Big Hit Music (, stylized in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

), formerly Big Hit Entertainment (), is a South Korean

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

established in 2005 by Bang Si-hyuk. It was re-branded and re-structured into an independent label under

Hybe Corporation Hybe Co., Ltd. (; stylized as Hybe Corporation; commonly known as simply Hybe) is a South Korean multinational entertainment company established in 2005 by Bang Si-hyuk as Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd. The company operates as a record l ...

(formerly Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd.) in March 2021. As of date, the label is home to soloist Lee Hyun, and boy groups

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

and

Tomorrow X Together Tomorrow X Together (; Tomorrow by Together, stylized in all caps), commonly abbreviated as TXT, is a South Korean boy group formed by Big Hit Entertainment. The group consists of five members: Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and HueningK ...

. It previously managed soloist Lim Jeong-hee, and groups 8Eight, 2AM, and co-managed

Glam Glam is a shortened form of the word glamour. Glam or GLAM may also refer to: Film * ''Glam'' (film), a 1997 experimental drama film Institutions * University of Glamorgan, founded in 1913 and merged into the University of South Wales in 2013 ...

History

2005–2021: Big Hit Entertainment

Big Hit Entertainment was founded on February 1, 2005, and signed the trio 8Eight in 2007. In 2010, the company signed a joint management contract with

JYP Entertainment JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1997 by Park Jin-young, J. Y. Park. Operating as a record label, talent ...

over the boy group 2AM. That year, Bang Si-hyuk signed RM as the first member of

and launched nationwide auditions to recruit other members of the group—BTS made their debut under Big Hit on June 13, 2013. In 2012, the company signed Lim Jeong-hee, and formed the girl group

as a collaboration with Source Music. The group was active until 2014 when it was disbanded due to a controversy involving one of its members, Kim Da-hee—Kim was sentenced to prison after being found guilty of blackmailing actor

Lee Byung-hun Lee Byung-hun (; born July 12, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He has received acclaim for his work in a wide range of genres, most notably '' Joint Security Area'' (2000); '' A Bittersweet Life'' (2005); '' The Good, the Bad, the Weird'' (2008) ...

. Following the end of the joint contract between Big Hit and JYP in April 2014, three members of 2AM returned to JYP, while Lee Chang-min remained with Big Hit in order to continue with his solo career and as part of the duo Homme. The year also saw the disbandment of 8Eight after Baek Chan and Joo Hee's contracts with Big Hit ended. In May 2015, Lim Jeong-hee parted ways with the agency, following the expiration of her three-year contract. In February 2018, Homme disbanded after member Changmin's contract came to an end. He left the company to start his own agency, while Lee Hyun continued on as a solo artist. In October, BTS renewed and extended their contract with the agency for seven more years. Big Hit debuted its second male group,

(TXT), in March 2019. In February 2021, Big Hit announced a partnership with

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

, which would include a joint venture between Big Hit America and

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

on a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based label and to develop a pop group under a K-pop-influenced model, and UMG exploring further use of Big Hit's social platform

Weverse Weverse () is a South Korean mobile app and web platform created by South Korean entertainment company Hybe Corporation. The app specializes in hosting multimedia content, the sale of artist-related merchandise, content subscription, and artist ...

. As a consequence of this partnership, Big Hit reached an agreement in October for BTS to move its distribution in the U.S. and several other countries from

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and The Orchard to Universal.

2021–present: Big Hit Music

On March 19, 2021, Big Hit Entertainment announced that it had been renamed

to emphasize its wider array of business units and ventures. With the change, the Big Hit record label was renamed Big Hit Music . On April 1, 2021, Hybe announced through a board resolution that it would separate the label business (Big Hit Music) from Hybe and establish a new company with 100% of the stake held by Hybe. On July 1, 2021, Big Hit Music became a subsidiary of Hybe.

Philanthropy

In January 2017, Big Hit Entertainment donated ₩30 million to the 4/16 Sewol Families for Truth and A Safer Society, an organization connected to the families of the sinking of MV ''Sewol''. In June 2020, Big Hit, together with BTS, donated $1 million in support of the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement, during the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

, and another $1 million to

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational Entertainment industry, entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Live Nation (events promoter), Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It ...

's Crew Nation campaign to help support live music personnel during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Artists

Groups

Soloists

* Lee Hyun (Midnatt) * RM * Agust D *

J-Hope Jung Ho-seok (; born February 18, 1994), known professionally as J-Hope (; stylized in lower case), is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer, and record producer. He made his debut as a member of South Korean boy band BTS in 2013, ...

* Jin * Jimin *

Jungkook Jeon Jung-kook (; born September 1, 1997), better known as Jung Kook, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member and vocalist of South Korean boy band BTS. He has performed three solo songs as part of BTS' disc ...

* V * Yeonjun * Beomgyu

Producers

* "Hitman" Bang * Pdogg * Slow Rabbit * Supreme Boi *

Suga Min Yoon-gi (; born March 9, 1993), known professionally by his stage names Suga (; stylized in all caps) and Agust D, is a South Korean rapper, songwriter and record producer. He debuted as a member of the South Korean boy band BTS in June ...

* RM * J-Hope * Beomgyu * Huening Kai

Choreographers

* Son Sung-deuk

Former artists

K.Will Kim Hyung-soo (; born December 30, 1981), better known by his stage name K.Will (), is a South Korean singer. The name is a combination of the first letter 'K' of his last name 'Kim' and the English word 'Will'. He debuted in 2007 and has since ...

(2005–2007, co-managed by

) * 2AM (2008–2014, co-managed by JYP) **

Jo Kwon Jo Kwon ( born on August 28, 1989) is a South Korean singer, television host, actor, entertainer and the leader of South Korean boy band 2AM. He has starred in multiple musicals such as '' Jesus Christ Superstar'' playing the role of King He ...

(2010–2014) * 8Eight (2007–2014, co-managed by Source Music) *

(2010–2014, co-managed by Source) * Lim Jeong-hee (2012–2015, co-managed by JYP) * Homme (2010–2018) **

Changmin Shim Chang-min (; born February 18, 1988), better known by his stage name Max Changmin (), is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, and a member of the pop duo TVXQ. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Changmin was scouted by an SM Ente ...

(2010–2018)

Discography

References

External links

* {{Authority control Hybe Corporation K-pop record labels South Korean record labels Talent agencies of South Korea 2005 establishments in South Korea Companies based in Seoul Entertainment companies established in 2005 Record labels established in 2005 Labels distributed by Universal Music Group