Big Hit Entertainment was founded on February 1, 2005,[3] and signed the trio8Eight in 2007.[4] In 2010, the company signed a joint management contract withJYP Entertainment over the boy group2AM.[5] That year, Bang Si-hyuk signedRM as the first member ofBTS and launched nationwide auditions to recruit other members of the group[6]—BTS made their debut under Big Hit on June 13, 2013.[7]
In 2012, the company signedLim Jeong-hee,[8] and formed the girl groupGlam as a collaboration with Source Music.[9] The group was active until 2014 when it was disbanded due to a controversy involving one of its members, Kim Da-hee—Kim was sentenced to prison after being found guilty of blackmailing actorLee Byung-hun.[10][11][12]
Following the end of the joint contract between Big Hit and JYP in April 2014, three members of 2AM returned to JYP, whileLee Chang-min remained with Big Hit in order to continue with his solo career and as part of the duoHomme.[5] The year also saw the disbandment of 8Eight after Baek Chan and Joo Hee's contracts with Big Hit ended.[4] In May 2015, Lim Jeong-hee parted ways with the agency, following the expiration of her three-year contract.[8]
In February 2018, Homme disbanded after member Changmin's contract came to an end. He left the company to start his own agency, while Lee Hyun continued on as a solo artist.[13] In October, BTS renewed and extended their contract with the agency for seven more years. Big Hit debuted its second male group,Tomorrow X Together (TXT), in March 2019.[14]
In February 2021, Big Hit announced a partnership withUniversal Music Group, which would include a joint venture between Big Hit America andGeffen Records on aLos Angeles-based label and to develop a pop group under a K-pop-influenced model, and UMG exploring further use of Big Hit's social platformWeverse.[15] As a consequence of this partnership, Big Hit reached an agreement in October for BTS to move its distribution in the U.S. and several other countries fromSony Music'sColumbia Records andThe Orchard to Universal.[16][17][18]
On March 19, 2021, Big Hit Entertainment announced that it had been renamedHybe Corporation to emphasize its wider array of business units and ventures. With the change, the Big Hit record label was renamed Big Hit Music .[19][20][21] On April 1, 2021, Hybe announced through a board resolution that it would separate the label business (Big Hit Music) from Hybe and establish a new company with 100% of the stake held by Hybe.[22] On July 1, 2021, Big Hit Music became a subsidiary of Hybe.[23]
In January 2017, Big Hit Entertainment donated ₩30 million to the 4/16 Sewol Families for Truth and A Safer Society, an organization connected to the families of thesinking of MVSewol.[24] In June 2020, Big Hit, together with BTS, donated $1 million in support of theBlack Lives Matter movement, during theGeorge Floyd protests,[25] and another $1 million toLive Nation's Crew Nation campaign to help support live music personnel during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[26]
^'방탄소년단' 만든 이 남자의 헉소리 나는 히트곡들 ['BTS', the man who made these hit songs].Kookmin Daily (in Korean). December 6, 2017.Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. RetrievedApril 3, 2021 – viaNaver.
^abYoon, Sung-yeol (February 21, 2014).[단독]에이트, 7년만에 잠정적 해체.."각자 음악 활동" [[Exclusive] 8Eight, temporarily disbanded after seven years.."their own music activities"].Star News (in Korean).Archived from the original on June 22, 2020. RetrievedApril 3, 2021 – via Naver.
^세상의 총알을 막아내는 소년들 그룹 방탄소년단.tra [Group BTS, boys who block the world's bullets] (in Korean). July 22, 2013. Archived from the original on June 6, 2015. RetrievedApril 3, 2021.
^Lee, Eun-jeong (January 15, 2015).이병헌 협박한 가수 소속된 걸그룹 글램 해체 [The girl group Glam, whose singer threatened Lee Byung-hun, was disbanded] (in Korean).Yonhap News.Archived from the original on February 25, 2015. RetrievedApril 3, 2021.
^글램, 결국 3년 만에 해체…'이병헌 협박女' 다희-이지연 실형 선고 [Glam, finally disbanded after three years...'Lee Byung-hun blackmailed' Da-hee & Lee Ji-yeon sentenced to imprisonment].Sports Chosun (in Korean). January 15, 2015. Archived fromthe original on August 8, 2016. RetrievedApril 3, 2021.
^글램 다희, 모델 친구와 음담패설 영상 유포 협박 "세계적 스타라 거액 요구" 이병헌 공식입장은? [Glam's Da-hee threatens to spread video with model friend, "demands large sum of money from world star". What is Lee Byung-hun's official position?].Sports Chosun (in Korean). September 2, 2014. Archived fromthe original on August 8, 2016. RetrievedApril 3, 2021.
^Park, Sohyun (February 1, 2018).[공식입장] 이창민, 빅히트와 전속계약 만료 "1인 기획사 설립" [[Official Statement] Lee Changmin's contract with Bighit Entertainment expires, "will start his own agency"].Xsports News (in Korean).Archived from the original on February 1, 2018. RetrievedApril 3, 2021 – via Naver.
^Jung, Min-ha (March 30, 2021).'하이브' 이름 바꾼 빅히트, 투자 전문가 박영호 사외이사 선임 [Big Hit, renamed 'Hybe', appoints investment expert Park Young-ho as outside director].The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean).Archived from the original on March 31, 2021. RetrievedMarch 31, 2021.
^BTS 소속사 하이브, '빅히트 뮤직' 신설 등 사업구조 개편 [공식] [Hybe, a company of BTS, newly established "Big Hit Music" and other business reorganizations [Official]].news naver (in Korean). April 1, 2021.Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. RetrievedDecember 19, 2021.
^주요사항보고서(회사분할결정) [Major Report(decision of company split)].dart.fss.or.kr (in Korean). April 1, 2021.Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. RetrievedDecember 19, 2021.
^Lee, So-dam (January 21, 2017).[단독]방탄소년단, 세월호 참사 416가족협의회에 1억원 기부 [[Exclusive] BTS donated 100 million won to the 4/16 Sewol Ferry Disaster Family Council].The Korea Herald (in Korean).Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. RetrievedJune 23, 2020 – via Naver.
