{"id":1947653,"date":"2025-08-07T21:13:55","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T21:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1947653"},"modified":"2025-08-07T21:13:55","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T21:13:55","slug":"hybe-revenues-topped-500m-in-q2-up-10-2-yoy-as-country-music-starred-for-its-us-labels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/hybe-revenues-topped-500m-in-q2-up-10-2-yoy-as-country-music-starred-for-its-us-labels\/","title":{"rendered":"HYBE revenues topped $500M in Q2, up 10.2% YoY \u2013 as country music starred for its US labels"},"content":{"rendered":"

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HYBE, the South Korean entertainment giant behind K-pop phenomenon BTS, has today (August 6) reported its strongest second-quarter performance on record.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Part of that was helped by the solo activities of BTS\u2019s members. But part of it was down to something people don\u2019t necessarily readily associate with HYBE: country music.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Via its acquisition<\/a> of Scooter Braun\u2019s Ithaca Holdings in 2021, HYBE bought Nashville-based Big Machine Label Group<\/a><\/strong>, home to several major league country artists (and, of course, once home to Taylor Swift).<\/p>\n

HYBE\u2019s global group revenue climbed 10.2% YoY<\/b> <\/span>in Q2 to 705.6 billion South Korean won<\/b> (USD $507.5 million). The company\u2019s operating profit jumped 29% YoY<\/b><\/span> to 65.9 billion won<\/b> ($47m).<\/p>\n\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Perhaps the most notable stat in HYBE\u2019s<\/strong> latest numbers?<\/p>\n

Recorded music streaming revenues in H1 2025 (Jan-June) from HYBE\u2019s two US-based labels \u2013 Quality Control<\/a> <\/b>and Big Machine Label Group<\/b> \u2013 surpassed those generated by its Korean artists in international markets (i.e. all markets outside of Korea).<\/p>\n\n

A slide from HYBE\u2019s latest investor report, showing the performance of domestic US repertoire vs. repertoire from Korea<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

HYBE\u2019s US labels generate 63 billion won<\/b> ($45m) in streaming revenue in the six month period, exceeding the 59 billion won<\/b> ($42m) international revenue of HYBE\u2019s Korean labels.<\/p>\n

At home, HYBE\u2019s Korean labels generated 18 billion won <\/b>($13m) in streaming revenue in H1.<\/p>\n

A big part of HYBE\u2019s <\/strong>successful streaming performance in the US last quarter was country, via BMLG.<\/p>\n

Thomas Rhett<\/b>\u2018s Die A Happy Man<\/i> earned an RIAA<\/a> Diamond certification in the quarter, while Riley Green<\/b>\u2019s Worst Way<\/i> claimed the No. 1 spot on the <\/b>Billboard<\/a><\/i><\/b> Country Airplay Chart.<\/b><\/p>\n

Separately, HYBE AMERICA <\/b>has seen success with newly-formed group KATSEYE, whose EP Beautiful CHAOS<\/i> appeared on both Billboard<\/i> and UK Official charts while selling out a 13-city North American tour.<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s singles Gnarly <\/i>and Gabriela <\/i>also saw multi-week runs on the Billboard<\/i> Hot 100.<\/p>\n

KATSEYE<\/b> was formed<\/a> from a talent search organized by HYBE\u2019s partnership with Universal Music Group<\/a><\/b>\u2018s Geffen Records<\/b>.<\/p>\n

According to stats shared by HYBE with investors, just 1%<\/strong> of the group\u2019s Spotify<\/a> listeners are based in Korea. Over 20%<\/strong> are in the United States, 17%<\/strong> in Europe, and 12%<\/strong> in the Philippines.<\/p>\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n

Within HYBE\u2019s Q2 earnings, the company reported a 31% YoY<\/b> <\/span>jump in concert revenues to 188.7 billion won<\/b> ($136m), fueled by solo tours from BTS members and performances by other HYBE artists.<\/p>\n

Jin\u2019s #RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR<\/i> and j-hope\u2019s HOPE ON THE STAGE<\/i> world tour drew strong attendance, as did HOSHI X WOOZI <\/b>of SEVENTEEN<\/b>\u2019s fan concert [WARNING]<\/i>.<\/p>\n

