On February 2, the Korean media outlet Star News revealed the sales and operating profit of four top K-pop agencies: HYBE, SM, YG and JYP, also referred to as "BIG 4."
With HYBE's highest fourth-quarter sales and operating system, will K-pop fans and critics still disagree with its entry into the "BIG 4" agencies? In an article, media outlet reveals the prospective fourth-quarter performance of HYBE, SM, YG, and JYP in 2021.
HYBE to Rank No. 1 Among Agencies, Thanks to BTS, SEVENTEEN, ENHYPEN
ALSO READ: HYBE Artists Comeback, Debut Lineup 2022: BTS, SEVENTEEN, 'I-Land 2', MORE!
According to Yoon Sang Geun, HYBE would reach 402.4 billion won in sales and 72.3 billion won in operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2021, the largest quarterly sales renewal ever and 1 trillion won in annual sales.
Aside from their top boy group BTS who recorded 4.77 million album sales alone, the reporter also gave credits to SEVENTEEN and ENHYPEN, who contributed 2.13 million and 1.3 million, respectively.
SM Entertainment Maintains High Sales, Operating Profit (4Q, 2021) Amid Pandemic
READ ALSO: NCT's Cumulative Album Sales for 2021 Surpasses 10 Million Album Copies
Following HYBE, SM Entertainment secured their spot in second place for their fourth-quarter earnings in 2021, expected to be 192.7 billion won in sales and 18.4 billion won in operating profit.
Various SM artists contributed to this number, particularly, NCT 127, aespa, Kai and Super Junior who recorded a cumulative of 4 million album sales.
YG Entertainment Sales, Operating Profit 'Disappoints,' Lack of Artists' Release
For YG Entertainment, the media outlet then stated, "It was regrettable that YG's artist performance was relatively insignificant." The agency recorded 77.2 billion won in sales and 6.4 billion won in operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2021, which is considered an "earning shock."
Only BLACKPINK Lisa, Rosé, and WINNER Song Mino joined the comeback competition, and it was difficult to say that Song Mino and Kang Seungyoon's solo concert also showed great strength.
However, researchers expect YG's performance to increase in 2022, with a possible BLACKPINK comeback and the debut of a new girl group.
JYP Entertainment Ranks Last Among 'BIG 4' Agencies, NMIXX Debut Receives Attention
Lastly, JYP's sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 were 58.4 billion won, and operating profit recorded 14.5 billion won.
With JYP's biggest hit product of 2021 Stray Kids, TWICE and ITZY also showed off their influence across the Korean and Japanese markets, while Japanese localized K-pop girl group NiziU also showed off their presence as rookies in Japan.
With Xtraordinary Heroes and soon-to-debut girl group NMIXX, JYP Entertainment is expected to show stronger performance this year.
READ MORE: JYP Announces New Girl Group’s Name ‘Nmixx’ – Here’s Its Meaning, Members
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Written by Eunice Dawson
