[Click eStock] "Cube Entertainment, (G)I-DLE Overseas Expansion and Concert Revenue Normalization"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Kiwoom Securities forecasted on the 21st that Cube Entertainment's girl group (G)I-DLE has grown from a powerful rookie to a representative K-pop act, and with the start of full-scale overseas expansion, concert revenue is expected to normalize in the second half of the year.

Cube Entertainment recorded consolidated sales of 25.5 billion KRW in the first quarter, a 56.2% increase year-on-year, while operating profit decreased by 17.7% to 1.8 billion KRW. This is analyzed as achieving the highest quarterly sales due to the growth of the fandom from (G)I-DLE's first full-length album activities and the comebacks of major artists such as BTOB and Pentagon.

Researcher Lee Nam-soo of Kiwoom Securities said, "(G)I-DLE achieved eight music show wins with the mini-album title track 'TOMBOY' and is actively targeting overseas stages through activities such as collaboration remixes with DJ Rehab and participation in the K-pop Flex Festival," adding, "In the second half, concert revenue normalization is expected with (G)I-DLE's world tour, BTOB's 10th anniversary concert, and Pentagon's Japan concert."

(G)I-DLE's world tour, starting this month, is scheduled for a total of 19 shows across 16 locations including Seoul, Las Vegas (LA), New York, Tokyo, and Singapore. The concert size per show is expected to be 2,500 to 3,000 seats, with total attendance projected to exceed 50,000. The researcher predicted, "They have shown solid fandom growth by selling out additional Seoul shows during their first world tour, and a successful conclusion of the world tour is anticipated."

Additionally, Cube Entertainment is conducting new music metaverse business and artist non-fungible token (NFT) projects through the joint venture Anicube with Animoca Brands. In the third quarter of this year, a full-fledged revenue model is planned to operate through the secondary NFT sales based on artist IP. In the fourth quarter of this year, NFTs will be issued utilizing about 500 owned music IPs, and thereafter, the business model is expected to evolve into one where users freely use NFTs on the music metaverse platform to create new music.

The researcher said, "Anicube Land and a Korean complex cultural space will be established within The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, and Anicube Land will be a space linked to the music metaverse, with collaborations planned with various entertainment companies and artists," adding, "By acquiring shares in Nestri, an NFT portal service company, blockchain technology capabilities will be secured to strengthen the new business portfolio, and Nestri has launched the NFT specialized news service 'NFT Aggregator' and is expected to grow into an NFT communication platform."

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