I did not watch the live, but I hope for the following:

1. I hope someone called and woke him up to put out that candle - or
2. Someone went over to his place to put out that candle in person - and
3. I hope the company doesn't give him trouble for this - please let the guy be

Quote from soshixbang

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This battle is ending today??

Supposedly/allegedly, the court ruling regarding the LSM vs SM/Kakao injunction is supposed to happen today, according to that Twitter account?? I don't know.
However, if you watch Bang PD's CNN interview he said the tender offer outcome and whether they reach 40% of majority shares doesn't really matter. What matters is the upcoming shareholders meeting on March 31st, where they are hoping to have enough support/votes which will allow them to create the type of Board of Directors that they want - that they think SM should have to ensure proper management (this second part having been stated in their SM with HYBE Youtube videos).

This was already posted above, but here are the links to his CNN interview, if you're interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NekZticNrAQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG7qvfoc7Bo

Big updates, all related :

1.Twitter Thread: https://twitter.com/tmikpop/st…?cxt=HHwWgIC94dqq16ItAAAA

2. SM with HYBE Youtube Channel 'Shareholder Proposal' Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex4hOIBsa98

3. SM with HYBE Youtube Channel 'SM's Growth and Shareholder Return Policy' Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L2mWjwjt_o

4. SM with HYBE Website (I believe this is for shareholders who want to sign over their voting rights to HYBE for the upcoming shareholders meeting): https://smwithhybe.hybecorp.com/

As per the Twitter thread, it seems everyone is stepping up their game and going all in because we've got an official 'SM with HYBE' Youtube channel and an official website/page/section as part of/on the HYBE Corp website!

https://www.kedglobal.com/merg…/newsView/ked202302270016

https://www.kedglobal.com/merg…/newsView/ked202302280025

It's getting even more interesting *cough*threads1,3,5*cough*.

Thread #1:

Thread #4:

Quote from 134340Moonchild

I know you are a delusional HYBE stan so you can care less what happens with BTS. Just like I could care less about HYBE or the kpop industry. I'm not here to have a " discussion" about this shit show because I don't care. More HYBE stans should hear about how HYBE is a stupid company that continues to thrive only because of BTS. They will continue to do well only because of BTS. With the billions they have spent or gone into debt for to buy these bad "investments" , any other company would have gone out of business. Why should BTS stay with a company that makes such bad decisions and hasn't even learned from it?

Seems like you are just mad that I'm criticizing HYBE and your whataboutism won't deflect that the only loser here will be HYBE whether they end up buying SM or not. They got scammed by LSM, SM, and Kakao.

I am not a HYBE stan. I do not stan companies and I have not agreed with things the company has done in the past, but I am not surprised that you're making up this assumption of my being a 'stan', based on your previous exaggerated comment, which I pointed out.

I have nothing against opposing or differing opinions. I was pointing out different points/perspectives and why I personally disagree with some of the comments, based on the ongoing situation and what is being discussed in this thread.

I also do personally agree that it seems Hybe has found itself in a difficult situation and it won't be easy going forward.

'Why should BTS stay with a company that makes such bad decisions and hasn't even learned from it?'

Well that is what you think and that is fine, but ultimately, it is up to BTS to decide for themselves during their contract negotiations. I like BTS and I love a lot of their music, so I hope they make the best decision for themselves, in the future.

Also, you say that you're 'not here to have a " discussion" about this shit show because I don't care'...yet, you've been posting in this thread about this topic.

Anyway, we can agree to disagree.

The following is my personal opinion:

Quote from 134340Moonchild

If they keep pursuing SM takeover and Kakao makes them pay through the nose and they win to keep SM's distribution rights (etc.). Then HYBE is screwed and they will go out and spend more hundreds of millions to acquire another company. They are so bad with money management. Lucky they have BTS to bail them out. BTS might even come out of "hiatus" and enlistment pushed off (since they still qualify for extensions) to bail HYBE out if it gets bad enough. RUN BTS, YOU BETTER RUN!

'BTS might even come out of "hiatus" and enlistment pushed off (since they still qualify for extensions) to bail HYBE out if it gets bad enough'?

Seriously? Honestly, this comment is so exaggerated, it is ridiculous. One of the members is already enlisted and this is what you choose to use for a counter-argument? Please. Although it is clear that you're extremely biased against Hybe, at least try to be reasonable. Statements like that is what make it extremely difficult to have a genuine discussion and/or debate on this forum.

Also, you think Hybe is bad with money management? What about all of the questionable things coming out about SM and Kakao, which interestingly is only coming out now: 1. because of the LSM vs SM/Kakao court case, and 2. SME board are unhappy because Hybe legally bought LSM's shares and this threw a wrench in SM's and Kakao's plans?

Also, in general, I'm personally surprised by all of the comments I've seen from posters saying Hybe didn't do due diligence regarding the SME and Kakao contract and other SME-related things . Do you really think this type of information was actually easily accessible to Hybe prior to their purchase? I personally highly doubt that. This information has only been coming out now because of the LSM vs SME/Kakao court case, whatever Hybe has access to now that they are majority shareholders, and along with whatever else has been revealed in the Chris Lee and SME Youtube videos.

I'm looking forward to new music from Kai and I'm excited for a new Film: Kai (new choreography)!

A new message thread:

https://twitter.com/tmikpop/st…?cxt=HHwWhoC9zeipk5stAAAA

https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/312/0000597928

Another article, this time from Naver. An English translated version can be read in Chrome.

New thread of info from TMIKpop:
https://twitter.com/tmikpop/st…?cxt=HHwWgoCxyeyZ7JktAAAA

...with the key point of this thread being:
https://twitter.com/tmikpop/status/1628575415676678150

You can paste the link below into Chrome and read an English translation of the source news article. There is lots of interesting information in the article.

