Take this as a Kpop industry cheatsheet.
Disclaimer : Businessing money is complicated, some terms are simplified.
Unable to triple-check the data. Feel free to comment.
| Company | Revenue | Operating Profit | Revenue Growth | Operating Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HYBE | ₩2.6498 trillion | ₩49.3 billion | 17.5% | 1.9% |
| SM Entertainment | ₩1.1749 trillion | ₩183.0 billion | 18.7% | 15.6% |
| JYP Entertainment | ₩821.8 billion | ₩155.2 billion | 36.6% | 18.9% |
| YG Entertainment | ₩545.4 billion | ₩71.3 billion | 49.5% | 13.1% |
| BigHit Music | ₩437.5 billion | ₩47.9 billion | 24.8% | 10.9% |
| Pledis Entertainment | ₩288.4 billion | ₩69.6 billion | -15.3% | 24.1% |
| Starship Entertainment | ₩225.2 billion | ₩12.1 billion | 8.4% | 5.4% |
| Belift Lab | ₩154.7 billion | ₩49.8 billion | 2.2% | 32.2% |
| KQ Entertainment | ₩145.9 billion | ₩10.0 billion | 25.8% | 6.9% |
| FNC Entertainment | ₩102.3 billion | -₩0.6 billion | 18.7% | -0.6% |
| Cube Entertainment | ₩87.2 billion | -₩7.2 billion | -14.9% | -8.3% |
| WakeOne | ₩85.5 billion | ₩20.2 billion | 88.7% | 23.6% |
| Source Music | ₩77.8 billion | ₩13.0 billion | 17.2% | 16.7% |
| The Black Label | ₩73.8 billion | -₩21.5 billion | 74.5% | -29.1% |
| P Nation | ₩72.4 billion | -₩11.3 billion | -6.9% | -15.6% |
| KOZ Entertainment | ₩66.1 billion | ₩14.4 billion | 77.7% | 21.8% |
| EDAM Entertainment | ₩54.2 billion | ₩5.3 billion | -27.6% | 9.8% |
| RBW | ₩40.4 billion | ₩0.1 billion | -25.8% | 0.2% |
| Antenna | ₩33.0 billion | -₩2.0 billion | -15.2% | -6.1% |
Like HYBE, RBW bought over some companies so RBW has RBW main label, WM Entertainment, DSP Media, Contents X
Kakao Entertainment (related) : Starship Entertainment, IST Entertainment, Antenna, EDAM Entertainment, High Up Entertainment, SM Entertainment
CJ ENM has WakeOne / Mnet / Stone Music.
CJ and Kakao are big corporations, their entertainment business is part of a bigger web.
The Big2 of Kpop distributors with combined 70% share are KAKAO and YGPLUS, followed by CJ/Stone, Dreamus, Genie, Warner, Universal, Sony… source
[20] Antenna — Yoo Jae-suk, Lee Hyori, Kyuhyun, Peppertones, Jung Seung-hwan, Lucid Fall, Lee Sang-soon, Jung Jae-hyung, Yang Se-chan, Lee Seo-jin, Dragon Pony, Mijoo until Nov 2025.
[19] RBW — Solar / Moonbyul (MAMAMOO), ONEUS, ONEWE, PURPLE KISS until Nov 2025. WM : B1A4, Oh My Girl, ONF, Lee Chae-yeon. DSP : KARD, YOUNG POSSE, Son Dongpyo, Ahn Yeeun, Gavy NJ, Baby Blue, Lee Jin Jae. Contents X handles global marketing work, including Fifty Fifty’s “Cupid” campaign. Perhaps like how YG PLUS works with VLAST for PLAVE’s distribution and business support.
[18] EDAM Entertainment — IU, WOODZ.
[17] KOZ Entertainment — Zico, BOYNEXTDOOR.
[16] P Nation — PSY, Crush, Heize, TNX, Hwasa, An Shinae, Daniel Jikal, Baby DONT Cry.
[15] The Black Label — Taeyang, Jeon Somi, Rosé, MEOVV, ALLDAY PROJECT, Vince. The Black Label also has dancers/actors such as Leejung Lee, Park Bo-gum, Yim Si-wan, Lee Jong-won and Kwak Dong-yeon,
[14] Source Music — LE SSERAFIM.
[12] WakeOne — ZEROBASEONE, Kep1er, izna, Jo Yuri, Kim Jae-hwan, Ha Hyun-sang, Kim Feel, Roy Kim until Aug 2025
[11] Cube Entertainment — i-dle, PENTAGON, LIGHTSUM, NOWZ, SLAY.
[10] FNC Entertainment — FTISLAND, CNBLUE, N.Flying, SF9, P1Harmony, AMPERS&ONE, Hi-Fi Un!corn, AxMxP.
[9] KQ Entertainment — ATEEZ, xikers,( Maddox, Sohyang, EDEN )
[8] Belift Lab — ENHYPEN, ILLIT.
[7] Starship Entertainment — IVE, MONSTA X, CRAVITY, KiiiKiii, IDID, WJSN, K.Will.
[6] Pledis Entertainment — SEVENTEEN, TWS, Hwang Min Hyun, BUMZU.
[5] BigHit Music — BTS / solo members, TXT, Lee Hyun, CORTIS.
[4] YG Entertainment — BLACKPINK, TREASURE, BABYMONSTER, AKMU, WINNER / solo members, 2NE1 project activity, Eun Jiwon / SECHSKIES-related activity.
Observations:
- Rank 13 was missing in original source.
- HYBE’s revenue is ₩2.6498 trillion, more than double SM’s ₩1.1749 trillion. Despite being no. 1 in revenue, HYBE’s operating margin is only 1.9%.
- SM has the highest operating profit at ₩183.0 billion.
- JYP has ₩155.2 billion operating profit and an 18.9% margin.
- YG’s revenue growth is 49.5% among Big4. Blackpink effect.
- Belift Lab’s margin is 32.2%, the highest visible margin in the image.
- WakeOne has the highest visible revenue growth at 88.7%, with a strong 23.6% operating margin. ZB1 effect.
- Pledis revenue growth is -15.3%, but its operating margin is still 24.1%.
- The Black Label is growing fast but losing money. Revenue growth is 74.5%, but operating margin is -29.1%. Expansion is expensive.
- Kpop is big risk big money business. Mid-tier agencies are borderline make or break. FNC, Cube, P Nation, RBW, and Antenna show losses, negative growth, or super-thin margins. Revenue alone does not mean the business is healthy.
source : https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYgJ7uxO6Sx
My previous posts on Big4 revenues.
https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/140idpt/comparison_of_big4_revenue_from_album_digital/ 2023-2021 comparison
https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/1bs43a5/big4_revenue_streams_and_profits_in_2023/ 2023
https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/qjrtfi/list_of_releases_by_the_big4_companies_since/ 2021
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