HYBE has officially launched a subsidiary in China, the world’s fifth-largest recorded music market.
A HYBE spokesperson has confirmed that the South Korea-born entertainment giant set up an office in Beijing last month. Yonhap reports that the dedicated subsidiary in China is aimed at helping the company’s artists expand into the market.
HYBE is behind superstar acts including BTS, ENHYPEN, Seventeen, and others.
The launch of an office in Beijing marks HYBE’s fourth global market presence outside of South Korea, having expanded into Japan, followed by the United States and, most recently, Latin America over the past few years.
Confirmation of HYBE’s expansion into China follows last week’s news, also reported by South Korean news agency Yonhap, that HYBE is also planning to establish an office in Mumbai, India.
According to that report, HYBE is preparing to make a “full-fledged entry into the Indian entertainment market starting with a local office”.
HYBE told us in a statement at the time that, “while HYBE is not currently in the stage of making concrete plans to establish a local office [in India], we regularly conduct market research across countries and regions”.
HYBE’s expansion into China arrives alongside reports that the market is set to lift a ban on South Korean cultural imports. K-pop groups have reportedly been unofficially barred from performing in China since around 2016/2017.
Improved relations between the two countries could result in a substantial uplift in concert ticket, album, and merch sales for South Korean entertainment companies as they expand beyond their home market amid the continued rise in K-pop’s global popularity.
HYBE’s move to set up a new office in China arrives in the same year that its flagship K-Pop act, BTS, is set to return after a hiatus of several years due to the members’ military service.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, we learned that HYBE is selling its entire 9.38% stake in rival K-Pop firm SM Entertainment to Tencent Music Entertainment, China’s largest owner of music streaming services, in a transaction worth nearly $180 million.
We suggested earlier this week that Tencent Music’s significant investment in a South Korean music company signals a vote of confidence in South Korean Entertainment’s future positioning in the Chinese market.
Earlier today, SM and Tencent Music announced a new partnership that will see them co-produce new idol groups and plan local performances in China.
Yonhap notes that SM Entertainment, but also YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment, which are all key rivals to HYBE in the K-pop business, already run their own China-based divisions.
When news arrived last week about HYBE’s reported India expansion plans, we asked if HYBE was considering a potential acquisition in the market, replicating its strategy of buying local companies and expanding into markets such as the US and Latin America.
HYBE entered into the Latin Music market in 2023 via the acquisition of Exile Music, an affiliate label of Spanish-language entertainment studio Exile Content.
Since then, the company has expanded its presence in the market through initiatives such as its partnership with Spanish-language television network Telemundo to launch Pase a la Fama.
HYBE’s most notable M&A move in recent years, however, was the $1 billion-plus acquisition of Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in the US, in 2021.
And in February 2023, HYBE America, led by Scooter Braun, acquired Atlanta rap powerhouse QC Media Holdings aka Quality Control, home to acts such as Lil Baby, Migos, Lil Yachty and City Girls, in a deal was worth $300 million, according to Korean regulator filings.
Elsewhere in the US, MBW broke the news in March that HYBE has acquired Santa Monica-based ‘events concierge’ company Confirmed360, which has been linked to arranging VIP experiences at concerts by superstars from Taylor Swift to Justin Timberlake.
Just yesterday (May 29), HYBE America divested Big Machine Rock, the Nashville-based rock imprint of Big Machine Label Group, selling the label to Gebbia Media. (BMLG was acquired by Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in 2019. The entirety of Ithaca, including BMLG and Braun’s SB Projects, was then acquired by South Korea’s HYBE in 2021.)
HYBE recently achieved its highest-ever first-quarter revenue haul, surpassing the 500 billion South Korean won mark in the three months to the end of March.
HYBE reported KRW 500.6 billion (approx. USD $348.4 million at current exchange rates) in first-quarter revenue on Tuesday (April 29), a 38.7% jump from KRW 360.9 billion ($251m) last year.
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