For the past day or so, I’ve seen a LOT of controversy among JYP group fandoms across Twitter about a recent Korean business article on JYP. The fans of older groups are indirectly shading the younger groups (whether they admit or not imo) because of it. Frankly, I am convinced most of the fans haven’t even read the article itself, especially since the different group fanpages are selectively only translating certain excerpts advantageous for their groups.
The popular twitter interpretation imo:
Stays and Onces on twitter are convinced that JYPE is intentionally underinvesting in its older groups in order to redirect Stays and Onces toward its younger groups (Itzy, NMIXX, Kickflip, and NEXZ).
I’ve seen some extreme responses: wanting their groups to leave/not re-sign with JYPE, proclaiming the other groups are leeching off their success and that they will never support another group other than Stray Kids/Twice etc
Other responses: JYP is obsessed with organic growth to its detriment, all JYP groups suffer from underpromotion and stinginess
I think that interpretation comes from a sense of frustration that eventually shows up in most fandoms, especially when multiple groups under the same company are in different career stages. But I don’t think that’s what the article is actually saying at all.
First of all the article is not a JYPE statement. It’s a Korean business news article written for investors that quotes analysts who cover JYPE as a publicly traded company. So it’s only looking at financial risk and long term company structure and not creative direction or promotion strategy. I think it’s ultimately about concentration risk.
The article says that JYP’s concert and merchandise revenue is heavily dependent on Stray Kids and TWICE. They account for a disproportionate share of touring and overall earnings.
So analysts aren’t asking “How do we replace Stray Kids or Twice?” but “What happens to the company if its two biggest revenue drivers eventually slow down?”
For TWICE, the concerns are the long term contract renewals and the reality that veteran groups eventually shift into less frequent group activity. For Stray Kids, it’s the military enlistment timelines that will affect full-group promotions.
Thus investors want diversification to lower risk.
The article’s conclusion isn’t saying that JYPE should phase out or is phasing out Stray Kids and Twice or that JYPE wants Stays and Onces to move to other groups. From a business POV, it doesn’t make sense to intentionally weaken or remove one of your strongest revenue drivers while it’s still generating record touring and merchandise income. It’s about wanting more groups to eventually reach that same level before Stray Kids and Twice slow down, so the company isn’t dependent on only two groups. Public companies don’t solve concentration risk by reducing their best performing assets, but they do by building additional ones. If anything, the article highlights how important Stray Kids and Twice are to JYP right now and in the future.
I think right now the Twitter interpretation is that “diversification” got reinterpreted (I don’t mean mistranslated) as “replacement”. There isn’t solid evidence that JYP is diverting resources from those groups in order to replace them. I don’t think it’s a zero sum game. It’s more that different groups are at different stages of their careers at the same time.
None of this means JYP can’t be criticized. I’ve read endless criticisms of JYP promotion (lack of or poor promotion to be more specific).
What do you guys think? Am I misinterpreting or misunderstanding something?
Speculative section:
I am convinced that JYP’s current marketing strategy is informed by the late-bloomer success stories of Stray Kids, Day6 (hugely popular in Korea to the point of being at the top of end of year total streams), and to a much lesser degree NMIXX (significant growth in social media subscribers/followers in 2026 [20%, tied for 1st with LSF among 4th gen gg’s] and total streams in Korea [currently 3rd most streamed among 4th gen gg’s on Melon, 2nd among JYPE acts on YT SK, and projected to be 33% more their 2025’s streams]).
While I’m unconvinced the strategy will work in the long-term, two users tried to explain JYP’s strategy from a marketing and business perspective: source 1 source 2
Summary of the two sources:
-Marketing is expensive and has diminishing returns, so JYPE avoids spending more than necessary once results plateau.
-JYP artists generate strong revenue mainly from albums, merch, and touring, which are far more profitable than streaming or YT views.
-Because of this, JYP focuses on targeted, high-return promotions (specific markets, shows, and activities) rather than wide, mass reach campaigns aimed at boosting streams.
-Fan concerns about lower streaming numbers are not aligned with JYP’s actual priorities.
-The company prioritizes profitability and stable returns, not maximizing visibility metrics.
-Artist retention and long-term careers is evidence of this system working well, implying that idols are likely well-compensated under JYP’s revenue split.
-This strategy is intentionally optimized for financial stability rather than maximum public hype or streaming dominance.
-JYPE is described as the most financially efficient of the Big 4 K-pop companies.
-In 2024, it had the second-highest operating profit after HYBE, despite lower revenue than some competitors.
-Its profitability ratio was significantly higher than HYBE’s, while SM earned less profit despite higher revenue, and YG reportedly operated at a loss.
-JYPE reportedly has the highest average employee salaries among the Big 4 and the smallest gender pay gap.
submitted by /u/Chelsea_KTBFFH
[link] [comments]
