BTS to play online/offline concerts in October, drop new album

Big Hit Entertainment's founder/chairman Bang Si-hyuk speaks during a corporate briefing on YouTube, Thursday. Courtesy of Big Hit Entertainment

By Dong Sun-hwa

K-pop phenomenon BTS is poised to stage online/offline concerts in October and drop a new album in the fourth quarter, its record label Big Hit Entertainment said during a corporate briefing on YouTube, Thursday.

"BTS will play the long-awaited 'BTS MAP OF THE SOUL ON:E' gig," Big Hit's Global CEO Lenzo Yoon said. "I hope the concerts can be a big gift for the singers and their followers."

Big Hit confirmed the plan through an official statement released after the briefing, saying: "BTS's concerts will take place on Oct. 10-11 in Seoul. For offline gigs, we will only open a limited number of seats to practice social distancing." It added the offline shows will be streamed online at the same time.

Although the seven-piece act was scheduled to embark on a world tour in April, it called off or postponed all concerts following the virus outbreak.

The company's founder/chairman Bang Si-hyuk also revealed the septet is set to release a fresh album in the fourth quarter, but did not announce the exact date. He said rookie group TXT will also return with new music this fall.

"Big Hit and its labels ― including Belift Lab and Source Music ― are also planning to launch two fresh boy bands in 2020 and 2022, respectively, and a new multinational girl group in 2021," he said.

Bang also disclosed that Big Hit's estimated sales revenue during the first half of this year was 294 billion won ($244.8 million), with an estimated operating profit of 49.7 billion won.

"We created revenues with album sales, digital streaming, online concerts, merchandise and video content," Bang said. "Despite hardships caused by the pandemic, we still focused on what we have always valued ― fans and content."

Bang attributed success to the "Big Hit ecosystem," in which the company seeks growth by bringing together different labels, businesses and fandom through its platform "Weverse." Weverse is a fan community app where fans around the world can interact with K-pop singers and enjoy their music/entertainment content. It is connected to the merchandise store Weverse Shop.

Yoon additionally hinted at the music label's future activities, saying: "'Learn! KOREAN with BTS,' Korean-study material for foreigners, a book about BTS's worldview and two new games linked to the K-pop stars will be available in coming days."

But there were no remarks about the company's initial public offering (IPO). Big Hit aims to go public and hold an IPO later this year and recently passed the preliminary review to be listed on Korea's benchmark KOSPI stock index. The company's market valuation is estimated to be about 2-4 trillion won.

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