(BFM Bourse) – The four members of the K-Pop group put an end to fears by extending their collaboration with YG Entertainment, which gained 26.5% on the Korean Stock Exchange.
Blackpink fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Investors too, a priori.
The members of the K-Pop quartet (Thai Lisa and Koreans Jisoo, Jennie and Rosé) renewed their contract with their label YG Entertainment on Wednesday.
This decision helped put an end to speculation about the future of the very popular group (their album “Born Pink” ranked seventh in 2022 global sales, according to IFPI, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry ). This while each singer has multiplied individual projects, Lisa having even recently signed a collaboration with the Parisian cabaret Crazy Horse. The four artists also share the fashion brands, Rosé taking Tiffany, Lisa Celine and Bulgari, Jisoo Dior and Cartier, and Jennie Chanel.
According to AFP, the contract initially expired last August and Korean media suggested that Lisa had turned down an offer to extend from YG Entertainment.
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All K-Pop labels have progressed
Whether founded or not, these rumors had apparently spread to the financial markets.
This Wednesday, YG Entertainment’s shares rose 25.6% on the Korean Stock Exchange following the announcement. This marks the largest single session increase for the Korean label since it was listed on the stock market in 2011, according to Bloomberg, for a capitalization representing around 770 million euros.
Other listed K-pop labels have been drawn into YG Entertainment’s wake. Hybe.co, which produces the ultra-popular boy band BTS, gained 7.3%, SM Entertainment, which has the boy band Exo in its stable, took 5.3%, while JYP Entertainment, the label of the girl band Twice, gained 5.3%. is awarded 3.05%.
Quoted by Bloomberg, Bernstein analyst Suh Bokyung believes that the renewal of Blackpink’s contract resolves one of the main issues that weighed on K-Pop stocks and caused declines. “This indicates that investors can have an optimistic view of the K-Pop industry in 2024,” he judges.
An ETF to play K-Pop
YG Entertainment, however, remains a good distance (more than 60%) from its peak reached last May, before the label’s action began to suffer from rumors of Lisa’s departure. Remember that these labels, while they often sign numerous artists, essentially depend on a handful of them for their income.
Hybe.co knows something about this. In June 2022 the label fell on the stock market by almost 27% in one session after the members of BTS decided to put their careers on hold. A few months later, in October, the record company confirmed that all members of the group would complete their military service, still obligatory in Korea, pushing back any hopes of the group’s reunion until 2025.
As we mentioned in a previous article, an index fund (ETF) listed in New York has even allowed investors to bet on K-Pop on the stock market since September 2022. Called “KPOP ETF”, this fund has not gathered currently only $3 million in assets under management. And over the first eleven months of the year, this ETF saw its market value lose 8.9% when the Kospi, the benchmark index of the Korean Stock Exchange, gained 11.3%.
Julien Marion – ©2023 BFM Bourse