HYBE Is Bringing the K-Pop Model to India

HYBE has established a subsidiary successful India, HYBE INDIA ENTERTAINMENT PRIVATE LIMITED, expanding its planetary footprint into the world’s 2nd astir populous state and a fast-growing recorded euphony and touring market. The bureau is located successful Mumbai, location to the country’s Bollywood movie industry, marking HYBE’s 5th office extracurricular of South Korea — joining Japan, the U.S., Latin America and China. 

“With astir 185 cardinal users, India’s euphony streaming marketplace is the second-largest successful the world, making it the cleanable marketplace to instrumentality our maturation strategy,” HYBE said successful a statement. “The singular emergence of K-pop successful India highlights the country’s imaginable arsenic a large market, and we are excited to grow our presence.”

India was the 15th largest recorded euphony marketplace successful 2024 with gross of $364 million, according to the IFPI, but it could turn overmuch larger successful the coming years. With a colonisation of implicit 1.4 billion, India’s per-capita gross was $0.22, beneath different countries the IFPI deems “high-potential maturation markets,” specified arsenic China ($1.12), Brazil ($2.71), Mexico ($4.12) and Chile ($5.25). 

HYBE INDIA volition instrumentality the K-pop method of creator improvement that involves auditions for groups and semipermanent training. The Indian part volition besides enactment the determination activities of HYBE artists, which could unfastened up caller touring possibilities successful the country. As Billboard reported successful April, India present regularly hosts immense concerts by section artists arsenic good arsenic planetary acts specified arsenic Coldplay, which played to 223,000 fans successful 2 shows astatine Narendra Modi Stadium successful Ahmedabad.

HYBE’s efforts extracurricular of South Korea uncover what the institution has successful store for India. In the U.S., HYBE partnered with Geffen Records to watercourse the audition for miss radical KATSEYE and make a amusement for Netflix, Popstar Academy: KATSEYE, that introduced the radical to audiences. Similarly, HYBE Latin America is producing an audition world series that volition culminate this autumn successful the announcement of a five-member lad band.