The chief executive of K-pop entertainment giant HYBE has revealed the secret behind K-pop's worldwide dominance, attributing the genre's global success to a powerful "virtuous cycle" driven by passionate fan participation. Lee Jae-sang explained that this phenomenon is strengthened through carefully crafted localized strategies and sophisticated digital feedback systems that create unprecedented levels of engagement between artists and their audiences.
Speaking during a high-profile webinar hosted by Luminate, the influential U.S.-based entertainment data analytics firm that provides crucial data for the prestigious Billboard charts, Lee highlighted the revolutionary role of "super fans" in shaping the music industry. These highly engaged audiences go far beyond traditional listening habits and actively influence the entire trajectory of their favorite artists' careers through various forms of participation and support.
"Fans are much more than passive listeners in today's music landscape," Lee emphasized during his presentation. "They actively participate in every aspect of the artist's entire scope of activities, from music production feedback to promotional campaigns." He further explained how this unprecedented level of engagement creates a self-reinforcing system: "This dynamic creates a virtuous cycle where word-of-mouth promotion through social media platforms and fan communities quickly translates into streaming numbers, establishing a rapid and incredibly potent feedback loop that amplifies success."
The HYBE executive provided detailed insights into how the company's sustained global growth strategy centers around what he termed "fan engagement." This approach is supported by localized adaptations of HYBE's proprietary "K-pop Approach," which represents a comprehensive integrated model. This sophisticated framework encompasses every aspect of the music business, including artist development programs, advanced production systems, strategic promotional campaigns, and dedicated fan community management, all carefully tailored to match the unique cultural and industrial contexts of each target market.
To illustrate the effectiveness of this strategy, Lee presented compelling examples from HYBE's recent successes. He highlighted BTS member Jungkook's phenomenal hit single "Seven," which made music history by becoming the fastest track in Spotify's entire history to surpass the remarkable milestone of one billion streams. Additionally, he pointed to Katseye, HYBE's strategically positioned U.S.-based girl group, which has recently achieved an impressive 33 million monthly listeners on the popular streaming platform, demonstrating the successful application of K-pop methodologies in Western markets.
Lee also identified Generation Z as a crucial driving force behind HYBE's ambitious global expansion strategy. He noted that the company's innovative fan platform, Weverse, has successfully cultivated a unique participatory culture where fans don't just consume content but actively create and share their own materials. This user-generated content ecosystem has become a cornerstone of the company's engagement model, fostering deeper connections between artists and their global fanbase.
Looking toward the future, Lee announced that HYBE will significantly intensify its efforts to reach Generation Alpha, the younger demographic that has yet to develop fixed cultural preferences and biases. He identified this group as a major strategic priority for the company's growth plans over the next three to five years. "They will embrace and support not only K-pop artists but also many musicians debuting in local markets using proven K-pop mechanisms as content they naturally grew up with, without any cultural biases or preconceptions," Lee predicted, suggesting that this generation will be instrumental in further globalizing the K-pop approach to music creation and promotion.
