[Newsmaker] Big Hit Entertainment to change name to Hybe

South Korea’s entertainment powerhouse Big Hit Entertainment, home to global K-pop sensation BTS, is set to start on a new journey under the name, Hybe.

The company on Friday released the “New Brand Presentation” video on their YouTube channel, introducing changes to its name and organization, as well as the revelation of its new office building to mark its rebranding into an entertainment lifestyle platform company.

According to chairman Bang Si-hyuk, the new brand name Hybe symbolizes connection, expansion and relationships.

“What we think of as variation of music is that of the infinite realm, and I think the name Big Hit Entertainment cannot fully capture this concept,” Bang said, adding, “I felt the need of a new company name that could encompass all the business realms that we carry out and be a symbol for our connecting and expanding structure.”

Bang assured worried fans that the rebranding does not imply the end of Big Hit Entertainment, but a formation of bigger vessel for Big Hit to nestle in.

“The identity of Big Hit Entertainment will live on as ‘Big Hit Music’ as a label that makes up Hybe. I believe that will strengthen the fundamental capabilities as a label.”



Labels, Solutions and Platforms

In terms of organizational structure, Hybe will operate on three pillars they named as Labels, Solutions and Platforms. The company plans to expand its business by providing a stable environment for the artists and labels to focus on creative activities, look for innovative challenges, and seamlessly connect their work and communicate them to fans through their platform.

Hybe Labels includes Big Hit Music, Belift Lab, Source Music, Pledis Entertainment, Koz Entertainment and Hybe Labels Japan. Each label will maintain their independence and originality, while creative activities will receive support from Hybe’s management. 

Hybe Solutions comprises of expert business units that are specialized in video content, intellectual properties, education, games and more. These units are tasked with creating secondary and tertiary business based on each label’s creative output.

Weverse Company takes up Hybe’s platform realm. It is the core unit that connects and expands the firm’s content and services.

“It is our ultimate mission and goal to complete a system that allow the Labels, Solutions, and Platforms to continuously innovate their business models and grow under this framework,” Hybe’s headquarters CEO Park Ji-won explained.

Big Hit also redefined its mission as “We believe in music,” stating the company’s fundamental value lies in healing and consoling people through music, and its vision in becoming the world’s top music-based entertainment lifestyle platform company.

“Music has the great power to move people and change the world. Hybe is a company that creates this sort of music and shares consolation and empathy through music. And to take it one step further to prove how far entertainment based on music can touch the everyday life of an individual,” Bang said.

On the term “entertainment lifestyle,” Bang defined it as, “all experiences that are filled with infinite imagination and joy that stem from music, that increases happiness and convenience in life." 

"Such experiences leading to personal growth -- which in turn leads to connections among individuals and with the world -- exchanging positive influence and forming healthy relationships, are our ultimate goal," he added.



New identity and headquarters

The company’s chief brand officer Min Hee-jin explained how Hybe’s new corporate identity and building -- both of which she was in charge of -- resonated with the company’s philosophy by drawing a comparison to musical notation.

“The new CI starts with music, variates and expands. That blank staff drawn in a space filled with silence becomes the sheet music for Hybe, and upon this staff begins Hybe’s sound,” Min said. 

She explained the design of the new corporate logo and how it embodies Hybe’s symbolization of connection, expansion and relationships, saying, “The staff that is compacted to form the horizontal line connects two bars that are the two vertical lines. It is not a typical stationary symbol, but has a role of flexibly changing and expanding, while at the same time, connects all things.”

Hybe’s accent color is hyper lemon, which signifies its forward-facing and challenge-welcoming mindset, Min added.

Min’s appearance in Friday’s video is the first since she joined Big Hit in July 2019. Currently working on developing Big Hit’s new girl group, Min previously worked as the visual director of S.M. Entertainment and is considered to be the creative mind behind many successful K-pop acts, including SNSD, EXO and SHINee.

For the new headquarters building located in Yongsan-gu of Seoul, Min used and adapted the concept of “hyper nomad,” a term first conceived by French philosopher Jacques Attali that refers to creative intellectuals who create new business and paradigms.

“The Hybe space is one that is flexible and reflects the characteristics of an entertainment industry by realizing the values of horizontal communication, flexibility, and connectivity. The space is designed to drive changes in corporate culture and how people work along with the change in corporate culture.”

The CBO added, “We designed the space in hopes that it would be a place where people ‘come together.’ I believed a place that is convenient to communicate in will naturally attract people, that within this space a nomadic office life can flourish.”

The interior of the 19-story building is made up of three different sections -- entertainment production, office space and welfare space.

The second to sixth floors house the production facilities, such as the film studios, dance studios and production studios of each labels, while the seventh floor is a large storage space for holding different supplies to maintain a pleasant working environment.

The seventh to 16th floors are working spaces, to which a great deal of innovative thoughts have been put into, the company said. These include the use of sliding mobile racks on grids, which enables workers to adjust the size of their working space for different needs, and open space office, equipped with a free seating system for mobile working environment.

For recreational purposes, the building also includes six floors of libraries and lounges and three floors of fitness facilities. The 19th floor, named Forum, is a communal space which can be used as an auditorium.

“Good space branding is not about decorating a space, but about creating the desired attitude. The goal was to create the most efficient and reasonable office culture,” Min said.

In closing the presentation, Bang said, “We are embarking on a new journey in Hybe with a new mission, space and organization structure. But as always, our fundamentals will not change. We will continue to believe in the power of music, innovate the industry, spread positive influence and bring changes to lifestyles.”

The new name will be confirmed and applied through a resolution of the shareholders meeting scheduled for March 30.



By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)