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| ▲ This photo, provided by SM Entertainment, shows aespa. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by SM Entertainment, shows NCT Dream. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Apr. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korean leading K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment’s twelve artists, including the red-hot girl group aespa and chart supremo NCT, are expected to join HYBE Corp.’s fan community platform Weverse by September, the Korean mobile app confirmed Monday.
This move, which is expected to enhance fan engagement and strengthen the global reach of SM Entertainment’s artists, is deemed to have made after HYBE signed an agreement with the tech giant Kakao for platform cooperation last month after withdrawing from its attempt to acquire SM Entertainment.
Neither the agency nor Weverse has not yet unveiled the full list of artists who will join the platform, however. Nevertheless, SM's extensive roster of artists, from the first-generation Kanta and BoA to NCT, EXO, and aespa, are reportedly set to join the platform.
Even after joining HYBE’s platform, SM’s artists are expected to continue using their agency-run fan communication platform Bubble alongside Weverse. The move will provide fans with a centralized location to connect with their favorite artists and access exclusive content. For instance, SM's artists are forecasted to move from the original official fan club service “KWANGYA CLUB” to Weverse’s “Membership Service,” while using “Weverse Shop” as an online commerce service where fans can purchase albums and exclusive merchandise. In the meantime, they are also anticipated to make the best use of Weverse’s real-time live service, “Weverese Live.”
Per insiders in the music industry, HYBE anticipates that its collaboration with SM Entertainment will expand the intellectual property (IP) of Weverse to its fullest as SM’s highly acclaimed artists, from the first to fourth generations, will be moving from the KWANGYA CLUB to Weverse.
“In the near future, albums and exclusive merchandise will be available for purchase at Weverse Shop in addition to SMTOWN& STORE and existing sales sites,” SM Entertainment wrote in a declaration, sharing its expectations on the move’s contribution to heightened sales and profits.
The agency also emphasized, “In addition to Bubble, we will effectively realize our SM 3.0 strategy to add more contact points between our artists and their fans, which will ultimately rev up the global fandom to grow by providing services encompassing fan community, media content, and commerce through Weverse.”
The music industry predicts that this entry of around 10 teams of SM's artists into Weverse will give a positive fillip to the number of app users and solidify its status as the leading fan platform.
With this move, an influx of global fans is expected for Weverse, as not only will the leading fourth-generation K-pop stars join the platform but also will several highly acclaimed first-generation artists including TVXQ and Super Junior that tout strong fandom in Japan. This move, therefore, will have Weverse positioned to become an even more essential and increasingly popular platform for global K-pop fans.
With groups such as BTS, TXT, and ENHYPEN already on the platform, Weverse currently holds 65 million users from all over the globe in 245 countries.
In a corporate analysis report released last Thursday, Lee Sun-hwa, a researcher from KB Securities, wrote, “With more artists joining the platform, Weverse is expected to become an even more prominent K-pop platform with improved performance and value due to increased traffic.”
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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