Big Hit Entertainment, the label behind K-Pop mega stars BTS, has reported record revenue and profits for 2019.
The Seoul-based music company, led by CEO Bang Si-Hyuk, generated revenues of 587.2 billion KRW ($508 million) last year, up 95% year-on-year.
Big Hit turned over 214bn KRW ($178m) in 2018, which was itself up 132% year-on-year.
The company’s operating profit in 2019 was 98.7bn KRW ($85.4m), up 24% year-on-year.
Fuelling the company’s revenue haul in 2019 were six million album sales, of which 3.72m were of BTS’s Map of the Soul: Persona, according to official (South Korean charts company) Gaon Charts data.
The group’s most recent album release, Map of the Soul: 7 broke the Gaon weekly album chart record for the highest number of first-week sales.
On February 4, at the ‘Big Hit Corporate Briefing with the Community’ in Seoul, the company unveiled business expansion initiatives for 2020 and revealed various successes across concerts and IP last year.
In February, it was reported that Big Hit had chosen the underwriters for an IPO scheduled for this year, with the aim of raising nearly $1 billion, but the global Coronavirus pandemic could put a hold on these plans.
“Big Hit pushed for optimizing its corporate structure in 2019 by transitioning into a multi-label system, while simultaneously sustaining explosive revenue expansion and high growth rate.”
Big Hit spokesperson
A spokesperson for Big Hit said: “Big Hit pushed for optimizing its corporate structure in 2019 by transitioning into a multi-label system, while simultaneously sustaining explosive revenue expansion and high growth rate.
“BTS is making unprecedented achievements as Korean artists, and both TOMORROW X TOGETHER and GFRIEND are continuing their growth.
“Big Hit has also secured an impressive pipeline of trainees; such an expansion of artist IP in conjunction with various business models that are expanding through the company’s corporate enterprise of specialized business entities led Big Hit to expect even further growth.”Music Business Worldwide
