J-pop Agency Benchmarks K-pop as It Hires Former HYBE Producer Kim Min-jung

J-pop’s dramatic comeback through K-pop benchmarking and a fundamental overhaul

Avex, one of Japan’s leading entertainment agencies, has successfully overhauled its business by aggressively benchmarking South Korea’s “K-pop” system. Avex, which led J-pop’s golden era in the 1990s by producing megahit artists including Namie Amuro and Ayumi Hamasaki, had languished for years amid poor performance as the industry shifted to digital music and K-pop tightened its global grip.

But according to a recent report by The Nikkei, Avex boldly abandoned its domestic-focused strategy and adopted intellectual property (IP) creation and global expansion — key drivers of success for major South Korean entertainment agencies — as new engines of growth. As a result, Avex swung from an operating loss of 1.8 billion yen the previous year to a profit of 4 billion yen just one year later, delivering a dramatic turnaround.

At the center of the rebound is XG, a seven-member girl group made up entirely of Japanese members that debuted in 2022. From the planning stage, XG followed a business model modeled closely on K-pop. The group set its main stage not in Japan but overseas, particularly North America and Europe, and pursued a strategy of building a global fandom to generate revenue. Shun Tanaka, a stock analyst, said XG’s entry into the recovery phase after years of upfront investment played a decisive role in Avex’s return to profitability.

Buoyed by XG’s success, Avex is going a step further, partnering with a producer who helped discover BTS and seeking a fundamental transformation of its business model. The company recruited former HYBE producer Kim Min-jung to establish Rii.MJ, a project to develop the next generation of artists, and introduced the new boy group VIBY to the public through it. Kim is widely known for leading the early planning and discovery of BTS and TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT) during her time at HYBE.

VIBY, whose members are Japanese and range in age from 15 to 19, has a clear blueprint: build a solid domestic fan base in Japan first, then make the leap to becoming a global act. The group has adopted major world tours, global music sales and a diverse range of merchandise (MD) as key revenue models, following the established K-pop idol formula for success. Even before its debut, the group has been building an emotional connection with fans around the world by releasing internet-TV and social media documentaries showing the members enduring grueling training in South Korea, living together and working toward performing at Japan’s Nippon Budokan.

In an interview with The Nikkei, Kim expressed confidence that she would “perfectly combine the strengths of Japan’s distinctive culture and highly loyal fan bases with South Korea’s systematic expertise in artist development.”

The Nikkei said Avex is seeking a second golden era by making global artist development and the licensing business its two main pillars, but it also pointed out that competition in the global boy group market, where VIBY has entered, is fiercer than ever. It added that overcoming the gap in financial resources and global infrastructure between Avex and its major South Korean rivals will be the company’s biggest challenge going forward.