HYBE will establish a subsidiary in India in the second half of this year. HYBE stated, "We are conducting local market research and practical work for the establishment of the subsidiary, aiming for a launch around September to October."
The establishment of HYBE's Indian subsidiary is driven by Chairman Bang Si-hyuk's intention to export K-pop methodology to the massive market of 1.4 billion people. In fact, Chairman Bang is directly overseeing the 'Multi Home, Multi Genre' strategy. 'Multi Home, Multi Genre' is a strategy to secure a leading position in the local music market by reflecting local culture and characteristics. It is a way to realize the strategy of overcoming the sense of crisis that "the K-pop business model must be exported and applied to other music genres to survive" in the global market.
The 'Multi Home, Multi Genre' strategy is already showing results in the mainstream music market, which has entered before the Indian market. The most notable success is in the United States. The girl group CAT'S EYE, introduced by HYBE America, made it onto the Billboard 'Hot 100', known as the 'dream chart', less than a year after their debut. CAT'S EYE is a group that Chairman Bang oversees directly, from music and choreography to visual creativity. The double title track 'Touch' from their first EP 'SIS (Soft Is Strong)' entered at 22 on the Billboard 'Bubbling Under Hot 100' and was also included in NME magazine's '50 Best Songs of the Year'. The digital single 'Gnarly', released in April, entered both the American Billboard 'Hot 100' and the UK Official Singles 'Top 100', known as the two major charts in the world.
HYBE Latin America, established in the second half of 2023 to secure a foothold in South America, is also getting on track. In South America, HYBE is conducting two major artist discovery projects. The band selection audition 'Pase a la Fama', broadcast in collaboration with Mexico's largest broadcaster Telemundo, is gaining great popularity locally. Local viewers are responding enthusiastically to the human stories of participants who come from various places to challenge the path to stardom with their passion for music.
In addition, auditions are being prepared to select members for a Latin boy group. Both auditions include a training process with mentorship, marking the first attempt to apply K-pop methodology, which maximizes artist talent, to the Latin music genre. This is to target the rapidly growing Latin music market, which is showing a growth rate of 22.5% annually as of 2024, not only in South America but also in the United States. To ensure a quick establishment and local market penetration in Latin America, HYBE has acquired Exile Music. Based on Chairman Bang's personal network, they have made special efforts to build a solid local team.
Success stories are also emerging from HYBE Japan. The boy group &TEAM has surpassed cumulative shipments of 800,000 copies (as of April 2025) with their third single 'Go in Blind', receiving 'Triple Platinum' certification (over 750,000 copies) from the Japan Record Association. This album also topped the Oricon 'Weekly Single Ranking' and 'Weekly Combined Single Ranking' (as of May 5). At that time, Oricon stated, "&TEAM's 431,000 points in the 'Weekly Combined Single Ranking' is the highest figure among male artists this year." &TEAM has received certification from the Japan Record Association for all albums released since their debut album announced in December 2022 (excluding digital singles).
The boy group aoen, which is the second group introduced by YX Labels under HYBE Japan, also topped the Oricon chart upon their debut this month. aoen was born through the audition program 'Cheer-HIGH ~Dream's START LINE~' aired on Nihon TV from February to April. This is a result of HYBE's multi-home strategy in Japan.
HYBE stated, "Chairman Bang's belief is that K-pop should not just be a genre of pop music, but the methodology itself that accurately grasps the preferences of the public and creates super IP based on super fans. The strategy of securing footholds in major global music markets and applying this methodology is generating results, and if the current trend continues, the landscape of the global music market, dominated by the top three global companies, will change significantly," they predicted.
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
