HYBE, the South Korean entertainment giant behind BTS – arguably the world’s biggest K-pop act – is planning to spend 2026 developing “a new experience model based on scarcity,” according to company CEO Jason Jaesang Lee.
“Scarcity is an important element that enhances the added value of the fan experience,” Lee said in a New Year address to HYBE staff, as reported in media sources in South Korea.
“To innovate future fandom businesses, we will design and test an integrated online and offline experience model based on scarcity.”
Lee seemingly offered few other details on what the “scarcity” model might look like. Fewer concerts and appearances? VIP-only access to events? Limited access to new releases? But one thing is certain: Increased scarcity drives up prices, and that means potential new revenue growth opportunities.
Whatever HYBE’s plans may be, Lee’s scarcity philosophy is about to be tested with the return of BTS, the global superstar K-pop boy group that has been quite scarce for the past four years as its members completed mandatory military training.
HYBE on Tuesday (January 13) officially unveiled tour dates for BTS’s first world tour in four years, set to begin on April 9 with a three-night engagement at Goyang Stadium near Seoul. The tour will span five continents with 79 shows in 34 markets.
That follows last week’s announcement that a new BTS album will land on March 20.
In what might be a taste of one element of HYBE’s ‘scarcity’ model, members of BTS’ fan club, ARMY, will have access to a ticket presale for 36 of the shows starting on January 22. Two more Los Angeles shows will be available to ARMY members on January 23. The tour’s general onsale will begin January 24 at LiveNation.com.
With BTS out of the limelight for four years, HYBE has become less reliant on the superstar group for its revenue, and while the BTS boys were busy with their military training, HYBE was busy with major expansions in the US, Latin America, and Africa.
That has included major investments into the acquisition of local music labels and the establishment of new global musical acts like KATSEYE (formed in partnership with Universal Music Group‘s Geffen Records). In 2026, CEO Lee told HYBE staff, the company aims to turn those investments into profit.
“To innovate future fandom businesses, we will design and test an integrated online and offline experience model based on scarcity.”
Jason Jaesang Lee, HYBE
It has also meant the development of Weverse, HYBE’s platform for superfans that has been attracting Western artists with the promise of a stronger connection with fans and new monetization opportunities.
2026 will be the year HYBE needs to show those investments were worthwhile, Lee told HYBE staff in his address.
“We need to prove the justification for investment in new businesses and artist IP where preemptive investment has been made,” he said, as quoted byChosun Daily.
“We have confirmed meaningful traffic expansion so far, and now we must transition to a phase of valid revenue generation to be confident in sustainable business viability,” Lee said, adding that “when investment shows results, new investment gains legitimacy and a virtuous cycle of growth is established.”
Saying that securing profitability is HYBE’s top priority for 2026, Lee laid out five tasks he says HYBE has to accomplish this year, perAsia Business Daily:
verifying the viability of new businesses and IP
establishing the sustainability of IP and expanding the fan base through “innovation we haven’t tried”
designing a new experience model based on scarcity
securing leadership in the AI-based prosumer market
implementing true global governance
Lee said this marks the “realization” of the plans laid out under the HYBE 2.0 strategy that he announced shortly after being appointed CEO in 2024. The mid- and long-term strategy involves shifting the company from its initial “label-solution-platform” structure to a “music-platform-tech” structure.
So far, the “music” part of the new structure has seen, among other things, the reorganization of HYBE’s labels in South Korea and Japan under the new HYBE Music Group APAC; the “platform” part has seen the continued expansion of features on the Weverse platform; and the “tech” part has HYBE exploring and investing in new AI-driven technologies.
“If 2025 was a year of investment to lay the groundwork for ‘HYBE 2.0,’ then 2026 will mark the beginning of visible results. This year, we will prove to the market that our bold investments were the right direction,” Lee said in his New Year’s address.
Yet for fans, the largest change at HYBE this year will no doubt be the return of BTS, a musical phenomenon so strongly linked to HYBE’s fortunes that the company’s stock plummeted when BTS announced their hiatus back in 2022. The stock then rallied in the summer of 2025 when BTS members appeared together at HYBE HQ with a “we are back” banner in the background.
Yet, as Lee’s message indicates, the HYBE of today is moving beyond being “the label behind BTS,” and even moving beyond K-pop itself.
“HYBE’s growth philosophy is clear: to create top-tier IP, lead the fandom business, and expand those results into new markets and genres,” Lee said.
In the meantime, the music industry will be watching closely to see just how HYBE’s “scarcity” strategy pans out.Music Business Worldwide
