'Big 4' Entertainment Agencies Release 2020 Overall Profits and Sales — Who Do You Think Earned the Most?
The "Big 3" entertainment labels in K-pop are considered SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment. These labels have been called the "Big 3" not only because their headquarters are, indeed, large, but also because of their reputations as leaders in the industry when it comes to producing successful groups since the first generation of K-pop.
Then, with the recent rise of BTS in the K-pop scene, Big Hit Entertainment, which is now under HYBE as Big Hit Music, has unofficially joined the club - making it the "Big 4." While the term "Big 4" is not usually used in the K-pop world, Big Hit's growth can be evidently seen in the past years.
"Big 4" Entertainment Companies in K-pop Reveal Overall Profits and Sales in 2020
Based on the agencies' financial report issued this month, the "Big 4" K-pop entertainment agencies had an increase in profits in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. While sales in concerts plummeted due to the pandemic, a rise in the album and online concert sales contributed a lot to the companies' overall profits last year.
On March 30, Korea JoongAng Daily revealed the profits of these four well-known K-pop entertainment companies.
Big Hit Entertainment
Big Hit, the agency behind the global boy group BTS, was particularly successful in 2020. Its sales rose by 35.6% in 2020 compared to 2019 - from 587.22 billion won ($517.82 million) to 796.28 billion won. The company's overall profits increased by 47% - from 98.74 billion won in 2019 to 145.51 billion won in 2020.
In terms of concert sales, the face-to-face event decreased by 98% last year due to coronavirus. However, the substitute online concerts saw a 71% increase in sales, according to Big Hit. In addition, gains from other endeavors such as the label's online fan community platform Weverse and multiple licensing deals had a 54% rise.
ALSO READ: BTS' Agency Records 36% Increase in Revenue amid Pandemic + Group Continues Domination on Billboard Charts
Big Hit's acquisition of other entertainment agencies such as Source Music and Pledis Entertainment resulted in something positive, with album sales escalating by 196%.
YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment
YG Entertainment, which manages the world-famous K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, saw a significant surge in surplus as well in 2020. YGE managed to attain a total of 255.26 billion won last year, compared to its 2019 sales of 253.507 billion. Moreover, its total profits went from 5.35 billion won to 10.74 billion won.
JYP Entertainment, home to TWICE, ITZY, and Stray Kids, saw a decrease in sales last year. From its 2019 sales of 155.43 billion won, JYPE earned 144.39 billion won total sales in 2020.
On the other hand, the agency's total profits had a slight increase from 43.45 billion won to 44.13 billion won owing to the groups' album sales and royalty payments.
READ MORE: Big Hit Entertainment Growing to be 'Top One' Agency + Is the 'Big 3' Era Over?
The income from concerts of both YG and JYP dropped by 90% due to the pandemic, but the album sales were a great contribution to the labels' overall profits. YG Entertainment's sales had a 12.8% increase - generally thanks to BLACKPINK who has broken records concerning album sales in 2020 - while JYPE's sales rose by 31%.
SM Entertainment
Lastly, SM Entertainment has seen a decrease in both sales and profits. The label's 2020 sales dropped by 11.8% compared to 2019 - from 657.82 billion won to 579.87 billion won. Regarding the profits, SME had a shocking 83.9% decline - it was 40.39 billion won in 2019, but it turned to only 6.49 billion won in 2020. This was the largest decrease last year among the major K-pop entertainment agencies.
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SM Entertainment explained that the main reason for this is the lack of offline concerts in Korea and overseas, which is the effect of the pandemic.
On the contrary, SME had an increase in album sales. There was a 53% rise thanks to boy band NCT and solo artist EXO Baekhyun, who both sold a million albums in 2020.
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Written by Mhaliya Scott
