J-Hope Tour Accounted for 40% of Hybe’s Quarterly Revenue

Photo Credit: J-Hope for Big Hit Music (Hybe)

Hybe still relies heavily on revenue from its flagship group BTS and its members’ solo projects, despite ongoing efforts to diversify.

Hybe announced a record quarterly revenue of 705.6 billion won ($504.4 million) earlier this month, with 63% coming from artist-driven activities like concerts and album releases. Nearly 40% of Hybe’s concert revenue in the second quarter came from BTS member J-Hope’s world tour, according to Kim Hyun-yong, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities.

If accurate, that would make J-Hope responsible for generating 75.5 billion won—around 10% of Hybe’s total quarterly earnings. That’s despite Hybe’s continued efforts to diversify its business and reduce dependence on BTS.

But concerts alone accounted for 26.7% of the company’s total revenue in Q2, jumping 31% year-on-year to 188.7 billion won, leading overall growth.

J-Hope’s “Hope on the Stage” world tour ran from February to June and hit 16 cities across 33 shows. It drew 500,000 fans in sold-out stadiums in Los Angeles and Mexico City. Meanwhile, fellow BTS member Jin’s solo tour further boosted Hybe’s performance, as did Seventeen’s fan meetings in Japan, and world tours by Tomorrow X Together and Le Sserafim. Altogether, those attracted 1.8 million fans worldwide.

While Hybe would like to promote itself as a Disney-like entity not reliant on any single artist or IP, the data continues to show otherwise. Most of the entertainment giant’s profits still come from direct artist activities, primarily those associated with its flagship group. That raises questions about the viability of such a diversification strategy.

Hybe continues to invest in new groups and expand its global fan platform WeVerse, but no other act has yet been able to match BTS in outright sales power. Though NewJeans started off strong in 2022, the group’s ongoing legal dispute with Hybe subsidiary ADOR has prevented them from generating revenue. Other groups, like Hybe America and Geffen Records’ girl group Katseye, have yet to make a notable financial impact.