HYBE sets sights on India with plans to launch local branch

HYBE logo [HYBE]

BTS agency HYBE is taking on the Indian market.
 
The K-pop powerhouse said Monday that it has begun the groundwork to establish an Indian branch by September or October.
 

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The move came as a result of chairman and founder Bang Si-hyuk's "urge to export the K-pop methodology to the gigantic 1.4 billion population market," according to HYBE.
 
"This is a part of Bang Si-hyuk's 'multi-home, multi-genre' strategy, which means that we lead a local music market by blending in with the local culture," HYBE said in a press release.
 
"We have already seen visible results from the United States through this strategy. HYBE America's girl group Katseye landed on the major music chart Billboard Hot 100 within less than a year of debut."
 
HYBE made its big bet in the United States by acquiring Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings in 2021. The company then established HYBE Latin America in 2023 to tap into the South American market. HYBE Latin America is set to begin an audition series to roll out a new boy band.
 
HYBE Japan, established in 2021, manages two boy bands: &TEAM and aoen. The latter recently made its debut on June 11. HYBE also has a Chinese branch, HYBE China. 
 
"Chairman Bang has a strong belief that K-pop should not just remain a genre of music, but a methodology of itself that generates super intellectual properties based on the wants and needs of the public," HYBE said.
 
"We are seeing real results through this strategy and should this trend continue, then the global music industry, currently dominated by the three major companies, will be changed greatly." 

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]