(Courtesy of Yonhap)
HYBE Co. is accelerating its push to transform into a platform company as it is set to open a new digital fan community platform, where individual creators engage with their loyal audiences through their content and make money.
Binary Korea, HYBE’s digital technology subsidiary, announced on Monday that it will launch THEUS, an interactive platform on which individual creators upload their content to communicate with their audiences, on June 22.
Its official launch comes three months after its beta service first began. It has already obtained about 20,000 users of the platform, the company said.
THEUS provides a system and space where content creators’ fans can communicate with creators and directly participate in various activities offered by creators.
Some popular Korean creators with millions of followers on their YouTube channels have already joined the platform, the company said. They include DDotty and Yell sister. CheezeFilm and Shin Sajang will also join the platform.
This is similar to HYBE’s Weverse, a digital platform where fans can communicate with their star artists.
The official launch of THEUS suggests the Korean music powerhouse behind the global sensation BTS has picked the creator economy as one of its next growth engines under a long-term plan to transform into a platform company.
In HYBE’s annual report released in March, the company unveiled a plan to transform into a “lifestyle multiplatform company.”
Weverse by fans (Courtesy of Weverse)
Besides Weverse, it added game-developing and publishing company HYBE Interactive Media (HYBE IM) to its business portfolio in 2019 and artificial intelligence audio technology company SuperTone in 2020.
CREATOR ECONOMY AS A NEW GROWTH ENGINE
The creator economy is a buzzword in the business world. It refers to a field allowing people to make money by leveraging their creative talents, using digital platforms to connect with their audiences like the so-called YouTubers.
Companies actively collaborate with popular creators for corporate marketing and promotion.
Making a big bet on the growth of the creator economy, Naver Corp. in February revamped Brand Connect, an agent platform connecting companies with creators for partnership.
Meta Platform Inc. also introduced Instagram’s creator marketplace, where brands can find creators they want to connect with to promote their brands, in Korea last month.
YouTube also started offering its Shopping affiliate program in Korea last week to help creators increase their earnings.
Despite its hype, creator economy platforms lack business models generating stable profit for the platform operators.
Industry observers said THEUS must come up with a business model that can generate profit.
Weverse Company, which operates the Weverse platform, recorded 8 billion won ($5.8 million) in operating loss for 2023, extending its losing streak for two years in a row.
By Dong-jin Hwang
radhwang@hankyung.com
Sookyung Seo edited this article.
