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☆ 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.

☆ Blackpink's Jisoo makes solo debut with 'ME'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, March 31 (Reuters) - K-pop group Blackpink's Jisoo became the last member to make a solo debut with her EP "ME" released on Friday. Many meetings and a lot of thought went into her first record, she said, before adding that she was not nervous about her solo debut. Rose and Lisa also made their solo debut in 2021. Earlier this month, the K-pop superstars also became the most-streamed female band on streaming app Spotify, according to Guinness World Records. Their songs had a whopping 8,880,030,049 individual streams, overtaking British pop group Little Mix, Guinness World Records said at that time.

☆ 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.

☆ 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."

☆ BTS fandom tech firm Weverse reaches beyond K-Pop
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We are a fandom business," Weverse President Joon Choi told Reuters. The app also currently has more than 80 teams of artists represented including BTS, and about 8-9 million monthly active users. However, Weverse users' 'superfan' qualities make engagement in those services turbo-charged, Choi said. Users are based in more than 200 countries and only about 10% of the app users speak Korean, Choi said. Top 5 countries Weverse users are from include Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, the United States and South Korea.

☆ Did That Hit Arrive in 2022 or 1987? This Year, It Was Hard to Tell.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

Turns out it’s the same sample, a sleight of ear designed to trigger warm nostalgia, and also maybe a little confusion. Even its video is optimized for recognition, with Santana doing the same stomp Beyoncé does in hers, in an almost identical outfit. Throughout 2022, that gambit has been deployed again and again — by pop singers and rappers, established stars and newbies. Here, old songs — hip-hop classics, pop novelties and more — are scrunched and stretched sometimes to the point of absurdity. These songs are concessions that say the quiet part out loud — everyone has always been borrowing voraciously, from everyone else, constantly.

☆ 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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