BIG HIT PLANS NEW BTS SERIES

Having established itself as the dominant producer of K-Pop acts, the brass at Big Hit has spelled out a vision for the company’s future that involves reshaping the concert and commerce experiences and an expansion of TV/video/game efforts.

BTS Universe, a drama production based on the game that will be released in the second half of 2020, and a new game project featuring the K-Pop superstars is being developed in conjunction with game maker Netmarble. A first look at the new mobile game can be seen here.

“Big Hit seeks to spur on change in the process of value creation and expansion in the music industry,” CEO Bang Si-Hyuk told a gathering of 200 guests from affiliates and partner companies at the Korea Textile Center in Daegu.

For concerts, Big Hit intends to create festival environments around concerts, offering lounges, pop-up stores and exhibitions plus live viewing areas near concert venues. The company also intends to offer more live streaming of concerts and improve the ticket purchasing process.

CEO Steve Seo of beNX, a subsidiary of Big Hit, explained about innovating the customer experience via platforms that will ease consumer interaction with fans outside Korea. Fan community Weverse and commerce platform Weply will be integrated to offer one-stop services such as ticketing, special events and merch.

All of this visionary talk was accompanied by Big Hit’s announcement that its profits hit $32.5m in the first half of the year.