One of several ways the K-Pop industry has broken new ground is in superfan communities, with Hybe’s Weverse to the fore. The company announced its 2021 stats for the platform just before Christmas in its Weverse Fandom Trend report (via Billboard).
The report notes that Weverse ended 2021 with more than 36 million subscribers, up from 16.8 million at the end of 2020. The number of posts on the platform doubled to more than 240 million by mid-December, thanks to 23 new artists joining Weverse in 2021 – headed up by Blackpink.
Meanwhile, Hybe’s fellow K-Pop giant SM Entertainment has just launched its new platform, Beyond Live. First announced last April, it’s a partnership with tech firm Naver focusing on video content: concerts, interviews and more.
The service opened its doors officially on New Year’s Eve with its SMTown Live 2022 livestream featuring various artists from its roster. There’s an archive of concerts to watch, and plans for ticketed livestreams over the course of 2022.
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Tools: Kaiber
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