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☆ K-pop agencies mostly struggled in third quarter — but 2025 may bring financial recovery
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-18 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

JYP Entertainment's boy group Stray Kids attends the 2024 SBS Music Awards Summer in Seoul. The K-pop industry has been seeing a slowdown due to declining album sales and the inactivity of record-breaking groups such as Blackpink and BTS. Members of BTS have been serving their mandatory military service, while Blackpink only announced to reunite as a group in 2025. Streaming revenue, at least during the first half of this year, has been unable to cover the loss from album sales. For the third quarter, just Babymonster — a rookie group — and solo artist Lee Seunghoon released material.

Persons: Blackpink, Hwan, wook Lee, Jang Jeong Min, Minha Choi, Yeonghoon Kang, —, Lee Seunghoon Organizations: JYP, Imazins, BTS, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment, Yuanta Securities, Samsung Securities, YG, NH Securities Locations: Seoul, U.S

☆ K-pop is more popular than ever, but that isn't helping agency stock prices
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-09 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Hybe Corporation is the largest and listed on the blue-chip Kospi, while SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment are on the small-cap Kosdaq. Physical sales have historically accounted for the lion's share of a label's revenue, Kim said, and has also been the most profitable segment. High physical sales, she explained, represent the number of fans, which, by extension, quantifies the addressable market for a company. watch nowDeclining physical album sales not only hits earnings, but also raises questions about whether the investment thesis of "continual high growth" has collapsed. "A physical album is useless and even a burden because it occupies space.

Persons: Jimmy Fallon, Hybe, Yoon Suk Yeol, Danielle, Hyein, NewJeans, Gary Miller, Blackpink, Kim Gyuyeon, Lisa, Jennie, Emma McIntyre, Emma Mcintyre, Kim, Simply, Mirae's Kim Organizations: NBC, NBCUniversal, Getty, Hybe, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment, SM, YG, YouTube, Spotify, CNBC, Park, Filmmagic, Coachella, London's, Big, Mirae Asset Securities, BTS, Valley Music, Arts Festival, JYP, Seoul Economic, South Locations: United States, Southeast Asia, Korean, CHICAGO , ILLINOIS, Chicago , Illinois, South, U.K, INDIO , CALIFORNIA, Indio , California, Seoul

☆ K-pop stocks have sold off this year, but Goldman sees a turnaround
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Goldman Sachs, however, expressed optimism for the industry in a March 14 report, saying the K-pop sector is "misunderstood." Nonetheless, Goldman Sachs said it sees a "high potential for valuation re-rating," as companies still continue to deliver multi-year earnings growth. Goldman pointed out that Japan's top talent agency Johnny & Associates has been mired in a major scandal, leading to the industry turning more favorable to K-pop artists. In 2023, Kouhaku Uta Gassen, the largest music show in Japan, invited five K-pop artists and two localized groups produced by K-pop companies. It was the first time the show has featured male K-pop artists since 2011 and the largest number of K-pop groups ever featured in its line up.

Persons: Danielle, Hyein, NewJeans, Gary Miller, Goldman Sachs, Karina, Goldman, Kouhaku Uta Gassen Organizations: Park, Filmmagic, JYP, YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment, Hybe, SM, Johnny, Associates Locations: CHICAGO , ILLINOIS, Chicago , Illinois, Japan, U.S

☆ 'I believe in the sector': Investing in K-pop? Bernstein analyst is a fan of this stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

His pick is K-pop agency Hybe, which he's given an outperform rating and a target price of 350,000 South Korean won ($258) — or around 44% upside from Tuesday's close. Hybe's roster of artists includes BTS — one of the biggest South Korean boy bands. "I believe in the sector for the long-term growth and the macro trend," Suh told CNBC's " Street Signs " on Monday. Suh highlighted that Netflix announced in April that it would invest $2.5 billion in South Korean media over the next four years. So this is the reason why the global leading enterprise entertainment players companies try to diversify their IP portfolio to run their business more sustainably."

Persons: Bokyung Suh, Bernstein, Suh, CNBC's, Ted Sarandos, Sarandos, Hybe Organizations: South Korean, Kosdaq, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment, Disney, Netflix, Spotify, Hybe, BTS, Pledis Entertainment Locations: South Korea, Korean

☆ BTS, one of the biggest celebrity accounts on Twitter, has refused to pay Musk $8 for a blue tick
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

K-Pop supergroup BTS — like hundreds of other celebrities — lost its blue checkmark on Twitter. At press time, the band had not paid to restore its blue checkmark under Elon Musk's Twitter Blue. On Thursday, Musk tweeted that he's personally funding some celebrities' Twitter Blue statuses — but did not specifically say whose subscriptions he's paying for. It's unclear who's paying for the Twitter Blue subscriptions on Hybe's and BTS' official accounts. Other K-Pop groups have also refused to give Musk $8 for Twitter Blue.

