Hybe, the music agency behind BTS, has plunged after the K-pop group’s concert was unexpectedly low.
The free concert in Seoul over the weekend brought together all seven members of BTS for the first time since 2022 after a break due to mandatory military service.
An estimated 104,000 fans attended the concert, compared to organizers’ expectations of about 250,000.
Hybe’s shares fell 15.5% on Monday, after months of gains on expectations for the group’s comeback and new album, “Arirang.”
The concert kicked off BTS’s 82-date, sold-out world tour. The event was streamed live on Netflix in more than 190 countries, including South Korea.
Online streaming, as well as enhanced crowd-control measures, may have influenced the number of people who chose to attend the concert in person, the report said.
On the day of the concert, Hybe’s label Big Hit Music announced that its new album “Arirang” had sold 3.98 million copies on its first day of release. During the performance, the band played songs from the new album as well as its well-known hits, including “Butter” and “Dynamite.”
For Hybe, the results of BTS’s comeback are crucial. The group remains the company’s main source of revenue, and its operating profit has been declining during the group’s hiatus.
At the same time, K-pop’s global popularity has grown significantly in recent years, since BTS’s previous tour ended in 2019.
In this context, the group faces greater competition for audience attention from other popular K-pop groups, including Blackpink, Seventeen, and Stray Kids.