On March 27, Korean media reported that entertainment group HYBE Labels officially announced the expansion of its partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG). The agreement was signed by UMG Chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge, HYBE Chairman Bang Si Hyuk, and HYBE America CEO Scooter Braun.
Under the agreement, UMG will be granted exclusive distribution rights to HYBE artists' music for the next 10 years. In addition, Universal Music Group will support the promotion and marketing of HYBE artists' activities in North America.
In turn, UMG is also expanding its collaboration on HYBE's fan communication platform Weverse. More UMG artists will join the platform in the near future.
HYBE and UMG first collaborated in 2017, when BTS signed a deal with UMG to distribute their music in Japan. In 2021, HYBE signed a new deal giving UMG's Geffen Records the rights to distribute BTS' music in the U.S. and other regions.
HYBE's continued expansion of its long-term partnership with one of the world's three largest music corporations is good news, as Kpop is increasingly growing globally. In particular, HYBE's artists and music groups are proving their leading position in the Korean music industry.
HYBE President Bang Si Hyuk expressed confidence in the partnership, emphasizing its potential to benefit artists, fans, and the entire music industry.
Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, echoed this sentiment, praising Bang Si Hyuk’s innovative vision and highlighting the partnership as an opportunity for mutual growth, especially in platform development (referring to Weverse).
However, fans of HYBE's music groups have expressed concern about this decision. Since the beginning of this year, UMG's failure to renew its contract with Tiktok has caused the music products of artists under this group to be "erased" from the platform.
Although under the new deal, UMG will not exclusively distribute HYBE’s music on social media sites like YouTube, TikTok, and Meta. This means that HYBE artists can still promote their music on TikTok, despite the “war” between UMG and TikTok.
However, in reality, many songs by HYBE artists, typically BTS, are still being "erased" from Tiktok. Audiences are worried that when HYBE continues to cooperate long-term with UMG, the company's artists will lose their advantage on Tiktok.
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