BTS record label HYBE merges with Scooter Braun’s company Ithaca Holdings in ‘revolutionary’ deal

Deal will bring together K-pop acts with artists such as Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande

BTS’s record label HYBE has merged with Ithaca Holdings, Scooter Braun’s company that manages artists including Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber.

As reported by Variety, HYBE (formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment) has bought a 100 per cent stake in Ithaca Holdings through its subsidiary HYBE America.

The sale includes SB Projects and its clients such as Bieber, Grande and Demi Lovato, as well as Taylor Swift’s former record label Big Machine Label Group (BMLG).

Braun will join the board at HYBE, while Scott Borchetta will remain CEO of BMLG.

HYBE CEO Bang Si-Hyuk said of the deal: ‘The inevitable joining of HYBE and Ithaca Holdings marks the start of a new adventure no one could have possibly imagined.

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“Please look forward to the endless possibilities of HYBE and Ithaca Holdings, and the new paradigm the partnership will establish in the music industry.”

Braun added: “This will be the first time HYBE’s groundbreaking systems and curation will be integrated in the US market at the onset of an artist’s career. Plus, it will help us to continue to further the careers of the artists we already work with. This is an opportunity for us to make history and further innovate the music industry and revolutionise the game itself.”

The merger makes HYBE one of the biggest music companies in the world, with a huge range of musical artists now sitting on their combined roster.

The deal will bring together management, label and publishing services for HYBE’s artists BTS, TXT, SEVENTEEN, NU’EST, GFRIEND, ENHYPEN, ZICO, as well as Bieber, Grande, J Balvin, Lovato, Thomas Rhett, Florida Georgia Line and Lady A.