World’s Largest Music Label To Join K-Pop’s Livestreaming Platform

Universal Music Group has said it will join a live streaming platform developed by major K-pop labels.

Universal – the world’s largest music label – represents stars such as Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Lady Gaga.

VenewLive

On Tuesday, Universal Music said it would invest in a platform launched last year by Big Hit Entertainment, a company that supports K-pop superstars BTS.

YG, a record label representing Blackpink, is also investing in a platform – called VenewLive.

Big Hit launched VenewLive last September as part of a joint venture called KBYK Live.

After the investment, a record statement states that VenewLive now has “worldwide” ambitions.

Growth Of K-Pop

South Korean pop music (K-pop) has grown in popularity around the world. Last year BTS became the first K-pop group to have the number one spot on the US Billboard charts.

And the Blackpink girls’ group, which has some catchy videos that often attract millions of viewers, set a new record last year with the biggest music video show on YouTube

A whopping 1.65 million fans watched the launch of their new song How You Like That, breaking the record set by BTS in February.

Big Hit said the BTS concert broadcast on VenewLive last year was watched by 993,000 people worldwide.

“The past year has shown that the need for reliable and innovative live broadcasting has never been greater,” said Universal Music Group vice-president Boyd Muir.

Big Hit Entertainment was founded in 2005 by South Korean music producer Bang Si-Hyuk, and in October 2020, the company listed its shares in the Korean stock exchange.

It left the company with a market value of over $ 8bn (£ 6bn).