Big Hit Entertainment, Home to BTS & TXT, Acquires GFriend's Label Source Music
Big Hit Entertainment, Home to BTS & TXT, Acquires GFriend's Label Source Music
7/28/2019 by Tamar Herman
Big Hit Entertainment announced a new addition to its roster late Sunday night (July 28). The company, which is behind boy bands BTS and TOMORROW X TOGETHER, revealed that a contract to acquire Korean company Source Music, home to girl group Gfriend.
“A contract for the acquisition of Source Music’s shares has recently been finalized and the company will join Big Hit as a subsidiary,” Big Hit said in a statement.
The move is the first step of Big Hit becoming a multi-label structure, the latest in a variety of business moves that the company has made in recent months.
According to Big Hit, the company is looking to “quickly expand the spectrum of its artists by securing a group of artists with an already-established fandom” and also is looking to Source to provide a “pool of trainees with high growth potential in the girl group category.”
Big Hit Entertainment recently announced that longtime SM Entertainment creative director Min Hee Jin was it’s new creative brand officer, and is gearing up to prepare the debut of an upcoming girl group under Big Hit.
Moving forward, Source’s management team is set to remain heading the company, “in order to maintain the label’s independence and unique colors.” The company most recently released GFriend’s Fever Season album, fronted by the addicting “Fever.”
The popular six-member team arrived on the K-pop scene in 2015 with their debut album Season of Glass and has since seen eight albums appear on the World Albums chart. Fever Season debuted at No. 10 on that chart in July.
Big Hit and Source Music have worked together in the past, with the two companies co-managing vocal pop group 8Eight and girl group GLAM in the early 2000s.
Big Hit’s founder and co-CEO Bang Si-hyuk said, “A shared philosophy behind artist promotion and management was the main driver that brought Big Hit and Source Music together. Since we know each other so well, we expect the acquisition to be a success. I’m pleased that both companies can now begin painting an even bigger picture.”
“I am thrilled that Source Music has joined Big Hit. I believe this to be a prime opportunity for achieving the next level of excellence for the artists, trainees and members of the label,” said Source Music’s CEO So Sung Jin. “Big Hit’s track record of creating global artists quickly and expertly sets a solid foundation for Source Music. We will strive to provide even more amazing content to our fans through this organic relationship with Big Hit.”
Big Hit is estimated to be worth over $1 billion.
Music
via https://www.DMT.NEWS
Tamar Herman, Khareem Sudlow
