BTS fandom tech firm Weverse reaches beyond K-Pop (updated)

YG Entertainment

23/12/2022 08:21

(Adds share move)
    By Joyce Lee
       SEOUL, Dec 23 (Reuters) - When Jin became the first
member of K-Pop supergroup BTS to enlist for South Korea's
mandatory military service this month, he had a special message
to fans on Weverse, a fan platform app that commands more than 8
million active users.
    "Now it's curtain call time (I wanted to say this when I go
to military service)," said Jin. Devoted fans posted more than
10,000 replies.
    The Weverse platform has proven a major weapon for the K-Pop
group's agency, HYBE Co Ltd  352820.KS , offering fan-oriented
experiences interacting with the stars, accessing unique content
and buying merchandise. It is now expanding into subscription
services and more. 
    "We are a fandom business," Weverse President Joon Choi told
Reuters. "There are bigger global services offering functions we
offer, but Weverse's users are superfans characterised by
passionate engagement."
    Before Weverse launched in 2019, HYBE artists' fans were
scattered across multiple platforms, said Choi.
    "They bought merch here, watched videos there, communicated
elsewhere... We didn't have a database of our customers. So we
began developing each service in-house." 
    The K-Pop industry has revolved around loyalty and personal
identification with the stars, helping to cushion it against the
impact of economic downturns. Revenue is driven by public
response to artists' activities, and upselling is possible,
analysts said. 
    HYBE is now uniquely positioned to harness such a loyal fan
base to grow its global business through unit Weverse's
technological reach, offering a growth model for future
entertainment, analysts said.
    Around 170 out of 300 Weverse employees are engineers
including programmers and UX specialists, Choi said, with
veterans from gaming companies or local tech giant Naver
 035420.KS  with which it has a partnership. 
    The app has about 80 teams of artists represented including
BTS, and about 8-9 million monthly active users. It also has a
high number of repeat visitors and retention. 
    Non-HYBE artists are also on the platform, including rival
agency YG's  122870.KQ  top girl group Blackpink. 
    More U.S. and Japanese artists are expected to join next
year, said Choi, declining to reveal who. 
    HYBE acquired Ithaca Holdings, representing Ariana Grande
and Justin Bieber, in a $1.05 billion deal in 2021. 
    Choi, who worked at gaming company Nexon and "Baby Shark"
content creator Pinkfong before joining Weverse, says the app
has added services such as live streaming, Instagram Story-style
updates, free and paid content, artist-to-fan interactions and
merchandise retailing. 
    Weverse users' 'superfan' qualities make engagement in those
services turbo-charged. 
    "For example, we do commerce, but there is no seasonality...
 We have 80 teams of artists, and some of them are always doing
something," he said. 
    App users are based in more than 200 countries, notably
Japan and the United States, and only about 10% speak Korean,
Choi said. 
    "There is no other entertainment agency with such a fan
platform with enough users for economy of scale," said Lee
Hye-in, analyst at Yuanta Securities. "...In K-Pop, the agency
holds the hegemony." 
    Shares in HYBE closed flat on Friday. They have risen about
64% from an all-time low hit in October. 
 (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Michael Perry)
 ((joyce.lee@tr.com;))