BigHit invests in BTS' rival YG Entertainment, calls it 'strategic partnership'

BigHit Entertainment was established in 2005 by Bang Si-hyuk and has been behind major K-pop bands like BTS, TXT and more. As per Yonhap News Agency, BigHit announced on January 27 that they will be investing 70 billion won (US$63 million) in K-pop rival agency, YG Entertainment. The companies said in the press release that they are expanding business cooperation under the 'strategic partnership'. Read further to know more about the deal. 

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BigHit invests in YG Entertainment

YG Entertainment was established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk and has been behind K-pop bands like BLACKPINK, BIGBANG, 2NE1, and Psy. While the founder left in 2018, Universal Music Group and Interscope announced that they will represent the girl band BLACKPINK globally. Now, as per the news agency, a deal has been made where Big Hit and its affiliate beNX will be investing 30 billion won and 40 billion won, respectively in YG affiliate YG Plus. 

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While the companies are ready to move forward with the deal, they released a statement stating the same. In the statement by BigHit, they said that they are happy with the collaboration and that YG Plus has a stronghold in various fields like distribution and merchandising production. With this, BigHit has the hold in artist intellectual property and platforms, which will help both the companies grow through this collaboration. On the other hand, YG Plus spoke about this deal and said that it is a 'new turning point' for the companies. 

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Apart from this, BigHit's affiliate beNX runs a social media platform Weverse that helps fans connect to their favourite artist. The popularity of the platform increased throughout 2020 due to COVID-19 crisis. As per the deal, YG Plus will be using Weverse to reach the fans globally. 

BigHit's ventures 

As per musicbusinessworldwide.com, BigHit revealed in November 2020 that they are planning to expand Weverse and make it available to US artists. They want the platform to establish itself as a global platform and that it is designed for the global fan experience. Earlier, the agency released a docu-series of BTS, titled Break The Silence which premiered on the platform. As of July 2020, the platform had 10 million downloads. 

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