Lee Jae-sang, CEO of HYBE
HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang revealed the key to HYBE success in K-pop.
At a webinar held on the 5th by U.S. entertainment data analytics firm Luminate under the theme ‘Super Fans: Global Citizens & Critical Connectors’, Lee said, “HYBE has been achieving steady growth with a ‘local, market-tailored strategy’ that analyzes traits by generation and region and fan preference modes.”
The Luminate webinar is an online seminar that covers trends and the future of the global entertainment content industry, as well as changes in the music market. This session analyzed music superfans in the streaming market focusing on the United States and select Asian countries and regions, and examined the drivers of HYBE global growth.
Regarding the core strategies and factors behind Korea significant success exporting music in the U.S. market, Lee emphasized structural innovation beyond good music, explaining that “a virtuous cycle in which fans actively participate across activities by artists, and word of mouth through social media and communities quickly turns into streaming, has built a powerful feedback system for K-pop.”
He continued, “Building on such fan participation, HYBE has achieved continuous growth by localizing to each market environment a ‘K-pop approach’ that circulates artist support, creation, promotion, and fan community within one integrated structure.”
In this regard, he cited BTS member Jung Kook ‘Seven (feat. Latto)’ setting the fastest time in Spotify history to surpass 1 billion streams, and Catseye recording 33 million monthly listeners on Spotify to rank first among girl groups worldwide.
As core drivers of global strategy, he pointed to Generation Z and Generation Alpha (ɑ), defining them as “a generation that adopts new trends most quickly and has a strong desire for participation and expression, seeking to express identity through artists and brands,” and explained that through the global fan platform Weverse, fans themselves create content, communicate, and expand relationships with artists, forming a ‘participatory culture’ that supports two-way exchange.
Lee in particular focused on Generation Alpha and presented a long-term vision. He said, “Providing content for Generation Alpha, where cultural stereotypes have not yet formed, is a strategic task that looks three to five years ahead,” adding that technology such as AI and virtual content is being linked to the play culture of Generation Alpha, pursuing connections that co-create new cultural standards through fan participation.
He further emphasized, “Fans are not recipients but ‘partners who grow together,’ and the dynamic cycle in which artists and fans interact with the stories of one another and that experience then feeds back into content is the greatest competitive edge of K-pop. The expansion of fandom ahead will move toward deepening relationships.”
On fandom characteristics by market in the United States, Japan, and India and on HYBE strategy, he said, “We are executing a ‘tailored strategy’ that closely analyzes each market cultural characteristics and fan preference modes and, through collaboration with local experts, applies K-pop production capabilities by embedding them in local cultures,” and he also detailed a global expansion strategy through entry into India and the U.S. and Latin American markets.
Lee said, “Both regions have vast populations and high shares of young people, giving them strong future growth potential,” noting that India ranks second after the United States by number of streaming users in the music market, and that in Latin America, genre-centered fandoms are already established.
Assessing the two regions as optimal bases for building a ‘Multi-home (Multi-home) market’ that connects the global network, he stated, “The ultimate goal is to develop overseas subsidiaries not as simple regional footholds, but as global multi-homes where creation, collaboration, and data exchange occur, designed to serve as global hubs that interconnect local music ecosystems.”
