[People 人] He Differentiated Idol Training and Fan Management, Creating the Second BTS

Bang Si-hyuk, Chairman and CEO of Big Hit
"Agencies, Idols, and Fans Are a Community" System Improvement through Fairness and Equity
Sharing Goals and Vision with Idols... Fans Treated as Legitimate Parties, Not Just Fandom

[Image source=Yonhap News]

"I am a person without dreams but with a lot of complaints. I recently found this expression, and it seems to describe me best." This was said by Bang Si-hyuk (48), chairman of Big Hit Entertainment, in his congratulatory speech at last year's graduation ceremony at his alma mater, Seoul National University. He also cited 'fire (火)' as the force that shaped him today. "The journey ahead will be filled with countless absurdities and irrationalities. I urge you all to be angry and fight against them. Only then will problems be solved, and society will change."

The evils pointed out by Chairman Bang include the bad practices in the music industry, unfair trade customs, and social undervaluation. He was also displeased with the phenomenon of fans, who are the primary contributors to the globalization of K-pop, being disparaged as 'ppasooni' (a derogatory term for obsessive fans). He did not dream of a grand revolution but practiced what he could do himself. In 2005, he founded Big Hit and began reforming its structure with the motto of fairness (公正) and equity (公平). This remains a core conservative value of Big Hit today.

Big Hit is rare among entertainment agencies in emphasizing community. The company even adds the phrase 'together with the community' in its corporate presentations. Last month, Chairman Bang equally gifted 478,695 shares to the seven members of BTS. While some companies have attempted profit-sharing with artists, none had ever shared equity stakes. He values the emotional bonds felt not only by musicians but also by customers. As a result, he achieved differentiation in the idol group development system.

In the early days of Big Hit, Chairman Bang followed the existing idol system closely. Strict rules were applied to trainee development. After debut, everything was planned, including what songs to sing and what outfits to wear. Even private lives outside the stage were managed to minimize risks.

The thorough system undoubtedly served as a driving force for K-pop's global expansion. However, as various side effects surfaced, they spread into social issues. Jessica (31, Jung Soo-yeon), a former member of Girls' Generation, depicted this in her autobiographical novel "Shine." Publisher RH Korea explained, "It realistically portrays the long training period K-pop stars must endure, the harsh evaluations from many people, strict rules, endless envy and jealousy, and unfair treatment received solely because they are female stars."

Big Hit could not succeed with the existing system. Being much smaller in scale, it often hit limits. Chairman Bang began by asking fundamental questions rather than just supplementing the system. What is an idol, and how can this business be defined? After long contemplation, he accepted the existing development system as much as possible but redefined the relationship between the agency and idols as a partnership.

In fact, the group BTS was formed with active acceptance of members' opinions from recruitment to role distribution. The agency and idols shared a vision and moved toward common goals. Chairman Bang also granted autonomy over members' private lives. In September last year, he unusually granted a long one-month vacation for an entertainment agency. He provided professional counseling for mental health management, creating a framework for members to perform stably.

The success achieved in an equal relationship led to contract renewals. Idol groups typically disband after their contract period ends. However, BTS responded to Big Hit's consideration by renewing their contract for seven years last year. Their only condition was to continue recognizing their roles in the achievements made so far.

Chairman Bang is a leader who highlights employees' professional capabilities to enhance synergy. At Big Hit's presentation in February, he had experts in each business area introduce their respective fields directly. These included launching a drama themed on BTS, Graphic Lyrics, character games, and Korean language education content.

Chairman Bang emphasized, "If Big Hit Entertainment's 'Winning Formula' becomes the industry standard, fans will be treated fairly as customers, and artists will happily realize their dreams and talents." He sees improvements in customer flow, diversification of purchasing methods, product planning and manufacturing, one-stop logistics provision, IP, and overall performance production as core future operations. He aims to apply these to artists under the company's multi-label system to create another success story.

At the center of this plan remains the fans. Big Hit has strived to form new relationships with fans. A representative example is the removal of waiting lines at the BTS concert held last October at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. They enabled ticketing times to be checked via a smartphone application. Various attractions were placed around the concert venue to turn waiting time into enjoyable time. Fans were regarded not simply as fandom but as customers.

Professor Pyun Joo-hyun of Korea University Business School estimated the direct and indirect economic impact of BTS's three-day concert at 922.9 billion won in a report titled "The Economic Effect of BTS Events: 2019 Seoul Final Performance" released after the concert.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Differentiated idol group development and fan management served as the foundation for BTS's global expansion. Chairman Bang is focusing on nurturing another global group to prove this is no coincidence. Although the success is not immediately known, the outlook is predominantly positive. This is because he established a clear direction while nurturing BTS. Chairman Bang himself seems confident.

"Only recently have I become confident that we are finding the right path through the new methods Big Hit has challenged so far. We can apply our new strategies to other groups as well and achieve success, not just BTS."