Big Hit Entertainment, NAVER, YG Plus Cooperate in a Strategic Partnership

As reported by Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, on January 27, Big Hit Entertainment, NAVER, and YG Plus join forces in a strategic partnership in a big KPop stock swap. This cooperation will create the world’s best global fans community platform.

Besides reaching out to more global fans, the platform will support many Kpop artists’ music distribution and merchandising businesses.

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Big Hit Entertainment, NAVER, and YG Plus cooperate in a strategic partnership.

YG Plus and Big Hit Entertainment

On January 27, Big Hit Entertainment held a board meeting. Following the meeting, the company and its subsidiary beNX announced that they would invest 70 billion won (about 63 million USD) in YG PLUS.

YG PLUS is a YG Entertainment’s subsidiary specializing in music distribution and K-pop merchandise production. Respectively, they will invest 30 billion won and 40 billion won.Thus, Big Hit Entertainment will have a 7.7 percent share, and beNX will have a 10.2 percent share in the YG Plus.

YG Entertainment stated, “We have prepared a new turning point for the two companies, which have been aiming for the best in their respective fields.“

Furthermore, both companies stated. “We will grow together through various collaborations that will affect the overall entertainment lifestyle.”

NAVER and Big Hit Entertainment

On the same day, Big Hit Entertainment and Naver also announced that they would work together to create a new global fan community platform. Naver will invest 411.8 billion won (about 370 million USD) into Big Hit Entertainment’s subsidiary, beNX.

Thus, Naver will acquire a 49 percent share. While beNX will take over Naver’s V LIVE unit. Moreover, after the Naver deal, beNX will change its name to Weverse Company.

In making a new global fan community platform, they will integrate two platforms, “V LIVE” and “Weverse.” It’s including users, contents, and services of both platforms. The platform integration will take place for about a year. During the process, the two services will work separately.

The two companies explained, “Big Hit, which has accumulated experience and know-how in the entertainment market for a long time, will lead the business as the largest shareholder. Meanwhile, NAVER will maximize the synergy by focusing on its technological capabilities that will firmly back up services and businesses.”

With this join forces, Big Hit Entertainment, beNX, and YG PLUS will collaborate in various business areas that each company is developing. Including platform development, content creation, and music distribution.

KPop Fans reaction over Big Hit Entertainment “Strategic partnership”

There are two big news

1. Vlive by Naver + Weverse => Weverse is getting bigger

2. Big Hit will use the benefit of distribution channel of YG plus and YG will use Weverse as a global membership platform => Weverse is getting bigger
— Soo Choi? (@choi_bts2) January 27, 2021

Popular idols from Big Hit Labels who were active in V Live, moved their main activities to Weverse. An official in the entertainment industry analyzed that Naver has no choice but to COOPERATE to develop K-pop services.

(If you can't beat them,you hand over your app to them)
— Dita ᴮᴱ⁷ (@almostdita) January 27, 2021

Since Big Hit Entertainment and Naver are combining Weverse and VLIVE into a new platform, can I delete one of them cause I’m running out of storage here
— INTO THE CHEWLAND ? ⨟ \⁷ : REST (@CHEOLOVELY) January 27, 2021

Considering #BLACKPINK’s lofty YouTube subscriber count (56.3mn subscribers, Global No.2; Big Hit has 50.5mn subscribers), BLACKPINK's addition to the Weverse platform should greatly boost Weverse’s subscriber number.
— YG ARTISTS GLOBAL (@YGA_GLOBAL) January 28, 2021

bighit is srsly collecting everyone like pokemons lmao, since weverse company (damn it sounds nice) would be made, bighit would probably cater more artist in the app,i just srsly hope fanwars wont be brought there..i cant wait for weverse to be big tho, BIGHIT really said BIG HIT
— Kirs (@enhypenstuffs) January 27, 2021