Big Hit Entertainment And UMG Team Up To Find The Next Boy Band In K-Pop

K-pop label Big Hit Entertainment is teaming up with US giant Universal Music Group (UMG) to find the next K-Pop boy band.

The new band will be released under a collaborative label produced by UMG’s Geffen Records and Big Hit, a Korean label behind K-Pop juggernaut BTS.

Geffen’s music studio features Nirvana, Guns N ‘Roses and Elton John.

The group will be based in the US, but will focus more on the global market, according to Big Hit.

Rewriting Global Music History

“I firmly believe that UMG and Big Hit will create a partnership that will rewrite the world music history,” said Bang Si-Hyuk, chief executive of Big Hit.

U.S. music labels have shown a growing interest in K-Pop, overcoming language barriers to gaining a larger fan base in the US.

Image result for kpop bts

The new K-pop group will be formed by a “survival-type” competition show which will give fans a look at how K-pop groups operate behind the scenes.

It is the format that has produced the most popular bands in South Korea, although the format’s track record is less proven in the US, said Sarah Bathke, a K-pop writer at EnVi magazine.

K-Pop Is Getting Bigger And Bigger

“As we’ve seen, K-pop is only getting bigger in the US, so it will be interesting to see how this new group fares in a music market that has typically been hostile towards music in other languages and is just starting to open up to it,” said Ms Bathke.

Other K-Pop experts said it makes sense for the two labels to collaborate on the project.

“Both Big Hit and Universal have something to add to the mix, and it makes sense that they’re partnering up for this new challenge instead of trying to make it happen separately,” said Carolina Malis, a US-based K-pop writer and TV host.

She said Big Hit has expertise in artist-development and engaging fans, while Geffen and UMG can take care of marketing, production, and distribution.

Label’s Success In The Past

The decision to bring about the new K-pop group follows an announcement earlier this month that UMG will be investing in VenewLive, a live streaming platform launched by Big Hit last year with two other K-pop labels.

BTS at press event.

South Korea’s record label shares that were first listed on its stock exchange in early October made Big Hit founder Bang Si-Hyuk a millionaire and made millions for seven BTS members, made millions for BTS’s seven members, who were each given more than 63,000 shares.

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