BTS Agency Hybe Posts Record $1.6B In Annual Sales As K-Pop Demand Rockets

Hybe, the label behind Korean supergroup BTS, announced today that its annual sales hit 2.17 trillion won (US$1.6 billion) in 2023, making it the first K-pop agency ever to reach this milestone.

In a conference call, the company said that robust album and concert sales by its major artists contributed to this achievement, including Seventeen, Tomorrow X Together, NewJeans, Enhypen and BTS members as soloists.

Several BTS members are currently undergoing mandatory military service, and the band is temporarily on hiatus. However, it continues to resonate globally, with the likes of Disney+ and Prime Video releasing docs on the band.

Despite their absence, the band’s popularity helped operating profits hit 295.8BN won, up nearly 25% year-on-year, and a net profit of 186.6BN won, a whopping 288.5% up on 2022.

Hybe’s annual sales for full-year 2023 are up 22.6% from last year. Album sales were worth $730M, marking a significant increase of 75.8% from 2022. Concert revenue also increased 39.1% to $270M, with the concert events market recovering healthily since the pandemic.

However, revenue from merchandising and licensing as well as content sales dropped 17.7% and 15.1% respectively.

Additionally, Hybe announced that its most lucrative concerts by its artists last year were BTS Suga’s concert tour, Seventeen’s “Follow” tour, Tomorrow X Together and Enhypen’s first North American stadium and Japanese dome tours, and girl-group Le Sserafim’s first world tour.

The figures bode well for Hybe, whose chairman Bang Si-Hyuk expressed strong interest in expanding the company’s acquisitions in the U.S. It has already acquired Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in a $1B deal that placed its artists alongside Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. HYBE also acquired Quality Control, the hip-hop powerhouse behind Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, City Girls and Migos.