Bang Si Hyuk, the chairman of Big Hit Entertainment, was named Variety's "Variety500," a list of the top 500 entertainment business leaders. Keep on reading to learn more.
Variety released their "Variety500" list on their official website on Wednesday, Dec. 23. On the list included Big Hit Entertainment's very own Bang Si Hyuk. Sitting alongside him on that like is Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos, Netflix's CEO Reed Hastings, and Apple CEO Tim Cook. "Variety500" is a list of 500 influential business leaders who have led the global media industry every since the year 2017.
The magazine introduces Bang Si Hyuk by asking, "If you do not know the Korean boy band BTS, where have you been?" They then list the numerous achievements BTS has accomplished this year. In Feb. 2020, their album "Map of the Soul: 7" debuted at the top of Rolling Stone's Top 200 Albums list, and their June online "BANGBANG CON: THE LIVE" set a Guinness World Record for live streaming, amassing over 756,000 viewers. In August, their all-English single "Dynamite" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making them the first group to have a number-one single in the United States.
As the CEO and Chairman of Big Hit Entertainment, Bang Si Hyuk is often credited for being the "father" of BTS, having supported them since the beginning until now. As BTS is Big Hit Entertainment's first male group and their longest-running artist, he has helped shaped BTS into what they are today.
Big Hit Entertainment also houses another big group, TXT, a two-year rookie group. Recently, their mini-album "Mimisode 1 : Blue Year" ranked at number 25 on the Billboard 200, proving Big Hit Entertainment's amazing production capabilities and competitveness at a global scale.
However, Bang is no one-act showman, according to Variety. He has been pushing towards diversification, moving into tech with apps such as WeVerse. As most K-pop fans know, WeVerse is known as a multimedia application that allows musicians to communicate with fans by posting photos, text posts, and the ability to reply to comments. WeVerse is also accompanied by an e-commerce app, WeVerse Shop, which sells subscriptions for WeVerse exclusive content, products related to their artists, and merchandise.
His company, Big Hit Entertainment also acquisitions with Pledis Entertainment, Source Music, KOZ Entertainment, and BELIFT Lab thus establishing the Big Hit Labels. Big Hit Entertainment has demonstrated their global capabilities as well as their abilities to become a global powerhouse. They now not only houses BTS and TXT under Big Hit Entertainment, but also have SEVENTEEN, Nana, NU'EST, BUMZU, and former PRISTIN members Yehana and Sungyeon under Pledis Entertainment, GFRIEND under Source Music, Block B's Zico under KOZ Entertainment, and ENHYPEN under BELIFT Lab.
Earlier this year, Big Hit Entertainment was included in Billboard's "The 2020 Billboard Power List" and their "200 Indie Power Players" list. Back in June, Bang Si Hyuk won the 14th Pony Chung Innovation Award.
ALSO READ: Bang Si Hyuk Wins The 14th Pony Chung Innovation Award
Congratulation, Bang Si Hyuk!
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Written by Alexa Lewis
