HYBE posts record revenue of 2.18 trillion won with huge year for stars

HYBE's headquarters in Yongsan, central Seoul [YONHAP]

K-pop powerhouse HYBE posted record-high revenue of 2.18 trillion won ($1.63 billion) in 2023 to become the first K-pop agency ever to surpass the 2 trillion-won mark thanks to the global popularity of its artists such as BTS, Seventeen, Tomorrow X Together and NewJeans.

The company attributed this achievement to strong album and concert sales of its major artists, including BTS members as soloists despite the absence of group activities with some of the band members off completing their mandatory military service.

According to a regulatory filing, the entertainment agency's annual revenue rose 22.6 percent on year to 2.1 trillion won. It also posted 295.8 billion won in operating profit, up 24.9 percent from the previous year, and a net profit of 186.6 billion won, a 288.5 percent increase on-year.

HYBE said revenue with direct artist involvement grew 51.4 percent to 1.47 trillion won, while revenue with indirect artist involvement decreased 12.1 percent to 706.6 billion won.

The company's music labels collectively sold albums worth 970.5 billion won last year, marking a significant increase of 75.8 percent from 2022. Revenue from concerts featuring its major artists also increased 39.1 percent on-year to 359.1 billion won with the live show market recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, revenue from merchandising and licensing as well as content sales slipped 17.7 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively.

HYBE artists dominated Circle Chart's annual albums chart for 2023, with Seventeen sitting at the top with 15.94 million copies of its albums sold. Tomorrow X Together came in third with 6.51 million copies, while NewJeans and Enhypen were fifth and sixth, respectively, with 4.26 million and 3.88 million copies. BTS' Jungkook ranked 12th with 2.71 million copies, closely followed immediately by bandmate V with 2.55 million copies.

Although there was no group activity by BTS, members Jimin and Jungkook debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard's Hot 100 main singles chart as solo artists. Tomorrow X Together and NewJeans were atop the Billboard 200 albums chart.

This nearly doubled the combined sales of albums by HYBE artists from 22.2 million copies to 43.6 million copies last year.

The number of the agency's artists who had concerts increased from four in the previous year to seven last year, and the total number of concerts held increased from 78 to 125, showing a significant increase.

HYBE said among the most lucrative concerts by its artists last year were the sold-out solo concert tour of BTS' Suga, Seventeen's "Follow" tour, Tomorrow X Together and Enhypen's first North American stadium and Japanese dome tours, and Le Sserafim's first world tour.

BY LEE JAE-LIM, YONHAP [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]