According to The Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times, Korean music juggernaut Hybe has bought the Atlanta hip-hop label Quality Control.
Hybe is the South Korean label that represents Asian artists including:
- BTS
- Tomorrow X Together
- Lee Hyun
HYBE America
Scooter Braun, CEO of Hybe America handled the $300 million cash and stock transaction. Hybe will pay $250 million for the acquisition and issue $50 million in new shares.
Braun joined Hybe in 2021 and was recently made sole CEO of the company’s American branch. It’s his first significant shift since joining the firm, and it symbolizes Hybe’s continued commitment in North America.
Acts linked with Scooter Braun’s SB Projects involve:
- Justin Bieber
- Ariana Grande
- The Kid Laroi
- Quavo
- Big Machine Label Group
While these artists are represented in HYBE’s US portfolio, collaborations with their Asian artists and Quality Control’s roster seem all too likely in the coming months and years ahead.
Scooter Braun CEO of Hybe America says: “QC is one of the most significant independent labels in the world. They not only distribute music, but they also distribute culture. Their artists are the voices of their communities.”
Hybe America will handle Quality Control, with QC founders Kevin ‘Coach K’ Lee and Pierre ‘P’ Thomas controlling the label under Braun’s leadership.
Quality Control: Control the Streets, Vol. 1 was released in 2017 by the label and featured songs by Cardi B, Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, Ty Dolla $ign, and others. Quality Control: Control the Streets, Vol. 2 was released in 2019.
Migos have a particularly problematic relationship with Braun and Quality Control. Offset, the group’s rapper, sued Quality Control in August, accusing the label of infringing his ownership rights to his solo content. Meanwhile, Quavo is managed by Braun’s Hybe-affiliated SB Projects.
Quality Control
P and Coach K launched Quality Control in 2013. Garnering billions of streams yearly from groundbreaking acts like Migos, Lil Yachty, Lil Baby and City Girls, QC is without a doubt leading the charge as one of the biggest and most influential labels of today.
In 2020, QC’s Lil Baby released My Turn, the highest selling & streaming album of the year and the first album of 2020 to go RIAA certified double platinum, with his entire catalog hitting over 37 billion streams to date in 2022.
The QC empire has continued to expand, launching their subsequent management wing Solid Foundation Management, film & TV wing Quality Films and sports wing QC Sports. As digital strategists and label execs, Coach and P have earned the prestigious titles of Executives of the Year by Billboard and Innovators of the Year by Variety.
Spearheading their way through the culture in music, film, sports, and TV by breaking unknown acts, athletes and talent and taking them all the way to stadiums, QC has undoubtedly become the modern-day blueprint for success in the industry.
Quality Control Top artists:
- Migos
- Lil Yachty
- Lil Baby
- City Girls
Migos have a particularly problematic relationship with Braun and Quality Control. Offset, the group’s rapper, sued Quality Control in August, accusing the label of infringing his ownership rights to his solo content. Meanwhile, Quavo is managed by Braun’s Hybe-affiliated SB Projects.
Pierre “P” Thomas, Co-Founder and CEO of QC said: “P and I are ecstatic about this partnership with Scooter and Hybe and are confident they can get us to our global ambitions we’ve had in our scope since the beginning of the company as nothing means more than our artists impacting worldwide. Over many years, Scooter and I have cultivated real trust and a common way of looking at the world and culture.”
HYBE Entertainment
Bang Si-hyuk is the founder and chairman of Hybe previously known as Big Hit Entertainment. Hybe Corp. owns one of Korea’s leading music labels and entertainment organizations.
Bang took the company public in October 2020 in what was South Korea’s largest IPO in three years, making him a millionaire.
Bang Si-hyuk is known professionally as ‘Hitman’ Bang, because of his multifaceted skills set:
- South Korean songwriter
- Composer
- Producer
- Record executive
Under its founder and chairman of both Big Hit Music and Hybe Corporation, the South Korean label has proclaimed that this acquisition will provide Quality Control label artists more visibility in the Asian market.
