division, HYBE Japan, that will be led by CEO Han Hyun-rok. The subsidiary will focus on signing local talent (a new boyband will be introduced soon) and managing the interests of other HYBE arti...
BTS Label HYBE Turns a Modest First-Quarter Profit
These positive first-quarter results don’t, however, come close to the company’s impressive previous quarter, Q4 2020. Then, still without touring income, HYBE produced livestreamed concerts and had strong music sales — 159% greater than 2021’s first quarter — and closed 2020 with quarterly revenue of $278 million and a $23.7 million profit. HYBE didn’t provide guidance on concert revenue in 2021, saying “with pandemic conditions still in place, forecasts are still unclear on the possibility of in-person concerts in the second half of this year.” In the meantime, HYBE said it will offer more livestream concerts and “other diverse content.” Much of the earnings release focused on HYBE’s acquisition of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, which was announced April 2, noting it was th...
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