• "We've long prepared for this", HYBE assures investors that preparations are underway ahead of BTS military enlistment

    As an alternative to falling sales and the possibility that BTS members will join the military, HYBE has said that it will introduce four new groups.

    On October 17, the CEO of HYBE, Park Ji Won, sent a letter to shareholders in which he said, "We have been getting ready for this for a long time, just in case something like this ever happened. We want to make it possible for BTS and their fans to be together."

    He said, "We fully understand that investors are worried about whether HYBE will be able to keep growing at the same rate it has because BTS isn't doing as much".

    He added, "We are setting up a structure that can make them, and we are taking on different challenges by combining new technologies like platform business and game business."

    HYBE has a plan for how to do this:

    • The debut of four or more groups next year with a K-pop production method including Japan and the US
    • Live streaming on the fan platform Weverse
    • New subscription service
    • Continuous update of the BTS game and expansion of publishing
    • Incorporation of AI-based voice and singing synthesis technology of Supertone was presented.

    Aside from BTS, the sales of established artists like SEVENTEEN, TXT, ENHYPHEN, LE SSERAFIM, NewJeans, Zico, Fromis9, Justin Bieber, and Ariana Grande grew by more than three times last year on average. It is said to make nine independent labels work together and compete.

    It has been studied and found that the confirmation of BTS's membership will hurt HYBE's stock price.

    By doing things like getting into the game business, HYBE is making BTS less dependent on sales, but it is still high. HYBE was able to cut its reliance on BTS from 80% when it went public to 60%.

    As long as there was doubt about BTS joining, the securities industry kept lowering HYBE's target price. It was changed to 250,000 won for NH Investment & Securities, 210,000 won for Samsung Securities, and 210,000 won for Hyundai Motor Securities.

    Source[1]

  • Rosé Beats G-Dragon to Take 1st Place in December 2024 Idol Brand Reputation Rankings — Here's Why Fans Can't Get Enough

    BLACKPINK's Rosé has topped the December 2024 Idol Personal Brand Reputation rankings, beating out big names like G-Dragon and BTS's members!

    The Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute analyzed massive amounts of big data from November 28 to December 28, 2024.

    They collected 194,169,629 data points from 1,730 idol brands, a 4.60% increase compared to the previous month.

    The data tracked consumer participation, media interest, and community engagement to measure the idol brand reputation index.

    Rosé’s rise to the top came from a surge in online consumer interest, positive feedback, and her active communication with fans. Her song "Apartment," along with her birthday celebrations, generated buzz in the data analysis, with keywords like "participate, confess, record" and "Apartment, Rosé, birthday" making the list. Her positive-to-negative ratio in the data was an impressive 93.28%, showing how loved she is by fans and media alike.

    Other idols who made the top 30 included G-Dragon, Karina of aespa, Jang Wonyoung from IVE, and BTS's Jin, Cha Eun Woo, Jungkook, and Jimin. Despite fierce competition, Rosé’s brand reputation has remained unbeatable, solidifying her place at the top in December.

    Director Koo Chang-hwan of the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute commented on the findings, noting a 7.84% increase in brand expansion and an 8.53% rise in brand communication for Rosé. It’s clear that her influence and popularity are only growing stronger!

    Source (1)