Entertainment Giant, Home to BTS, Eyes Fusion of Latin Music and K-pop Business Model

Captured from HYBE official website

Entertainment powerhouse HYBE, renowned for managing global sensation BTS, is venturing into the Latin American market through the establishment of its subsidiary, HYBE Latin America, based in Mexico. The move is seen as a strategic response to perceived deceleration in the K-pop industry, as acknowledged by HYBE's founder and chairman, Bang Si-hyuk.

HYBE Latin America will primarily focus on overseeing artists' activities in the Latin American region. Additionally, the subsidiary aims to identify and nurture new talents, collaborating with top producers in the region to devise tailored training programs for musicians, optimized for the Latin American market. 

▲ Captured from HYBE official website

In a groundbreaking long-term strategy, HYBE intends to experiment by integrating Latin music with the successful business structure of K-pop, a formula that has proven effective in South Korea.

The establishment of HYBE Latin America follows the acquisition of Exile Music, the music division of Spanish-language studio Exile Content. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquired division held responsibilities encompassing artist management, stage planning, music publishing, and recording.

Isaac Lee, the founder of Exile Content, will assume the role of Chairman of the Board at HYBE Latin America. Previously, Lee founded Exile Content in 2019, later selling it to Candle Media in 2022, a media company co-founded by former Disney executives and supported by private equity firm Blackstone. Lee has an extensive background as a producer for major television channels, including Amazon, HBC, National Geographic, Disney, and Netflix. He served as the Chief Content Officer of the American Spanish-language television network Univision from January 2017 to July 2018.

According to HYBE, the Latin American music market experienced significant growth of 26.4 percent, reaching $1.3 billion in 2022. This notable surge contrasts with the average global market, which grew at a rate of 9 percent during the same period.

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