The Wall Street Journal article
Lego deal marks one of BTS’s first major collaborations since it announced last year that members would be taking time away from each other to release solo music. It also comes as BTS Jin became first of group to start serving a mandatory 18 months in army. The enlistment of the other six members looms, and the band isn’t expected to reunite until 2025.
Last year, BTS accounted for about two-thirds of the revenue of its management agency, Hybe. When BTS announced its break in June, shares in the company dropped nearly 25%. Hybe has made efforts to diversify its revenue sources by growing artist roster, most notably through acquisition of Ithaca Holdings, company behind Bieber and Ariana. Agency has also launched a tender offer to buy a quarter of one of its biggest rivals, SM Entertainment.
But BTS remains crucial to Hybe’s success. The Lego collaboration will test if BTS’s brand-licensing deals can prove fruitful for Hybe even without BTS around to promote them as a group.
WSJ has posted article with this content, and major Korean media are reporting same content based on this article. In other words, will it be possible to sell the product under the name of BTS without BTS? That's their question.
The obvious answer is YES. Duh.
