"They want to create next BTS"— Internet divided over HYBE's latest report to reduce their dependency on the boy group for revenue

HYBE garnered attention among fans for reportedly sharing their stance on BTS’ reunion and activities following their military service. On November 5, 2024, HYBE held a conference to unveil the third-quarter performance of the company this year. Lee Kyung-jun, the CFO of HYBE, stated that the seven-member group is expected to restart their group activities in 2026, a year later than the agency's previous expectations.

“We are currently discussing with the members about a full group activity in 2026. BTS's return is expected to bring in a lot of sales, but as new businesses and other artists grow together, BTS's sales dependence will not be as high as before,” he said.

The company executives added that they have projected an increase in the sales of the company upon the Dynamite singer's return. However, they also plan to create a diversified revenue model, which will be fueled with the help of the sales generated by other artists like TXT, ENHYPEN, SEVENTEEN, LE SSERAFIM, NewJeans, and more, under their umbrella.

HYBE reportedly will try to lessen the burden of sales and revenue generation from BTS’s shoulder through this model. However, netizens are divided on this decision. They seemingly do not have confidence in the entertainment company's plans.

“They want to create “next BTS” by giving them all sorts of promotions& privilege while not promoting BTS at the same time,” a fan said.

“The problem is that they have been saying this for years and they are still depending on them, even when they haven’t been active as a group they depend on them with their solo activities. Or with stuff related to them like merch, tiny tan and BT21,” a fan wrote.

“Getting that lucky with having a group like bts under ur management is a one in a lifetime thing someone tell them its impossible to produce that big of a group,” a user stated.

On the other hand, some fans supported the company’s ideas.

“I am really REALLY glad this is the route Hybe want to take. BTS should not have to bear the burden of a WHOLE COMPANY on their back anymore. They worked hard enough. I feel a bit more peaceful abt BTS future now that I have heard that ... Things will be fine,” a user commented.

“Why is everyone angry in quotes and replies? It's better, BTS would have less weight of company on shoulders and can take more bold decisions. They already do bcuz they're independent with their art but having less pressure isn't bad,” another user commented.

“Hybe has been talking about diversifying & being less dependent on bts for 2-3 years now, this is nothing new. They used to be 95% dependent on bts. That’s dangerous for any company. bts has also wanted less burden & pressure of literally carrying the company on their back too,” a fan wrote.

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HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang addresses the company's revenue at the third quarter performance conference

On November 5, 2024, HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang spoke about the revenue and the cumulative sales of the company in the third quarter. He took a moment to express his gratitude towards the artists under the multi-label agency for their performance in 2024, as per Maeil Kyungjae.

“Thanks to the balanced performance of HYBE Music Group artists, cumulative sales in the third quarter of this year exceeded 1.5 trillion won. The green light has been turned on for achieving the 2 trillion won mark in annual sales for the second consecutive year, following last year,” he said.

Notably, as per the reported numbers at the recent HYBE conference, the operating profit for the third quarter was announced to be 54.2 KRW, which is a decrease of 25.4 percent in comparison to the numbers announced last year in the same period. Furthermore, sales witnessed a 1.9 percent fall, resulting in 527.8 billion KRW, and the net profit also fell to 98.6 percent, recording 1.4 billion KRW.