☆ Explainer: How Kakao won a takeover battle against HYBE for K-pop pioneer SM Entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

For more than two decades, the K-pop industry was dominated by the trio until BTS rose to global fame in recent years, making its agency HYBE the largest music label in the country. It is the second-largest entertainment group in South Korea by market value at $2.8 billion, trailing HYBE, which is worth $5.5 billion. Lee filed an injunction request to block the deal that was approved by a court, and sold a 15% stake in SM to rival agency HYBE, setting up a takeover battle. Kakao, the most popular social media platform in South Korea, is expanding aggressively into the entertainment industry where it already owns a smaller K-pop agency, Starship Entertainment. In January, Kakao Entertainment announced a 1.2 trillion won ($966.27 million) investment from Singapore's GIC and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, giving it more firepower for the SM bid.

Worldwide boy-band sensation BTS may be on hiatus, but refreshing new financial acts threaten to upend the world of K-pop, and perhaps South Korea. The battle over 28-year-old SM Entertainment, the $2.3 billion force behind Girls' Generation and EXO, is at heart a family feud. It helps, too, that K-pop has turned into one of South Korea’s strongest exports, thanks largely to “Butter” and “Dynamite” singers BTS. "We oppose all aggressive outside mergers and acquisitions, including Hybe," SM said in a statement, according to Reuters. Separately, internet conglomerate Kakao said on Feb. 7 it would acquire a 9.05% stake in SM via 112 billion won of new shares and 105 billion won of convertible bonds.

☆ BTS agency HYBE seeks to take over K-pop rival SM Entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Heo Ran/File PhotoSEOUL, Feb 10 (Reuters) - South Korean entertainment company HYBE (352820.KS) said on Friday it will buy shares worth 423 billion won ($335 million) in rival SM Entertainment (041510.KQ), seeking management rights to strengthen its position in the K-pop industry. HYBE is the agency that manages K-pop mega band BTS. HYBE has also tendered an offer on Friday for SM shares held by minority shareholders, seeking to buy up to 25% of the rival agency with the intention of acquiring management rights. HYBE and SM Entertainment shares were up 6% and 16%, respectively, as of 11:05 a.m. (0205 GMT). Earlier this week, South Korean tech firm Kakao Corp (035720.KS) said it would acquire a 9.05% stake in SM Entertainment to pursue joint projects including global K-pop auditions.

☆ K-pop stocks soar after agency behind BTS announced it would become its rival’s top shareholder
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

South Korean girl group aespa at the 2022 KBS Song Festival at Jamsil Arena on Dec. 16, 2022, in Seoul, South Korea. The K-pop agency behind BTS is set to become the largest shareholder of SM Entertainment — the legacy company known to have kickstarted the wave of popularity around Korean pop culture. That would make Hybe a top shareholder in SM Entertainment. Shares of SM Entertainment soared on Friday, rising more than 16% at the open in Seoul. Hybe rose 6% and JYP Entertainment rose 2.5%, while YG Entertainment gained 3.8%.

"We had such a hard time, and I would rather have more Chinese people come than the government restricting their entry so I can do business." "Tour bus operators who have had their vehicles idly parked for over three years are now gearing up for (bus) inspections," said Thai Tour Bus Association President Wasuchet Sophonsatien. Thailand, Japan, the United States, South Korea, Australia, Macao, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan were the most-searched destinations. Yue Hua Entertainment Korea, which manages Tempest, did not respond to a request for comment. "The pandemic outbreak on the mainland is still vigorous and needs time to recover, while domestic consumption remains weak on the mainland."

☆ The K-pop ETF hasn't been doing well, but its creator says Korean content is at 'inflection point'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Since its launch on Sept. 1, the KPOP and Korean entertainment ETF has not performed well — recently trading on the New York Stock Exchange Arca at $15.05 — a roughly 23% drop from its debut. Shares of Korean entertainment companies have been underperforming overall, with YG Entertainment's stock price down around 26% year-to-date and Hybe down more than 64% year-to-date. The fund is a 30-stock index, which includes entertainment companies that manage bands such as BTS, BlackPink, and Twice — their respective agencies being HYBE, YG Entertainment, and SM Entertainment. Shares of Korean entertainment companies have been underperforming overall. Johnny Nunez | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

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