Have you ever imagined that there would be a Korean artist or group joining a worldwide music company? If the answer is “no,” then you have to take a closer look right now because fans are extremely interested in BTS’ newest venture with UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP (UMG).
As we know, BTS already signed a contract with Sony Music’s Columbia Records three years ago (2018), but now that partnership has ended and on 1st December 2021, they will begin their next venture under the care of Big Hit Entertainment and UMG combined. While this announcement might come as a surprise to many, fans have known since February about the partnership between these two companies.
BTS again became a hot topic when the strategic business partnership between UMG and HYBE was announced. The partnership also saw UMG become an investor in VenewLive. This is the platform that HYBE used to stream BTS’ two online concerts in 2020 and the more recent BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE online concert. Considering the number of in-person events that were canceled because of the pandemic, VenewLive has played a key role in the success of BTS’ three online concerts.
The partnership announcement confirmed that the two companies would be collaborating on a number of projects “to help enhance artist opportunities, communication, and fan experiences” for all of their artists. Not surprisingly, Weverse and VenewLive are two of those projects. A third project will be the debut of a new global K-pop girl group, with auditions due to air in 2022.
Rewriting global music history might sound like a dream, but for Bang Si-Hyuk, this is a dream that Big Hit and UMG, under the leadership of Sir Lucian Grainge, are capable of realizing together because of their shared values and great synergy with each other. Similar to HYBE, within UMG there are different units that handle different components of the business. The Ingrooves unit will look after the distribution of BTS’ music. Ingrooves was an independent music distribution and marketing company that UMG acquired in 2019. Also under UMG is Geffen Records which will be responsible for supporting BTS with marketing and creativity.
No one really knows exactly why HYBE chose to leave Sony Music’s Columbia Records to join UMG. Sony Music helped BTS cross over into the United States, and with this crossover, they soared from being K-pop stars into pop stars. In fact, BTS has achieved many K-pop music firsts during their time under Sony Music. This includes their 2017 performance at the American Music Awards, where they will go down in history as the first K-pop group to ever perform there. Their Grammy nomination is another major first for BTS and the K-pop music industry ― and let’s not forget that BTS have celebrated six number 1 hits on the Billboard Hot100 since September 2020.
UMG is now known to be the world’s largest music company and part of the ‘big three’ alongside Sony Music and Warner Music Group. According to a recent Reuter article, UMG has experienced substantial growth with a boost from younger listeners tuning in to stream their favorite artist's music. With Big Hit Entertainment,considered to be one of the most innovative companies in the global music entertainment industry and K-pop becoming more accessible to listeners around the world, there is huge potential for both partners to benefit greatly from their joint business venture. This of course is great news for all of the artists that sit under both of these entities.
ARMYs can’t help but wonder what all of these new developments will mean for BTS in the long term. In the meantime, we continue to hope that with HYBE and UMG’s support, BTS will continue to lead the way in making global music history and enjoy another year of record-breaking achievements. Cheers to that!
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Written By: Tobing
Edit By: Aury
Checked By: Clare