BTS, SEVENTEEN Performances Help Hybe Post Record KRW 2 Trillion In Annual Sales 

Hybe, the South Korean multinational Entertainment company behind BTS, has become the first K-pop agency to record annual sales of KRW 2 trillion (around USD 1.5 billion) as it touched the milestone in 2023. A key factor behind this record was the high album sales by K-pop group SEVENTEEN and the solo performances of BTS members.

The company reported annual revenues and net profits in its regulatory filing on 26 February. The figures indicate that doubling of album sales have led to a growth of more than a fifth in both revenues and profits in 2023.

Hybe credited the feat to the album and concert sales clocked by its top artists, including SEVENTEEN, Tomorrow X Together, NewJeans, Enhypen and solo performances by BTS members all of whom are undergoing mandatory Military service.

How much revenue and profits did Hybe earn in 2023?

In its regulatory filing, Hybe reported annual revenue of about KRW 2.178 trillion, which was up 22.6 per cent from 2022.

The operating profit was recorded at KRW 295.8 billion (around USD 221 million) while the net profit came to KRW 186.6 billion (around USD 140 million), marking a year-on-year rise of 24.9 per cent and a 288.5 per cent increase, respectively.

The total annual sales of Hybe were up 22.6 per cent in 2023, of which album sales were at KRW 970.5 billion (USD 730 million), up 75.8 per cent and concert earnings were KRW 359.1 billion (USD 270 million), up 39.1 per cent.

Revenue from merchandising and licensing, however, declined 17.7 per cent, while that of content sales by 15.1 percent.

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Sales registered by K-pop groups, including BTS solo performances

Hybe said that while revenue with direct artists involvement grew 51.4 per cent to KRW 1.4715 trillion, revenue with indirect artists involvement decreased 12.1 per cent to KRW 706.6 billion.

According to Hybe, the most lucrative concerts by its artists in 2023 were the concert tour by Suga of BTS, SEVENTEEN’s Follow tour, Tomorrow X Together and Enhypen’s first North American stadium and Japanese dome tours, and girl-group LE SSERAFIM’s first world tour.

Album sales also saw a sharp rise. In total, Hybe artists sold 43.6 million album units in 2023 — double the figure from 2022.

The solo album outings of BTS members saw 8.7 million copies sold globally. SEVENTEEN recorded cumulative album sales of 16 million. The other top performers by album sales for 2023 included Tomorrow X Together, Enhypen and NewJeans, who sold 6.5 million, 3.88 million and 4.26 million units respectively.

(Hero image: BTS_official/@bts_bighit/Twitter; Featured image: 세븐틴(SEVENTEEN)/@pledis_17/Twitter)