HYBE also attributed its strong concert revenue to tours from TOMORROW X TOGETHER<\/b> and LE SSERAFIM<\/b>. During the quarter, ENHYPEN<\/b> performed at Coachella. The group is set to go on a 10-city tour across the U.S. and Europe, while BOYNEXTDOOR<\/b> recently capped off their first solo tour and debuted at Lollapalooza Chicago<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, HYBE\u2019s direct artist activities generated 447.9 billion won<\/b> ($322m) in revenue, up 5.7% YoY<\/b><\/span>, while recorded music revenue slipped 8.4%<\/span> YoY<\/b> to 228.6 billion won<\/b> ($164m) amid industry-wide declines in physical album sales.<\/p>\n

HYBE AMERICA recently restructured its American operations to better integrate activities across both North and Latin America under new Chairman and CEO, Isaac Lee<\/b>.<\/p>\n

HYBE\u2019s Latin American division continues expanding through strategic partnerships and new content ventures.<\/p>\n

The division recently launched<\/a> audition program Pase a la Fama <\/i>and established<\/a> Santos Bravos<\/b>, which is to debut a new Latin boy band. Recent signings include global artist DY<\/b> and Latin pop band Morat<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, BTS members continued to generate revenue for HYBE through their solo activities despite the group\u2019s military services, which have recently ended.<\/p>\n

Jin<\/b>\u2018s EP Echo<\/i> reached No. 3 on the Billboard<\/i> 200, while both Jin and j-hope <\/b>secured spots on the Billboard<\/i> Hot 100 with solo tracks Don\u2019t Say You Love Me <\/i>and Killin\u2019 It Girl,<\/i> respectively.<\/p>\n

BTS will return<\/a> as a complete seven-member group in March 2026.<\/p>\n\n

HYBE said SEVENTEEN\u2019s studio album HAPPY BURSTDAY<\/i> topped Korea\u2019s album sales in H1, while ENHYPEN\u2019s 6th mini album DESIRE : UNLEASH <\/i>became a \u201cdouble million-seller\u201d within its first week.<\/p>\n

Indirect revenue streams, including from official merchandise, intellectual property licensing, content, and fan club memberships, surged 19% YoY<\/span> in Q2<\/b> to 257.8 billion won<\/b> ($185m).<\/p>\n

The increase came as merchandise and licensing revenue jumped 40% YoY<\/b><\/span> to 152.9 billion won<\/b> ($110m), driven by tour-related products.<\/p>\n

Fan club memberships hit a record 34.6 billion won <\/b>($25m), up 46% YoY <\/b><\/span>from the previous year.<\/p>\n

HYBE\u2019s global fan platform Weverse averaged 10.9 million<\/b> monthly active users in Q2, peaking at 12 million<\/b> following the June return of all BTS members from military service.<\/p>\n

The platform\u2019s revenue increased 41%<\/b> <\/span>quarter-on-quarter.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

HYBE\u2019s record Q2 earnings come as the company\u2019s chairman, Bang Si-hyuk<\/a>, faces an investigation over\u00a0alleged \u201cunfair trading\u201d related to HYBE\u2019s 2020 IPO<\/a>. Bang along with three others at the company, is under investigation for what could be a serious violation of South Korea\u2019s Capital Markets Act.<\/p>\n

Bang is accused of pocketing 190 billion won <\/b>($137m) in profits from misleading certain pre-IPO investors into believing HYBE\u2019s public stock listing would be delayed.<\/p>\n

HYBE had\u00a0told\u00a0MBW<\/i><\/a>\u00a0that it\u2019s \u201cfully cooperating with the local authorities, including the financial regulators and the police, by submitting relevant materials and providing detailed explanations as part of the fact-finding efforts\u2026 We will take the necessary time to thoroughly demonstrate that the IPO was carried out in full compliance with laws and regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

HYBE is also in the middle of a bitter feud between HYBE subsidiary ADOR, its former CEO Min Hee-jin and NewJeans.<\/p>\n

HYBE has so far won the business and legal battle, with a South Korean court\u00a0granting HYBE the injunction<\/a> to prevent NewJeans from independent commercial activities.<\/p>\n

Music Business Worldwide<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.musicbusinessworldwide.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HYBE, the South Korean entertainment giant behind K-pop phenomenon BTS, has today (August 6) reported its strongest second-quarter performance on record. Part of that was helped by the solo activities of BTS\u2019s members. But part of it was down to something people don\u2019t necessarily readily associate with HYBE: country music. Via its acquisition of Scooter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1947655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1947653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/HYBE-revenues-topped-500M-in-Q2-up-102-YoY-\u2013.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1947653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1947653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1947653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1947655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1947653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1947653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1947653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}