HYBE has made history in terms of annual sales for a management agency in the K-pop industry, and it's partly thanks to the performance of its artists such as BTS, SEVENTEEN, and more.
Keep on reading to find out how big HYBE's 2021 sales figure is.
HYBE Makes History as First K-pop Agency to Reach THIS Whopping Annual Sales Amount
On Feb. 22, HYBE said in a regulatory filing that the agency's annual sales in 2021 were tentatively tallied at 1.25 trillion won, marking a 58 percent increase compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, the company's operating profit increased 30.8 percent on-year to 190.3 billion won, including a net profit of approximately 141 billion won, up by 62 percent since 2020.
This is the first time HYBE has surpassed one trillion won in its annual sales. This also makes HYBE the first K-pop agency in history to reach the mark.
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"The record-high revenue became possible because we expanded our business model before the COVID-19 pandemic started," the label said in a press release.
They cited businesses with indirect participation from artists - such as merchandise and content related to the singers - as the primary factor that helped them grow despite having only a few in-person events.
Concerts are one of the main businesses of entertainment companies. In 2019 before the pandemic began, 32 percent of HYBE's revenue was from its artists' concerts. Due to the pandemic, the number of events with live audiences reduced.
Last year, BTS held live concerts in Los Angeles, which drew more than 210,000 fans between late November and early December. The big success of the shows is what analysts consider to be the main factor that affected HYBE's annual sales in 2021.
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"The concerts generated 40 billion won in sales from offline events only," BTS' agency said. They continued that when sales from YouTube Theater and online streaming are included, the sales are bigger and it is the company's biggest record ever.
HYBE's sales from live performances in 2021 reached 49.7 billion won, showing a surge of 980.5 percent compared to 2020. A total of 45.3 billion of them was recorded in the fourth quarter alone.
Meanwhile, BTS will have overseas tours after their concerts in Seoul scheduled for next month.
Artists' Album Performances Also Become Main Growth Factor in HYBE's Annual Sales in 2021
In addition to BTS' LA concerts, the septet's album sales, along with the album sales of its labelmates, also contributed to HYBE's 2021 sales.
The label's album sales jumped 18 percent from the previous year to 378.5 billion won. BTS was the leading factor in this as the "Butter" CD sold 7.4 million copies.
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Albums by HYBE Labels' artists - such as SEVENTEEN, TXT, and ENHYPEN - sold 3.7 million, 1.8 million, and 2.2 million copies, respectively.
Moreover, albums by Justin Bieber managed by Ithaca Holdings (which HYBE acquired in 2021) sold 2.35 million copies, and those by Ariana Grande sold 2.4 million copies.
HYBE's sales this 2022 are expected to further grow as they will start launching games and a new online fan community that will combine Naver's V Live and Weverse service.
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Written by Mhaliya Scott
