Photo Credit: WeVerse
WeVerse officially on-boards Ariana Grande amid the push for global domination, making her one of the most prominent Western artists on the platform.
Hybe’s WeVerse social platform, which has primarily hosted K-pop artists like BTS and Enhypen, is ramping up its global push with nearly 150 artists and around 10 million fans on the platform. Now, WeVerse has officially on-boarded Ariana Grande, with a community that launched this weekend — making her one of the most prominent Western artists on the platform.
The superstar is a global powerhouse in her own right, with 378 million followers on Instagram, making hers the seventh biggest profile on the Meta-owned platform. Her official launch on WeVerse should see a significant boost on Hybe’s platform with Western fans, should she maintain an active participation, creating engaging content that caters to her fans.
“We have offices in Santa Monica and Tokyo, and in each office location our leaders are currently meeting and contacting many artists and labels, so I believe our platform and business are becoming truly international and crossing borders,” Joon Choi, WeVerse President, said in a statement to Billboard. “During the first half of this year alone, we have onboarded Nightly, thuy, Lauv, Umi, Conan Gray, and JVKE. And then we have Ariana Grande, but Gracie Abrams has been very active as well.”
Notably, Hybe actually reported a 12.1% year-over-year decline in revenue in their Q1 earnings report, with WeVerse experiencing an even steeper decline with 18.3%. Those dips coincide with the continued hiatus of BTS, Hybe’s top-selling group, while its members are serving their required military service in South Korea. Hybe has been eager to diversify its portfolio to mitigate its dependence on the boy band. Due in no small part to BTS’ hiatus, WeVerse’s monthly active users have dropped to 9.2 million — negating a year’s worth of prior growth.
Between its push to add high-profile artists like Ariana Grande to WeVerse, the recent comeback of BTS member Jimin, and the investment the platform secured from Universal Music Group earlier this year, Hybe remains optimistic about the future of WeVerse. It’s another move in the long-standing business partnership between Grande and Hybe America CEO Scooter Braun, who recently put his artist management services on the back-burner to focus on his duties in the chief executive role.
