[K Changers]③ World No.1 BLACKPINK, Not a Coincidence but Inevitable

Yang Hyun-suk Focuses on Artists, Yang Min-seok on Management
Emphasizes Producing and Performance Skills of Affiliated Artists
Average Trainee Period Doubled... 'Craftsmanship Spirit'

The singer with the most YouTube subscribers worldwide is from Korea. It is not BTS, but the girl group BLACKPINK, with 86.4 million subscribers. BTS follows with 74.3 million subscribers.

In their eighth year since debut, BLACKPINK is a leading ‘mega IP (intellectual property)’ in K-pop. Recently, the Taiwanese government announced a fine 50 times higher for ticket scalping controversies, and BLACKPINK was also at the center of the controversy over the dismissal of the National Security Office chief. This shows how influential they are. All members of BLACKPINK are also in the top three for first-week sales of female solo albums in Korea. There is even a saying that ‘BLACKPINK’s only rival is BLACKPINK.’

BLACKPINK is not a group that was lucky enough to be born overnight. Their agency, YG Entertainment, has proven its competitiveness on the global stage through past acts like Big Bang and 2NE1. The secret to becoming a leading figure in the K-pop era lies in the perseverance of founder Yang Hyun-suk, the management skills of his younger brother Yang Min-suk, and a craftsman’s spirit focused on fundamentals.

Yang Hyun-suk’s Perseverance

YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk

Last year, YG posted sales of 391.1 billion KRW and an operating profit of 46.6 billion KRW, the highest sales since its founding in 1996. At the center were General Producer Yang Hyun-suk and CEO Yang Min-suk. The two brothers, who once stepped down amid the ‘Burning Sun’ scandal, have returned to the front lines. They have worked together since YG’s founding in 1996. Yang Hyun-suk has been in charge of the artist side, while Yang Min-suk has handled management. They reportedly maintain a principle of not interfering in each other’s areas whenever possible.

Yang Hyun-suk focused on creating YG’s unique identity. True to its roots in hip-hop, every artist produced by YG has at least one rapper position. YG also values artists’ songwriting and composing skills. Most songs are created by in-house producers and singers. Exclusive producer Teddy and singer G-Dragon once ranked first in both composition and lyric royalties in 2018. This is why YG is sometimes called a ‘home workshop.’

YG artists are known for their unusually long album release cycles. Despite fans’ impatient criticism, YG insists on its ‘craftsman’s spirit.’ In BLACKPINK’s case, including full albums, mini albums, and singles, there have been only seven Korean albums in eight years. Including solo albums, the total is ten. Big Bang and 2NE1 were no different. The girl group TWICE, under JYP and debuting around the same time, released 18 albums. However, the long wait never disappointed. BLACKPINK’s recently released solo album by Jisoo recorded the highest first-week sales ever (1.17 million copies).

Yang Min-suk’s Management

CEO Yang Min-suk, who oversees management, graduated from Yonsei University’s Graduate School of Business. Although he avoids public exposure, he is recognized as the key figure who developed YG. The reason YG has withstood constant artist privacy controversies is attributed to Yang Min-suk, who has managed the company for over 20 years. He was also at the forefront during YG’s listing on the KOSDAQ. A media outlet once selected him as a ‘CEO leading South Korea.’

YG has established a ‘triangular alliance’ system with Naver and HYBE. One pillar of this alliance is CEO Yang Min-suk, who leads YG and its core affiliate YG PLUS. HYBE and Naver split shares of the platform Weverse, which hosts YG artists. HYBE sells albums and music through YG PLUS, a key YG affiliate. YG PLUS has also divested from unrelated businesses such as golf, dining, and cosmetics. The result was a record-high sales of 108.9 billion KRW last year.

YG Is the Biggest Beneficiary of the Endemic

The securities industry views ‘2023 as YG’s year’ because the performance market has begun to recover with the endemic (periodic spread of infectious diseases). One of YG’s greatest strengths is live performances. BLACKPINK alone has 30 scheduled performances in 13 countries through June this year. The two-day Tokyo Dome concert held from the 8th attracted 110,000 people.

BLACKPINK’s performance skills come from solid fundamentals. Their trainees averaged about five years of training. Another girl group, Baby Monster, preparing to debut, also has an average training period of over four years. According to the 2021 Survey on the Status of the Popular Culture and Arts Industry, the average trainee debut period was 2 years and 3 months. This is roughly twice as long.

Hyundai Motor Securities predicted the K-pop concert market size in the first half of the year to be 4.37 million people, with YG expected to hold the largest market share of 27% (1.16 million people). Reflecting these expectations, YG’s stock price rose 26% (from 48,050 KRW to 60,600 KRW) as of the close on the 11th compared to the beginning of the year. Park Da-gyeom, a researcher at Hi Investment & Securities, said, “YG’s first-quarter sales this year are expected to be 123.2 billion KRW, up 63% year-on-year, and operating profit is expected to be 16 billion KRW, up 162%, meeting market expectations,” and set a target stock price of 65,000 KRW.

Co-CEO Hwang Bo-kyung, who shares leadership with CEO Yang, said, “We plan to focus more on strengthening core competencies this year,” adding, “To this end, we reorganized the organization by artist units early this year to improve completeness and efficiency, and plan to further strengthen musical capabilities and visual creativity by establishing an R&D center.” They also plan to expand and strengthen global activities and new businesses centered on their artists’ branches in the U.S., China, and Japan.

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