On Monday, February 26, the Korean media outlet News1 revealed that HYBE Labels is the first ever entertainment agency to have exceeded the annual sales of two trillion won, roughly equivalent to 1.5 billion US dollars.
When the news agency interviewed the label, the executives of HYBE stated that their success comes from the growth they've experienced in the industry, which resulted from their well-established multi-label system.
As many would know, HYBE Labels houses several well-performing K-pop companies, such as Pledis Entertainment, Source Music, BELIFT Lab, BigHit Entertainment, etc. Therefore, the well-managed co-existence of these companies and the artists under them was labeled as the reason behind their commendable commercial success.
Here's what the HYBE executives shared regarding the news:
"This is the result of explosive growth in the music and performance sectors based on a well-established multi-label system."
The Korean media outlet also stated that success was brought forth by the three major contributors housed under the company, BTS' Jungkook, SEVENTEEN, and TXT.
While several other HYBE artists have also added to the agency's commercial growth, these three K-pop artists have sold an impressive amount of album copies and pumped up the label's sales to a great extent.
K-media outlet reveals HYBE Labels as the first entertainment agency to reach an annual sales of 2 trillion won, as BTS' Jungkook, TXT, SEVENTEEN, and more make impressive sales
HYBE Labels is a South Korean entertainment agency that started as Big Hit Entertainment in 2005 by Ban Si-hyuk. In March 2021, it was revealed that the agency would be rebranding itself as a record label called HYBE Corporation and also subsequently moved its headquarters to Yongsan District.
However, the rebranding wasn't a simple makeover; it was also an expansion where several famous entertainment agencies joined hands with the label.
The label grew to house several well-performing South Korean entertainment agencies, from BELIFT Lab, Source Music, KOZ Entertainment, etc., to Pledis Entertainment and ADOR Entertainment. The detailed organization and commercial growth naturally garnered much revenue, profit, and attention to the entertainment agency and its artists.
Therefore, when News1 Korean media outlet revealed that HYBE Labels made history by being the first-ever entertainment agency to exceed two trillion won in annual sales, netizens were necessarily surprised but surely commended the achievement.
On February 26, the agency revealed that its recording sales reached 2.1781 trillion won and an operating profit of 295.8 billion won in 2023.
Both their sales and operating profits have seen an increase of 22.6% and 24.9%, respectively, when compared to their precious year. Additionally, their several annual growth rate in the past three years marks 31.7% for sales and 24.7% in operating profit. The news agency's article also announced the artists who stood as the major contributors to HYBE Labels' impressive commercial success.
All the HYBE artists have sold a total of 43.6 million albums in the year 2023, according to Circle Chart, which is almost double the number they sold the previous year. Here are all the HYBE Labels' artists and the number of albums they've sold in 2023:
- SEVENTEEN - 16 million copies
- BTS members' Solo - 8.7 million copies
- TXT - 6.5 million copies
- NewJeans - 4.46 million copies
- ENHYPEN - 3.88 million copies
The article also pointed out that the songs that made the most impact were Standing Next to You and 3D by BTS' Jungkook, along with LE SSERAFIM's Perfect Night.
Additionally, the result of HYBE's great commercial performance is due to the increase in performing artists, which moved from four to seven, as compared to the previous year, which naturally pumped the number of performances they unfolded that year.