HYBE, the entertainment agency behind BTS, has announced that it will officially establish a corporation in India by this fall. According to HYBE, the company aims to complete the groundwork and launch its Indian branch around September or October 2025.
This expansion is part of chairman Bang Si-hyuk’s ambitious vision to bring the “K-pop methodology” to new markets.
HYBE stated through a press release on Monday (June 30),
This is a part of Bang Si Hyuk’s ‘multi-home, multi-genre’ strategy, which means that we lead a local music market by blending in with the local culture.
It further added,
Chairman Bang has a strong belief that K-pop should not just remain a genre of music, but a methodology of itself that generates super intellectual properties based on the wants and needs of the public.
We are seeing real results through this strategy, and should this trend continue, then the global music industry, currently dominated by the three major companies, will be changed greatly.
With India’s massive population of 1.4 billion people, HYBE sees huge potential to grow its influence and discover new talent.
HYBE has already proved that this strategy works. In the United States, it made headlines by acquiring Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in 2021, which brought major artists like Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber under its wing.
The company also teamed up with Geffen Records and purchased QC Media Holdings to expand its reach into pop and hip-hop. It’s a US-based girl group, KATSEYE, that is already making waves, landing on Billboard’s Hot 100 less than a year after debuting.
In Latin America, HYBE established a local branch in 2023 and launched an audition show, Pase a la Fama, with Telemundo in Mexico. The goal is to build a Latin boy group and apply the K-pop training system to the fast-growing Latin music market.
The same approach has seen success in Japan, where HYBE Japan’s (rebranded as YX Labels) boy groups &TEAM and aoen have topped the Oricon charts and earned major sales certifications. aoen, a seven-member boy group, was recently launched on June 11, 2025.
Also, HYBE opened a branch in Beijing this April, as many expect China to fully lift its so-called THAAD ban on Korean pop culture.
The company’s “multi-home, multi-genre” strategy means setting up local offices and working closely with each region’s unique culture. HYBE wants to find new talent that local audiences will love. At the same time, it uses its well-known training, production, and marketing systems to help these artists grow.
For Indian K-pop fans, HYBE’s expansion sparks hopes of new opportunities. Many wonder if the new branch will launch auditions, form new local groups, or bring more concerts to India. While HYBE hasn’t confirmed any specific plans for new groups yet, its track record shows that the company moves fast once it sets up local operations.
In the press release, HYBE said that its goal is to challenge the global music market, which has long been dominated by three major companies. HYBE hopes India will be its next big success story.
With millions of Indian K-pop fans already supporting groups like BTS, SEVENTEEN, LE SSERAFIM, NewJeans, and TXT, the excitement is high for what HYBE will do next in South Asia. If this strategy works, Indian fans might soon see homegrown artists rising under the same system that turned BTS into a global phenomenon.