[Why Did K-pop Leave Korea] The Era of Selling Only Songs Is Over... K-pop Competes with Four Key Survival Strategies

Major Entertainment Companies' Global Strategies
Earning Through Concerts, Producing Locally
Competition in Global Fandom Platforms and IP

Hybe Headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

The global survival strategies of K-pop companies are undergoing structural reorganization. Moving away from the traditional model that relied on album sales and overseas tours, the industry is diversifying its revenue streams by focusing on concerts, local production, platforms, and intellectual property (IP). The key competitive factor has become how long a company can retain its fans and how effectively it can convert that loyalty into revenue.

According to the industry on April 28, concerts are currently delivering results most rapidly. By expanding world tours centered on artists with proven fandoms, companies are able to secure cash in a short period. JYP Entertainment is a prominent example. In 2025, its concert revenue reached 188.9 billion won, while overseas sales in regions such as North America and Europe increased to 269 billion won. Concerts go beyond ticket sales, extending into merchandise, advertising, and collaborations, which ensures a fast turnover of revenue. However, there is a limitation in that the business is highly dependent on specific artists, making it vulnerable to disruptions or gaps in activity.

In contrast, Hybe has taken steps to mitigate risk through "localization." To reduce reliance on a single artist after BTS, Hybe is implementing a strategy of directly producing teams that resonate in local markets. Although this is disadvantageous for generating short-term profits, if successful, it allows the company to establish a supply structure that is not dictated by the success of a particular group. Recently, Hybe has been expanding the market itself by transplanting the K-pop system overseas, from trainee discovery to content production, centered on its international subsidiaries.

Platforms have emerged as a foundation supporting the revenue structure. They play a role in converting fans from one-time consumers into “retained users.” Hybe’s fan platform, Weverse, is a prime example. By combining community, commerce, and membership features based on a global user base, Weverse minimizes fan churn and establishes a revenue model that is not dependent on whether artists are actively promoting. This is seen as a mechanism that enhances business stability.

CJ ENM is going a step further by focusing on expanding the “platform ecosystem” itself. Centered on Mnet Plus, it organically connects survival auditions, KCON, and the MAMA Awards to broaden global fan engagement. This model generates revenue based on traffic and retention time, rather than the achievements of individual artists, but the high cost of platform maintenance is cited as a burden.

YG Entertainment is placing emphasis on expanding IP. Starting from music and concerts, it is broadening its scope to include advertising, brand collaborations, video, and character businesses, thereby converting artist value into long-term assets. While this approach is efficient in that it can generate revenue even after the artist’s active period, its scalability may be limited unless the artists' initial competitiveness is sufficiently strong.

Kakao Entertainment is creating another axis by combining story IP with its platform. By connecting webtoons, web novels, dramas, and music, it establishes a structure where content circulates—an attempt to move away from a revenue model centered on specific singers. This is seen as a strategy to expand K-pop from an independent genre into a comprehensive content industry.

In the end, the competitive structure of the K-pop industry does not converge on a single axis. Concerts, local production, platforms, and IP strategies function complementarily, with each company placing emphasis on different aspects. The key is how well companies design a balance between short-term profits and long-term stability.

Ha Sejeong, Chief Business Officer (CBO) of BeMyFriends, said, “The long-term growth of K-culture begins with communication with fans and quality content,” adding, “The survival strategy of K-pop companies also depends on how consistently they provide fans with reasons to stay longer and return as consumers.”

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