Source News Article: https://marketinsight.hankyung.com/article/202302224569r

If anyone is interested, these are two opinion piece videos that discuss SM's recent Youtube video about Hybe:

Part 1 and 2 should be watched back-to-back, since part 2 clarifies several points discussed in part 1.

Part 1:

This is my personal opinion and I have to say I'm surprised by some of the posts in this thread.

The following are a few thoughts/personal opinions:

Many in this thread are opposed to Hybe gaining a majority stake in SME because it is a greedy and growing monopoly?

First, what do you think Kakao is? Kakao is a HUGE conglomerate/monopoly in SK, bigger than Hybe, that is also involved in different areas of the music scene in SK. Remember the news about how a ton of K-pop music disappeared from Spotify for some time after it launched in SK since the music was distributed by Kakao M (and they also operate Melon)? Also, I personally think that Kakao wants to stop Hybe growing any further in SK because they don't want more competition in terms of corporation size, music dealings, tech, etc. Don't forget that Hybe is a tech company, as well.

Personally, I think SME is super sketchy and I find it "interesting" that the general public comes to find out LSM was taking such big earnings from SME to his own side business for years and years, yet it only comes out now when SME is throwing a tantrum because LSM got annoyed with SME and pulled a curve-ball move on them by selling his shares legally to Hybe? In my opinion, purely just based on this, this seems very messy/sketchy and I think the SME board needs an overhaul.

I think it was a smart business opportunity and decision to take when it presented itself to Bang Si-Hyuk on a golden platter. Again, being objective, I personally think it was a smart business decision on BSH's/Hybe's part.

What one of the previous poster's ( heero081) said about Hybe potentially acquiring SM, and this further allowing/helping them to further compete with UMG, Sony, and Warner, internationally, does make sense.

Please refer to this interesting YT video:

Battle heating up between HYBE and Kakao to acquire SM Entertainment, what to look at?

SM향한 카카오 vs 하이브의 배틀, 주목할 쟁점은?The battle over SM Entertainment's ownership.It began with activist fund Align Partners Capital Management raising concerns agai...

www.youtube.com

Also, what do you think SME is? SME is a publicly traded company just the same as Hybe and Kakao Corp. This means, their focus is on profits and growth, as well. Did you guys see their goals for the next few years until 2025? They presented some big financial goals that they'd like to achieve by 2025, which is not that far away time-wise, and SM 3.0 is a similar type of multi-label structure that Hybe currently uses. In my opinion, based on their recent presentations, it seems like SME wants to try and become just as big as Hybe using the same/similar type of structure (e.g. multi-label system) and technologies (e.g. Bubble) that Hybe created in the last few years, and try to regain some of the glory they had before Hybe became what it is today and took the #1 spot in terms of growth/finances.

To me, SME, Kakao, and Hybe are all the same - they are businesses. I personally think it would be best to choose the least corrupt company.

Yessssss, I'm ready for some new music from Kai!! Great news.

I'm hoping they promote him/the music properly. I personally believe he could be so HUGE internationally, especially in North America, with the right promotion/backing. I have so many thoughts/opinions on this - how Kai and his music style - falls perfectly in line with the Western music market and it makes me sad that he hasn't blown up internationally. Just my personal two cents/opinion.

Anyway, great news! I'm looking forward to it!

The timing of this release is so funny.

HYBE Takes Stake in South Korean Rival SM Entertainment

HYBE has announced it’s acquired a stake in SM Entertainment, the South Korean company that was long considered a rival to the home of BTS and the third…

variety.com

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bts…le-between-234740415.html

I've been gone for a while, but you know I IMMEDIATELY had to come back the second I heard/read the news!!

After all of the previous news articles and rumours from a few years ago...I can't believe that it actually happened and that THIS is the way it happened! It just goes to show, yet again, that you never know how life will play out.

Quote from Jackah

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this is a good explanation. Kakao is basically like the white walker in kpop

This was a very interesting read - thank you very much for posting!

Brief tangents/side-note comments/thoughts:
- YG and Hybe have been working together for a while (YG Plus distributes Hybe's albums, YG artists on Weverse, etc), so I don't see why people need to bring up a rivalry, yet again...

- I'm curious to see if/what changes there could be to SM's platform - ie. I wonder if this will change anything or if it will stay the same?

- EXO: (not a full-fledged fan, I only like certain songs, but...) I hope they don't disband because they gave me Love Shot among a few other gems - it's better to not mention it - although - I do hope they promote Kai much more as a solo artist going forward - including a bigger Western push (I could write a whole thread about my thoughts regarding this topic: about how I think it's a mistake he hasn't been promoted more as a soloist because he has the whole package and could be huge outside of Korea, including the North American market with the right promotion)

Yay! Very much looking forward to a new group performance from the guys! I know they're going to do great, as always! :)

Quote from AyanEva

Prices are determined by EMS and they're the ones who raised shipping prices. Weverse Shop can either absorb the cost or pass it onto customers. If they try to absorb it, that's a lot of money and probably not a sustainable solution. The prices will go down when EMS drops the price.

What you said if very true; that being said, I still hope that Hybe/Weverse re-evaluate their shipping services, so that it is more favourable for their customers. I do believe it would be worth it to examine the topic. They are a large, billion dollar corporation at this point, so it would be great to see what they could do to lower the costs. They might have to absorb some costs, but I could also see that being counter-balanced by the number of people and/or number of purchases being made going up once shipping costs are lower.

Anyway, it's interesting and I'm eager to see what happens with shipping over the next 1-2 years.