BlackPink helps YG stock hit the top, profits increase nearly 500%

BlackPink is still the "golden goose" of YG Entertainment

According to Newsis, YG Entertainment's revenue and profit in the first quarter of 2023 reached 157.5 billion won (over 2,750 billion VND) and 36.5 billion won (638 billion VND), respectively.

Revenue and profit increased by 108.6% and 497.6% respectively compared to the same period last year. This achievement far exceeded market expectations.

BlackPink helps YG stock hit the top, profits increase nearly 500% 1

BlackPink makes history in world tour revenue

The company's stock price also hit a 52-week high. Statistics from Korea Exchange show that as of 9:35 a.m. on May 12, YG Entertainment's stock price was trading at 75,600 won (over 1.3 million VND), up 8,900 won (nearly 156,000 VND), up 13.34% compared to the previous day's trading price.

Explaining this impressive growth, market researcher Park Soo-young shared on Newsis that YG's impressive achievement is thanks to the soaring value of the group BlackPink.

“BlackPink’s concert revenue from last year has been recorded, and the group’s standard fee per performance has increased significantly compared to the fourth quarter. This can be considered the main reason for the company’s peak performance,” said Park Soo-young.

“With BlackPink’s 14 world tours and 10 Asia/Japan tours in the first quarter, concert-focused revenue growth continues,” researcher Lee Seon-hwa added.

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BlackPink's concert in Thailand attracted about 85,000 spectators

According to Touring Data, BlackPink's Born Pink world tour is the highest-grossing tour of all time among girl groups.

This record was previously held by the legendary British girl group Spice Girls with their Spice World tour (2019), with a revenue of 78.3 million USD (nearly 1,840 billion VND), with 697,357 attendees.

Meanwhile, in just the first 26 shows, YG's girl group sold about 366,000 tickets, earning revenue of 78.5 million USD.

It is predicted that the total revenue from the concert will increase even more when BlackPink has extended the tour until the end of 2023. The group will also perform more than 10 shows in major cities such as: Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, New Jersey, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles...

Are K-pop giants "ripping off" fans?

Besides revenue from physical album sales, advertising contracts, fashion ... concerts also bring huge profits to Korean entertainment companies.

Especially during a time when bands are expanding their international influence with a series of global tours and the economic crisis following the pandemic.

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Soaring concert prices anger K-pop fans

Not just BlackPink, data from the Korean Culture and Tourism Institute shows that it is estimated that the famous group BTS can earn a profit of 667.9 billion won (more than 11.6 trillion VND) to 1.22 trillion won (more than 21.3 trillion VND) with each concert held after the pandemic.

However, the surge in revenue after the Covid-19 pandemic was partly due to increased ticket prices for shows, which has also sparked a wave of controversy in recent weeks.

According to MGR Online, ticket prices have increased by nearly 20% compared to the time before live performances were suspended in 2019. If you compare current prices with 10 years ago, the gap has increased to 60%.

Specifically, the average cost of a ticket to a K-pop idol concert in Thailand is currently around 5,270 baht (3.6 million VND). MGR Online believes that the amount of money that fans have to spend is too high, because the cheapest ticket in 2013 fluctuated around 1,050 baht (726,000 VND), while the most expensive ticket at that time only reached 6,000 baht (4.1 million VND).

Currently, a VIP ticket for a K-pop concert sold by the organizer can cost up to more than 10 million VND.

The situation in South Korea is no different. VIP tickets cost more than 200,000 won (about 3.5 million VND) for many K-pop concerts. "It's sad that we can't participate in activities if we don't have money," MGR Online quoted one fan as saying.

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Hybe's new business strategy causes strong public reaction

Not only stopping at increasing concert ticket prices, Hybe Entertainment's dynamic pricing strategy at upcoming US concerts of rapper Suga (BTS) and boy band TXT is also in trouble.

Dynamic pricing, Allkpop explains, is a way of pricing products and services flexibly based on competitors' prices, peak seasons, and other factors. This pricing method allows businesses to change prices to match what customers are willing to pay at that time.

This means that the more famous the artist, the higher the ticket prices will be, even much higher than the original price. For a group with a global fan base like BTS, the scenario of ticket prices increasing exponentially is inevitable.

Hybe also changed the way it charges on Weverse, a social network where fans can directly interact with K-pop idols. Fans will have to pay an additional fee to use subtitles, no ads, or early replays of live shows on Weverse DM and Weverse by Fans.

As a result, the BTS fan community is calling for a boycott of Hybe's "dynamic pricing" strategy, feeling that they are the main target for this "money-making" campaign.

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