According to Koreaherald, YG Entertainment - once the entertainment company that owns the most influential Kpop groups in Korea - is under increasing pressure to develop a next big artist.
Although YG is still one of the Kpop companies ranked in the "Big Four" (with SM, JYP, HYBE), for many years, this company has not introduced a new artist who can compare to the global dominance of past veteran stars.
The last group to help YG change the game was Blackpink, which debuted 9 years ago (2016). Since then, the company has released Treasure (2020) and Baby Monster (2024). However, both groups have not yet reached the superstar level expected from a YG artist.
Baby Monster seems to be getting more expectations, but this momentum is also very weak.
According to Kpop Radar, the global artist data tracker, YG only had Blackpink and Baby Monster enter the list of Top 20 Kpop artists in Korea in 2024, ranked 14th and 19th respectively.
Other YG artists such as Treasure and Winner were not present. Big Bang, currently active with 3 members after the departure of Seungri and T.O.P, is also not on the global list.
In the list of top 10 recording artists in the world in 2024 of the International Recording Industry Federation, there are no artists from YG, not even Blackpink. The only K-pop groups to make the list are Pledis Entertainment's Seventeen (third) and JYP Entertainment's Stray Kids (fifth).
Music critic Lim Hee Yun said that despite coming from one of the biggest K-pop companies, Baby Monster does not stand out from groups debuting at the same time.
"It's been almost 2 years since Baby Monster's debut, and neither Treasure nor Baby Monster have shown any significant growth. YG needs to try again," the critic said.
YG's financial indicators also reflect this. Baby Monster recently released a new song, but the group's impact on the company's stock performance is insignificant.
Blackpink is still YG's most valuable asset to date. In August 2023, YG initially failed to reach a full group contract extension agreement with 4 members (Jisoo, Jennie, Rose, Lisa). Immediately after this information, the company announced an operating loss of 20.5 billion won.
Blackpink's group contract was finally successfully extended in December 2023, once again emphasizing Blackpink's importance to the company's financial stability.
Last month, optimism returned when YG announced the upcoming activities of Blackpink and other artists. The company's stock increased from 87,000 won on June 27 to 95,200 won on July 1. But stocks fell after the trial of producer Yang Hyun Suk for luxury smuggling allegations caused a stir.
In fact, YG has done little to ensure the transfer of generations. YG's strength comes from betting on activities with great influence.
But in today's fiercely competitive Kpop market, where even mid-range companies are producing groundbreaking talents, waiting for another Blackpink hit may no longer be a feasible strategy.
YG is currently betting a lot on launching a rookie girl group at the end of this year. Yang Hyun Suk described the group as the characters who will continue YGs girl group legacy.
