Label swears BTS not going on "hiatus" after immediate stock plummet
HYBE swears the word "hiatus" was a mistranslation, as its stock plummeted this week
HYBE, the South Korean music label whose portfolio includes 7-person money machine/music group BTS, has issued an emergency disclaimer today: BTS is not, repeat, not going on hiatus, despite a public message yesterday that said they were. That was a mistranslation, HYBE would like you to know, both in the interest of truth and honesty, and also in the interest of desperately trying to recover after its stock plummeted something like 28 percent in value over the last 24 hours.
Sure, HYBE grants, tugging its collar like the Rodney Dangerfield of music labels, BTS’ members will be focusing more on solo projects in the coming months, with Jung Kook releasing a solo track, “My You,” earlier this week. But a “hiatus?” Who said anything about a hiatus? (And, okay, yes, BTS said something about a hiatus yesterday, but, again, that was a mistranslation! Everything is fine! Bring the money back!)
As reported by Variety, yesterday was not an especially good day for HYBE, which saw its value on the Korean stock exchange drop by about 25,000 won within an hour or so of the public message, wiping out some $1.7 billion from its market cap.
In addition to HYBE’s statement, Jung Kook himself went live on video streaming app V Live today to reassure fans of the band that the group will continue to work on music and TV projects together, even as they put more focus on solo work. BTS would also like you to know that they are absolutely not disbanding, so no members of the dreaded BTS Army need to mobilize at this time.
Although HYBE has diversified its holdings in recent years—most recently with the acquisition of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings last year—BTS remains a huge part of its income, both from album sales (including the just-released 35-song anthology album Proof) and touring revenue.