The 'K-pop Platform' Chosen by Taekjin Hyung... 8 Trillion Won Market Stirred

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] #Office worker Choi Yeon-ji (31) has made it a daily routine to end her day by watching BTS through Naver's fan platform 'V Live' after work. Known as a devoted 'Army (BTS fan club)', Choi has spent over 1 million won solely on paid videos through the fan platform. As 'fan platforms' incorporating ICT technology have become essential elements of fandom (the act of following one's favorite idols) for idol fans, companies from Naver to NCSoft have joined the competition in fan platforms. The industry expects fan platforms to become a new growth engine in the future.

Naver's 'V Live' Soars

According to Naver on the 18th, 'V Live' is on the verge of surpassing 100 million cumulative app downloads. As of November, the cumulative downloads of V Live reached 98.7 million. V Live is a video platform connecting K-pop singers and fans. Idols appear and communicate with fans in real-time, and hold birthday parties or fan meetings via videos. Offline concerts canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been held as 'digital concerts' through V Live, generating considerable revenue. The SuperM concert broadcast live on V Live last April reportedly earned 2.4 billion won in just two hours. The total paid transaction amount on V Live increased 11.7 times (as of May) compared to January before the COVID-19 outbreak.

Naver is laying the groundwork for the 'V Live' business by investing in or signing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with major domestic entertainment agencies. Naver signed an MOU for video content business with SM Entertainment and invested 100 billion won each in SM and YG Entertainment. The fan platform business structure involves major agencies providing celebrity content, while Naver supplies platform technologies such as streaming servers and playback, sharing the profits accordingly.

In particular, fan platforms contribute to Naver's global growth. They attract global users to Naver through K-pop content. Compared to the early days of V Live service in 2016, the number of global users increased by 649% in Europe, 572% in the United States, and 1177% in Africa. Naver regards fan platforms as a new business model. A Naver official explained, "Unlike YouTube, which earns revenue through advertisements, this is a differentiated business model. When content is monetized, a revenue model emerges, and the platform will grow further."

Photo by Naver V Live

Taekjin-hyung Joins the 8 Trillion Won Market

NCSoft has also entered the fan platform market. NCSoft announced it will launch 'Universe', a platform for communication between K-pop stars and fans, early next year. NCSoft's subsidiary, KLEB, will produce original content. NCSoft plans to provide differentiated content by integrating its strength in artificial intelligence (AI) technology. For example, AI will learn Kang Daniel's voice to provide morning calls to fans at desired times, and a service allowing fans to have phone calls will also be introduced. An NCSoft official stated, "We plan to offer various entertainment experiences combining IT technologies such as AI voice synthesis, motion capture, and character scanning with entertainment content." Fans' interest is also high. As of December, the number of pre-registrations for Universe surpassed 1 million.

'Weverse', operated by Big Hit Entertainment, BTS's agency, is the industry's frontrunner. Within one year of its launch, the app surpassed 10 million downloads. In September, BTS's non-face-to-face concert 'BangBangCon The Live' was viewed by approximately 750,000 people worldwide through Weverse, generating an estimated revenue of 25 billion won. Especially centered on BTS with a global fan base, Weverse is targeting the e-commerce market by directly selling not only paid videos but also merchandise.

The reason ICT companies have entered the fan platform business is the market's growth potential. IBK Investment & Securities estimated the total market size of the fandom economy to reach 7.9 trillion won this year. Experts foresee the fan platform business gradually expanding. Once a platform secures a certain scale of users, it is possible to add other services or products continuously and achieve above-average sales. Professor Wi Jung-hyun of Chung-Ang University's Department of Business Administration predicted, "Just as Kakao adds games, shopping, finance, and other services to its messenger platform, fan platforms will expand by adding services."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.