After expanding across Asia and the Americas, HYBE is now entering Africa.
Over the past few years, the South Korea-born K-pop giant HYBE has expanded beyond its home market — first into Japan, then the United States, followed by Latin America in late 2023.
More recently, the company established operations in China (April 2025) and India (September 2025).
The company today (December 15) announced a new global management partnership with Brandon Hixon and Colin Gayle, the co-managers behind Grammy-winning South African artist Tyla.
The move represents HYBE’s latest regional expansion as it pursues what CEO Jason Jaesang Lee has described as a “multi-home, multi-genre” strategy.
Under the partnership, Hixon and Gayle will lead a management initiative designed to develop Africa-based artists for international markets. HYBE will provide global support across touring, marketing, digital strategy, multimedia production, brand partnerships, and creative development.
The partnership will have the ability to sign new artists and establish what HYBE describes as “a robust pipeline of emerging and established talent” across the continent and diaspora.
Tyla, whose hit single Water peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance in 2024, will be the first artist supported under the initiative. She will continue to be managed by Hixon (We Make Music) and Gayle (Africa Creative Agency), with HYBE providing additional global reach.
According to the announcement sent out on Monday, the “partnership signals a new era: Black-led creative leadership joining forces with a global entertainment powerhouse to elevate African artistry with integrity, scale, and intention”.
It added: “The partnership also enables cross-artist collaboration within HYBE’s roster and opens doors for future multimedia content, and diversifying HYBE’s global portfolio beyond K-pop.”
“We are thrilled to partner with cultural architects like Brandon Hixon and Colin Gayle, whose vision is essential to driving the powerful momentum of African artistry onto the global stage,” said Jason Jaesang Lee. “This partnership represents a pivotal moment in HYBE’s global expansion strategy.
“By combining their expertise with our global network and resources, we will establish a strategic, sustainable bridge designed to amplify authentic African voices and artistry to fans across the world.”
“This partnership represents a pivotal moment in HYBE’s global expansion strategy.”
Jason Jaesang Lee, HYBE
The African expansion follows HYBE’s established pattern of entering new territories with regional expertise while leveraging its K-pop-inspired artist development infrastructure and global distribution capabilities.
However, unlike HYBE’s other regional expansions — which mainly focus discovering and developing new local talent from scratch using K-pop training methodologies — the latest partnership takes a different approach. It leverages established management expertise and an already-successful global artist as its foundation.
This suggests HYBE is adapting its expansion model based on regional market characteristics and existing infrastructure, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.
“We’re entering a moment where African artists have unlimited potential.”
Colin Gayle
In September 2025, HYBE established its Indian subsidiary in Mumbai, targeting what it called a “strategic expansion” driven by Chairman Bang Si-hyuk‘s vision to export K-pop methodologies to new markets and identify local talent.
Earlier in April 2025, the company launched HYBE China to support promotional activities for existing artists while assessing longer-term market opportunities in the world’s fifth-largest recorded music market.
In November 2023, HYBE acquired Latin music label Exile Music, establishing HYBE Latin America with offices in Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Miami. That division has since launched labels including Docemil Music and S1ENTO Records, and projects including the Medellín Music Lab artist incubator in Colombia.
The African music market has seen significant global growth in recent years. Sub-Saharan Africa’s recorded music revenues grew 22.6% year-on-year in 2024, surpassing USD $100 million annually for the first time (USD $110 million). The region’s growth has been powered by genres like Afrobeats and Amapiano, and propelled by platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Reels.
Tyla’s success has been one of the key superstars at the forefront of this expansion. Her debut album reached No. 24 on the Billboard 200 in March 2024, making her the highest-charting African female soloist in the chart’s history.
Water became the first track by a South African soloist to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in 55 years (since Hugh Masekela’s Grazing in the Grass in 1968) and peaked at No.7. The single exceeded one billion streams within 18 months and was certified 3x Platinum in the United States.
Her most recent single Chanel, released in October 2025, reached No. 36 on the Billboard Global 200 — her highest-charting song on that chart since Water — and has sold over 100,000 units in the United States in its first month.
“HYBE brings a global perspective that complements how Colin and I build. Together, we can help artists move freely and tell their stories on the biggest stages.”
Brandon Hixon
Hixon has managed Tyla since 2018, when he discovered her on Instagram, with Gayle joining as co-manager by 2020, guiding her to global breakthrough. Hixon founded New York-based We Make Music in 2009, while Gayle co-founded Johannesburg-based Africa Creative Agency in 2016.
“Our work has always been about connecting great artists with the world in the right way,” said Hixon. “HYBE brings a global perspective that complements how Colin and I build. Together, we can help artists move freely and tell their stories on the biggest stages.”
Gayle added: “We’re entering a moment where African artists have unlimited potential. With HYBE’s collaborative support, we can help them expand their reach while staying true to the roots that make this music extraordinary.”
Music Business Worldwide
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