The K-pop boom drives South Korean entertainment lists to make the most of it

South Korean music organizations are rushing to take the lead in benefiting from the rise of K-pop around the world which has boosted the country’s entertainment list.

The revenue released by Seoul’s entertainment list this year has reached $ 3.8bn, the Dealogic data show, with shares of music organizations rising sharply as artists resume concerts and other events.

The worldwide fame of K-pop stars plus a group of seven BTS boys and a group of Blackpink girls have encouraged small organizations to go to market.

RBW, the band behind the Mamamoo girls’ band, is expected to register on Monday, after raising Won26.8bn ($ 22.5m) for the band’s first offering. The price of the IPO was set at the end of the season, when the supply exceeded 3,700 times.

“The success of the IPO confirms the importance of music IPs and the growth prospects of our company,” RBW President Kim Jin-woo told the Financial Times. “We will continue to produce the largest products in the global market.”

RBW is planning to use the IPO to boost its global growth with more and more songwriters and IPs signing more artists from Asia, Kim said.

The list of companies comes after a user on the K-pop platform DearU was announced in early November. DearU, with the support of both SM and JYP Entertainment, elevated Won85.8bn into its IPO, with recordings attracting significant attention from corporate vendors and retailers.

Foreign investors from about 20 organizations including Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, JPMorgan Chase, Fidelity and Allianz attended the DearU financial event at the IPO.

The interest of a small South Korean company was new, with many foreign investors touting the IPOs of large Korean corporations. More than 100 companies have promoted Won20tn integrated through IPO so far this year, according to Korea Exchange.

“Advertisers are looking for a new target in this tropical region because they want to climb Korea,” said Choi Joon-chul, head of VIP Research and Management in Seoul. “DearU is an excellent example of a new corporate business, using K-pop fandom.”

The share price of DearU has risen by more than 240 percent from its IPO value to Won89,400. The company operates a subscription messaging platform and has plans to launch a platform that would allow stars and fans to connect directly.

DearU currently uses a platform called “DearU bubble”, in which K-pop fans can interact with their favorite stars through messages, photos and videos. The company said the platform has 236 artists and more than 800,000 subscribers.

Investment Banks expect more K-pop companies to go public in the coming months following Hybe’s success, the BTS record label, led by Music Cow’s IP music platform, which they say is preparing for an IPO soon this year.

“Counting is a lot, it shows their potential for the future. It still looks like they will be able to live up to their expectations,” said Kim Joong-kon, head of capital markets at NH Securities.