BTS music label worth $2.5B ahead of IPO, report says

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The South Korean label that manages boy band BTS is expected to make an initial public offering after passing a preliminary screening, according to a South Korean press report.

Big Hit Entertainment, a company with an expected market capitalization of $2.5 billion, is roughly equivalent to the market value of three other South Korean music labels -- SM Entertainment, JYP and YG -- combined, the Chosun Ilbo reported Monday.

BTS has sold more than 20 million physical albums to date. In the first half of this year, all BTS related sales totaled $250 million, an increase of 47% from the first half of 2019.

The music label has also been expanding its operations to cover related sectors, including e-commerce platforms. Big Hit's Weverse social networking app allows fans to forgo long lines by pre-ordering items or concert tickets.

The South Korean company's expansion into digital businesses and sales of intellectual property licenses has enabled it to diversify its businesses and grow horizontally. The share of BTS-related revenue has declined, from 94.6% of all revenue in 2019 to about 70% this year, according to the Chosun.

BTS' band members, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, have occupied the spotlight since the group began to score hit after hit, but South Korean investors credit Big Hit's founder Bang Si-hyuk for the label's success.

Park Seong-ho, chief executive of SV Investment Corp., a South Korean venture capital firm, said Bang was the reason he invested in Big Hit in 2011 to 2012. Park invested about $3.4 million. In 2018, he had earned $92 million on the investment, according to the Chosun.

BTS' music has garnered global fans, and the band's music has even reached North Korea, according to a South Korean press report.

Daily NK reported last week three North Korean soldiers in South Hamgyong Province were arrested after allegedly dancing to the music of BTS.

The soldiers said they "did not know" the music was of South Korean origin, according to the report.