HYBE accelerates transition into platform company

HYBE Co. is accelerating its push to transform into a platform company as it prepares to launch a new digital fan community platform. This platform will allow individual creators to engage with their followers 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 content to communicate with their audiences, on June 22.

Its official launch comes three months after the start of its beta service. It has already attracted about 20,000 users to 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 they offer.

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 favorite artists.

The official launch of THEUS suggests the Korean music powerhouse behind 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.”

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. Through its model, creators make money by leveraging their talents, using digital platforms to connect with followers, as the so-called YouTubers do.

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, giving creators another way increase their earnings.

Despite the hype, creator economy platforms lack the business models to generating stable profits for their 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 losses for 2023, extending its losing streak for two straight years.

Write to Dong-jin Hwang at radhwang@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.