by The rookie idol ‘IVE’ is creating a box office boom. It has been at the top of the domestic music charts for over two months after the end of the promotion. It also entered the US Billboard, setting a green light for overseas expansion. Kakao Entertainment (hereafter, Kakao Entertainment) also smiles with a smile of conversion at the appearance of a new signboard star. This is because the possibility of global business expansion by utilizing artist IP (intellectual property rights) and music revenue has increased.
According to Melon, the largest music streaming service in Korea, on the 7th, Ive’s ‘LOVE DIVE’ swept the top spot on daily, weekly and monthly charts. Even though they ended their activities in May, their rankings were reversed. In particular, Ive is the first among ‘4th Generation Idols’ to top the Melon Monthly Chart. 4th generation idols are emerging groups that debuted in the 2020s and included Espa (SM), Nmix (JYP), and Le Seraphim (Source Music).
Ive is also a hot topic overseas. Love Dive entered the US Billboard Chart for 12 weeks in a row and climbed to the top of the Billboard Global 200, 15th, and Billboard Global (excluding the US) 10th. After being selected as the best K-pop song and album by Time magazine in the United States, it took the top spot on YouTube Music Weekly and K-pop Weekly Spotify on Spotify. This achievement was achieved half a year after debuting in December last year.
Ive’s success is also a boon for Kakao Entertainment. Ive’s agency, Starship Entertainment, was acquired in 2018. Although the proportion of Starship’s consolidated sales (85.7 billion won) in Kakao Enter’s close sales (1.24 trillion won) last year is insignificant, it has high growth potential. In particular, since most of last year’s sales were from music sources as the entertainment industry contracted due to COVID-19, expectations for this year’s earnings are high.
In the meantime, Kakao Entertainment’s representative singer was IU, but recently it is diversifying into Ive, MONSTA X, and The Boyz. K-pop idol IP is Kakao’s global growth engine, following webtoons, web novels, and videos. An industry insider pointed out, “As K-pop has become a global content, the importance of idol IP has increased.”
The more K-pop gets attention on overseas platforms, the more Kakao Entertainment’s music distribution revenue increases. The number of music sources owned by Kakao Entertainment is about 70,000, the largest in Korea. Entering the endemic era, global tour revenue, the primary income source for entertainment companies, is also expected. While MONSTA X finished their America tour after three years, Ive recently held its first overseas stage in Frankfurt, Germany. It is also likely to start planning overseas performances with Show note, a performance production company acquired in 2019.
If idol IPs accumulate in the future, Kakao Entertainment’s global fan platform can also be introduced, such as SM Entertainment’s ‘Bubble’ and Hive’s ‘Weverse.’ Kakao CEO Nam Goong-hoon said during last year’s first quarter in a conference call, “We will continue to discover global super IPs just as I’ve received worldwide attention. “He said.
An official from Kakao Entertainment said, “We are concentrating on expanding the influence of global music distribution by collaborating with local partners and international music platforms. Said.
