K-Pop To Have Its Own Coachella? BTS, Blackpink, Stray Kids, aespa Labels HYBE, SM, JYP, YG Join Forces For Global Music Fest

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Korea is planning to launch its own Coachella Music Festival, driven by the "Big 4." In a remarkable announcement on April 16, Korea's major entertainment companies, HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment, are joining forces to establish a joint venture to create a global festival by 2027-2028. As per industry insiders, this move will be in the direction of bringing a major shift in boosting the K-pop industry at a global level. The festival is expected to involve artists from these four labels. While HYBE is the agency behind BTS and NewJeans, SM owns EXO and aespa. JYP is the name behind Stray Kids, and YG is for Blackpink, to name a few.

Big 4 join hands for K-pop music festival

HYBE, SM, JYP, and YG participate in the music division of the Presidential Committee for Popular Culture Exchange. According to Korean media, they are "preparing to set up a corporation to advance a 'Phenomenon' event."

The Phenomenon initiative

The report stated that the four agencies are moving ahead to establish a new corporation dedicated to concert planning and festival production. For this, they have already submitted a merger notification to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). Since HYBE was classified as a large conglomerate, and SM is an affiliate of another major corporate group, Kakao Group, the venture requires an FTC review.Calling it the Phenomenon initiative, JYP founder and the committee's co-chair Park Jin-Young had in October last year, introduced the plan at its inauguration ceremony in Goyang. He explained the vision to launch the massive Korean music festival under that name, targetting December 2027. From May 2028, it is planned to expand into a global touring festival across major cities worldwide. They hope to build a "world-class K-Pop concert venue and create a global music festival that surpasses ‘Coachella’."

Expanding K-pop globally

The joint venture has been described as a "model for collaboration designed to explore new possibilities for Korean culture's expansion, including K-pop, in global markets." The agencies added, "The companies will make cautious decisions after taking market conditions and diverse opinions into account."The venture will have the four companies contributing equal equity stakes. However, the organisational structure, including the CEO and board of directors, is yet to be finalised.Through the years, K-pop acts like Epik High, Blackpink, aespa, Jackson Wang, BIBI, ATEEZ, LE SSERAFIM, and ENHYPEN have performed at the Coachella Music Festival in the US.