Big Hit Entertainment

Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd. (Korean: 빅히트 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean entertainment company established in 2005 by Bang Si-hyuk. It currently manages soloist Lee Hyun and idol groups BTS and TXT. The company has multiple subsidiaries, including Source Music, and is the largest shareholder in Pledis Entertainment.[4]

Big Hit Entertainment
Native name
빅히트 엔터테인먼트
Big hiteu enteoteinmeonteu
Public
IndustryEntertainment
Genre
FoundedFebruary 1, 2005 (2005-02-01)
FounderBang Si-hyuk
Headquarters
Seoul Gangnam-gu, 5 30-gil, Hakdong-ro, Floor Yangjin Plaza 5F
,
South Korea
Key people
  • Bang Si-hyuk (Chairman, CEO)
  • Lenzo Yoon (CEO, Global & Business)
  • Jiwon Park (CEO, HQ & Management)
Services
  • Music Production, Publishing, New Artist Development, Artist Management
  • 360° Business, IP & Platform Business
Revenue
  • KRW 587.2 billion (2019)
[1]
  • US $82.4 million (2019)
[2]
Owner
Number of employees
Approx. 700 (As of May 2020)[3]
Subsidiariessee #Subsidiaries
Websitebighitcorp.com

History

Big Hit Entertainment was founded on February 1, 2005,[5] and signed the vocal trio 8Eight in 2007.[6] In 2010, Big Hit Entertainment and JYP Entertainment signed a joint management contract over the boy group 2AM.[7] That year, Bang Si-hyuk signed RM as the first member of BTS and launched nationwide auditions to recruit the other members of the group.[8] BTS made their debut under Big Hit on June 13, 2013.[9]

In 2012, the company signed Lim Jeong-hee,[10] and the girl group GLAM was formed as a collaboration with Source Music. They were active until 2014, when they disbanded due to a controversy over one of the members, Kim Da-hee, who was sentenced to prison following accusations of blackmailing actor Lee Byung-hun.[11][12][13]

Following the end of the joint contract between Big Hit and JYP Entertainment in April 2014, three of the 2AM members returned to JYP, while Lee Chang-min stayed with Big Hit in order to continue with his solo career and as part of the duo Homme.[7] The year also saw the disbandment of 8Eight after Baek Chan and Joo Hee's contracts with Big Hit ended.[6]

In May 2015, Lim Jeong-hee parted ways with the agency, following the expiration of her three-year contract,[10] and Signal Entertainment Group, a KOSDAQ-listed company specializing in artist management and television production, acquired Big Hit through a KR₩6 billion convertible bond.[14] In early 2017, Big Hit ended their stake relationship with Signal Entertainment Group, which made a full settlement of the bonds.[15][16]

In February 2018, Homme disbanded after member Changmin's contract came to an end. He left the company to start his own agency, while Lee Hyun continued on as a solo artist.[17] In August, Big Hit Entertainment and CJ E&M released information stating plans to create a joint company. Filed under the name Belift, the company will reportedly be split 52% to CJ E&M, and 48% to Big Hit.[18] It is set to debut a group in 2020.[19] Later that year in October, BTS renewed and extended their contract with the agency for seven more years.[20] Big Hit was voted best investment company of the year at the 2018 Korea VC Awards.[21]

In March 2019, male group Tomorrow X Together (TXT) made their debut under Big Hit.[22] Former CBO Lenzo Yoon was also appointed co-CEO with Bang Si-hyuk,[23] focusing on the business components of the company while Bang will focus on creative production.[24] In July 2019, the agency acquired Source Music,[25] and in August, the video game firm Superb.[26] Thanks to two apps developed by its subsidiary benX, Weverse and Weverse Shop (formerly known as Weply prior to March 9, 2020),[27] Fast Company chose Big Hit as the fourth most innovative company of 2020 worldwide.[28]

In May 2020, Big Hit became the majority shareholder of Pledis Entertainment. Big Hit announced that the record label would retain its independence, but its artists (which include boy bands NU'EST and Seventeen) would be more widely promoted outside of South Korea.[29]

Company value and investments

Big Hit Entertainment currently operates as a private company. Bang Si-hyuk remains the largest shareholder of its stock.[3] In March 2017, the Korean mobile gaming company Netmarble acquired the second largest percentage of the company, paying a reported 201.4B KRW (191.8M USD) for 25.71%.[30] The CEO of Netmarble, Bang Joon-hyuk, and Bang Si-hyuk are cousins.[31] In October 2018, private investment firm STIC Investments received an undisclosed share of Big Hit Entertainment, an investment of roughly 104B KRW (~93M USD).[32]

In 2007, Big Hit Entertainment had four employees and was near bankruptcy, but due to the local success of 8Eight's Without a Heart in 2009, Bang was able to keep the company afloat.[33] Its value rose over the years thanks to BTS' global popularity.[34] In March 2018, Big Hit publicized its earnings for the first time, reporting revenue at 92.4B KRW (~82M USD)[35] and operating profit of 32.5B KRW (~29M USD) in 2017.[36] Sales in 2018 experienced a 132% increase compared to 2017 making approximately 214.2B KRW (~189.38M USD). They had a 97% percent increase in operating profit for the year making 64.1B KRW (~56.72M USD) and a 105% percent increase in net profit making 50.2B KRW (~44.41M USD).[37]

Big Hit's success has been attributed to its innovative management style, more like an IT company than an entertainment company, which has become the new standard in the K-pop industry; it includes a wide usage of social media to capture people's interest and transform it into sales, the creation of artist-related multimedia contents and the full use of fandoms energy.[38][39]

If entered into an IPO in March 2018, the company itself could reach a value of up to 700B KRW (~624M USD), making CEO Bang the richest in the South Korean entertainment business due to his large shareholding position, and leaving him with personal ownership value of roughly 350B KRW (~314M USD).[40] In October 2018 Big Hit was valued more than 1T KRW,[36] and in 2019 between 1.28 and 2.22T KRW.[41] As of March 2020, the total value of the company is roughly 6T KRW (~5B USD).[42]

Big Hit commenced plans to go public on May 21, 2020, applying for a pre-IPO consultation with the Korea Exchange. This is required under South Korean law before a company can file paperwork for an IPO.[43] One week later, the company filed for a preliminary review of their planned IPO.[44]

Subsidiaries
  • Big Hit Entertainment Japan Inc.
  • Big Hit Entertainment America Inc.
  • beNX Japan Inc.
  • beNX America Inc.
  • Bnx Co., Ltd.
  • Superb Co., Ltd.
  • Big Hit Three Sixty Co., Ltd.
  • Big Hit IP Co., Ltd.
  • TNDJ INC.
  • Borijin Co., Ltd.
  • BELIFT (co-managed by CJ E&M)
  • Source Music[45]
  • Pledis Entertainment

Philanthropy

In 2017, it was revealed that Big Hit Entertainment donated ₩30 million (roughly US$25,000) to the 4/16 Sewol Families for Truth and A Safer Society, an organization connected to the families of the 2014 Sewol Ferry Disaster.[46] In 2020, Big Hit, together with BTS, donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter, during the George Floyd protests,[47] and another $1 million to Live Nation's Crew Nation campaign to help support live music personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.[48]

Artists

Former artists

Discography
Main article: Big Hit Entertainment discography

References
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