The BTS members were reunited after a hiatus of almost three years. The band is planning a comeback with a new song. immediately, the BTS agency, HYBE, is relying on the group for its business profit.
South Korea’s popular band BTS has been on a roll and is planning a comeback with a song that is going to be released in spring 2026. However, even though HYBE continues to emphasise diversification of its business, new data indicates that the K-pop behemoth still relies significantly on BTS to propel its profits. The company posted a record quarterly revenue of 705.6 billion won early last month, with 63 percent coming from creator-centric activities like concerts and album sales. While overall album sales dipped 8.4 percent year-on-year, a surge in live performance revenue more than compensated. Concerts accounted for 26.7 percent of HYBE’s total revenue, rising 31 percent year-on-year to 188.7 billion won and leading the company’s growth.
One of the key drivers of this success was BTS member J-Hope, whose “Hope on the Stage” world tour accounted for almost 40 percent of HYBE’s concert business during the second quarter, based on Hyundai Motor Securities analyst Kim Hyun-yong. This represents approximately 75.5 billion won, or about 10 percent of HYBE’s total quarterly revenue. J-Hope’s tour, which lasted from February to June over 16 cities and 33 performances, attracted half a million fans globally, and its sold-out venues in Los Angeles and Mexico City attest to the popularity of the K-pop star. The final concert in Gyeonggi Province further established him as one of HYBE’s most lucrative solo acts. In addition to J-Hope, solo promotions by BTS member Jin, Seventeen’s massive fan meetings in Japan, and global tours by Tomorrow X Together and Le Sserafim collectively attracted 1.8 million concert attendees.
In addition to concerts and albums, secondary sources of revenue such as merchandise, licensing, online content, and fan club memberships accounted for 37 percent, or 257.8 billion won, of HYBE’s sales. Since 2022, HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk has repeatedly framed the company as a “360-degree business,” likening its intellectual property-based model to Disney. He has stressed HYBE’s goal of operating “half as a tech company” with tools like Weverse, meant to diminish dependence on one particular act.
Likewise, HYBE America shorty group Katseye, launched in collaboration with Geffen Records, has scored impressive chart appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 but has yet to make tangible financial contributions. Unless some other act comes up to BTS’s level, HYBE’s lofty Disney-type dream might be curbed.
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