The girl group IVE, featuring members An Yu-jin (안유진) and Jang Won-young (장원영), has achieved significant success in the Korean and Japanese markets since their debut. However, their expansion into Western markets, including the United States and Europe, has not seen comparable breakthroughs. Recent analyses by Korean media outlets highlight IVE's immense popularity in Asia but note their absence from the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and the Billboard 200 albums chart. This has brought the overseas expansion strategy of their agency, Starship Entertainment, under scrutiny.
According to Korean media reports, IVE is set to release their fifth mini-album, "Looks Can Kill," on October 26, with the title track pre-released on October 19. As of 9 AM on October 21, the new song ranked 18th on Melon's real-time Hot 100 chart and 22nd on the Top 100 chart, demonstrating solid domestic popularity. However, compared to the stellar performance of their past hit songs, the new track's initial showing suggests room for improvement.
Since their 2021 debut, IVE has released popular songs such as "ELEVEN," "LOVE DIVE," "After LIKE," "I AM," and "Kitsch." Many of these tracks have topped Melon's annual charts, solidifying the group's position in the Korean music scene. However, when looking at overseas markets, particularly the US, IVE has yet to achieve a breakthrough on the two major Billboard charts.
Concert scale also reflects the disparity between markets. IVE recently embarked on their second world tour, with the North American leg expanding from six to eight cities. However, the venues primarily remain arena-sized. In contrast, IVE performed at both the Tokyo Dome and Kyocera Dome in Japan, attracting approximately 127,000 attendees across just these two venues, showcasing the group's impressive box office appeal in the Asian market.
Notably, IVE's second world tour does not include any European dates. While their first tour visited France, Spain, and the UK, this time they have not continued their European itinerary. Although the number of North American cities has increased, the overall tour map has not expanded proportionally, leading to questions about IVE's pace of expansion in Western markets.
Starship Entertainment's revenue structure indicates that overseas markets remain an area needing improvement. Last year, the company's domestic revenue was approximately 191.7 billion Korean Won, while overseas revenue was around 33.5 billion Korean Won, accounting for only 14.9% of total revenue. In comparison, HYBE's overseas revenue share reached 72.7%, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment were 57.2% and 56.9% respectively, and SM Entertainment was 35.9%. This highlights a significant gap in Starship Entertainment's overseas revenue contribution.
The report suggests that while success in the Japanese market is commendable, Starship Entertainment needs to extend the popularity of its artists from Asia to markets like the US and Europe to further expand revenue. This would involve increasing concert scales and driving actual consumption of albums, streaming music, and performances. This challenge isn't exclusive to IVE; aside from MONSTA X, who previously charted on the Billboard 200, other new groups under Starship Entertainment have yet to achieve significant results on major Billboard charts. With new groups like KiiiKiii, IDID, and AIN debuting, the company's ability to create internationally competitive artist brands that genuinely boost overseas revenue will be crucial for future development.
Following the release of this analysis, it quickly sparked heated discussion on the Korean forum theqoo. Many netizens argued that IVE's current achievements in the Asian market are already outstanding, and that US Billboard charts should not be the sole measure of success. Comments included: "They are strong enough in their local market, what's the problem?" and "How many groups make it onto Billboard? Groups that chart are successful, but not charting is the norm, isn't it?" Others pointed out that attracting 10,000 to 20,000 attendees per show in North America is already a very good achievement.
Additionally, some netizens believe that IVE's development should not be judged solely by US market standards, stating: "It's good to do well overseas, but is it necessary to make it onto Billboard? That's just an American chart, and they are Korean idols." Others mentioned IVE's high popularity in Japan and their performance at the Lollapalooza music festival, suggesting their current achievements are already commendable.
However, some netizens also suggested that IVE's visual style might not align with Western market preferences. Comments noted that while the members are beautiful, their delicate, doll-like aesthetic might not resonate as strongly in the US and Europe. As opinions continue to clash, whether IVE needs to further break into Western markets to prove their global influence has become a hot topic of discussion on Korean online communities.
Below is a translation of Korean netizen comments
1. There are all kinds of groups; do all groups have to go in the same direction and achieve the same results?
2. Do they need to surpass? They're doing well now, haha.
3. Suddenly? What's going on?? They're a popular group with a successful tour, it's not like they have to be number one on Billboard.
4. They are already super popular, top idols, what's the need to surpass?
5. Their popularity in Korea is second to none, is there a problem with that?
6. Do you think it's easy to capture just one country? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Of course, it's good if they can capture other places besides Asia, but there's no need to force it, right?
7. Fact: IVE was the first 4th generation girl group to enter US Spotify. After a certain ugly big company maliciously reverse-marketed, that company's foreign fans dominated the 'for Kakao' bullying, but they still persevered.
8. It's funny how this kind of news suddenly appears about a group that's doing well on their overseas tour ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ The title itself is absurd, and even if it were true, what's wrong with being very popular in Asia?
9. They're using the money they earn to build office buildings and train new artists, what problems do they need to solve? Haha.
10.
When they entered US Spotify with "LOVE DIVE" and were gaining momentum, who used reverse marketing to let foreign fans bully them? And they filled 10,000 to 20,000-person venues in North America just fine, Starship is a mid-sized company ㅋㅋㅋ not a big company.
11. During their rising period, they were openly and maliciously fabricated, an attempt was made to destroy the entire group, and it wasn't corrected overseas either.
12. Their albums are selling well, so it must sting, hahaha.
13. It's hard for a non-big company to enter the Western market, many big company groups can't do it… But they're super popular in Asia, so what's the big deal?
14. What are you talking about, Korean idols just need to do well in Korea.
15. Aren't they a top group in Korea? If their domestic foundation is solid and they can do overseas tours, isn't that enough?
16. Korean idols are making money, isn't being successful in Asia already amazing? Always bringing up Billboard is annoying.
17. A stadium-scale tour mobilizing 10,000 to 20,000 people per concert in North America, does that seem small just because they held concerts at Japanese Domes?
18. It's astounding that the agency doesn't protect its artists and instead lets them get criticized. During the Kakao incident, even after clarification, no one listened, and they're still being cursed at by foreign fans. The first tour had a great response, but for the second, local fans complained about value for money, and whose idea was it to submit for a Grammy when no one else was? Are they even thinking? They're a mid-sized company with no defense capabilities, why submit for a Grammy?
