BTS’ label Big Hit now owns part of rival K-pop company YG, home to Blackpink, while also striking a major deal with online platform Naver
- Big Hit increased its dominance in the South Korean entertainment industry after making an investment of US$63 million in rival firm YG
- Tech company Naver also made an investment of more than US$321 million into Big Hit subsidiary beNX
The moves will make Big Hit an even stronger player in the growing world of K-pop business-to-consumer applications, coming after the global coronavirus pandemic upended the live music industry around the world.
Big Hit’s board met on January 27 to approve an investment from Naver of more than US$321 million into beNX, with the Big Hit subsidiary gaining control of Naver’s video and live-streaming platform V Live. In addition, beNX changed its name to Weverse Company, in a nod to Big Hit’s proprietary fan-artist communication app Weverse.
The companies plan that the investment and collaboration between them will help bolster a global fan community via Weverse and V Live.
Big Hit artists, like most K-pop acts, are already active on V Live. Weverse currently hosts several other entertainers from outside the Big Hit stable, including Cherry Bullet, Dreamcatcher, Henry Lau, Sunmi, Weeekly, P1harmony, CL, and Gracie Abrams, daughter of US film producer J.J. Abrams.
