The music label behind BTS is trying to recreate the K-pop ‘production system’ in US

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The South Korean music label behind K-pop sensation BTS is trying to export its star “production system” to the US as it accelerates a global acquisition push.

The company is on the hunt for labels around the world to compete with industry giants including Universal Music Group and Sony, Hybe chief executive Jiwon Park told the Financial Times.

Hybe will debut a six-member girl group called Katseye in the US next year, marking the first test of the label’s model overseas. With its slick production and fashionable stars, K-pop has gone global after dominating the charts in South Korea for decades.

“K-pop is no longer performed by Korean singers only,” said Park. “Rather, it is a genre of music produced with the Korean system.” He added that the company was “thinking hard over how to build fandoms” in the US.

“It is not easy to create an outlier like BTS again,” he admitted, noting that the boy group, currently on hiatus, plans to have a reunion in 2025 after all its members complete military service in South Korea. “But we continue to test audience reaction in the US.”

BTS has contributed an estimated Won14.3tn ($11bn) to the nation’s economy over the past decade, according to the Hyundai Research Institute.

K-pop idols are known for their enthusiastic fan bases and the gruelling, years-long training before their debut. Management companies spend years developing an act, picking final members for a group after training multiple potential candidates.

The US group “is an attempt to globalise and localise K-pop’s methodology”, said Park. “We hope that Katseye will succeed in the US and prove that the K-pop’s success formula of developing and training high-quality artists works regardless of regions and nationalities.”

Hybe’s new group comes after the company has made a series of US acquisitions in recent years. In 2021 it took over Ithaca Holdings, a label founded by Justin Bieber’s former manager Scooter Braun, for more than $1bn.

Braun serves as chief executive of Hybe America and is working to expand its operations in the US, including orchestrating BTS member Jung Kook’s solo project.

This year Hybe acquired Atlanta-based hip-hop label Quality Control Music for Won273bn and Latin music company Exile Content for an undisclosed price.

“We are trying to expand our portfolio and create a system based on strong IPs like Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony to compete better on the global stage,” said Park. “We can make additional acquisitions in the US and Japan. We are looking for good assets there.”

Hybe this year failed to acquire SM Entertainment, the K-pop record label behind boy band EXO and girl group Aespa. Hybe’s chair Bang Si-hyuk had said there was a need to create a “national champion” to take on the US giants.

The label lost the acquisition battle after the music affiliate of Kakao, operator of South Korea’s dominant messaging app, launched a higher tender offer to buy a 35 per cent stake in SM for Won1.25tn.

Despite the failed attempt, Park stressed that the company had managed to dispel investor worries about its dependence on BTS by creating other popular groups, such as NewJeans and Seventeen. Park said he expected the overseas acquisitions to help the company reduce its reliance on K-pop.