Big Hit, YG, UMG and Kiswe Come Together for Global Live Streaming Platform

With the equity fund, alongside Big Hit and Kiswe, YG and UMG aim to further extend 'VenewLive' in ways where various artists will join, including those signed with UMG and YG.

FREMONT, CA: Big Hit Entertainment (Big Hit), YG Entertainment (YG), Universal Music Group (UMG), and Kiswe are uniting forces to embark on a global journey to introduce a live digital streaming platform. Big Hit announced that YG and UMG would be investing in KBYK Live, a joint venture formed last year with Kiswe. KBYK Live then formally launched the live streaming video site, VenewLive, in September. With the equity fund, alongside Big Hit and Kiswe, YG and UMG aim to further extend 'VenewLive' in ways where various artists will join, including those signed with UMG and YG.

 "VenewLive has already live-streamed several large-scale performances last year and provided unique immersive fan concert experiences that can be offered through our cutting-edge technologies, including 6-angle multi-views, 4K resolution, and various interactive features." He added, "Our technology will be the basis for enabling fans to feel closer to artists, and help artists express their energy on a digital stage," John Lee, CEO, KBYK Live.

In May of last year, Big Hit and Kiswe signed an MOU. KBYK Live was formally founded by the two companies in September, followed shortly after by the launch of VenewLive, the live streaming video portal.

"We are excited about this investment as our company with many artists competitive on a global stage has secured a high-quality platform with leading technologies." Said Sung-Jun Choi, Chief Operating Officer, YG Entertainment. "We will continue to do our best to provide more interactive experiences and new services to global fans."

VenewLive is set to secure a world-renowned artist line-up and high-quality entertainment content embodied by Big Hit, YG, and UMG, including YG and UMG, while further extending the network by leveraging Kiswe's technology, including live streaming multi-view. Driven by the cutting-edge technology of Kiswe, VenewLive will tailor each concert experience to suit each artist's identity and features while presenting fans with creative and original performance opportunities to appreciate the material of their favorite artist in a truly customized, authentic, and personalized manner.

Boyd Muir, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and President of Operations, UMG, said, "We are delighted to join Big Hit, YG and Kiswe as partners in KBYK as we look to help further evolve the opportunities and live streaming experiences for UMG artists and their fans today, and into the future. This past year has shown that the need for reliable and innovative live-streaming has never been greater. VenewLive offers some of the most creative and memorable opportunities for today's artists to globalize their art and performances, tailored to enhance the community and fan-experience."

Through various record-breaking concerts by Big Hit artists last year, VenewLive's technologies have demonstrated strong interaction with audiences. Streaming consistency and high-quality video and audio were demonstrated through BTS' online concerts, "BANG BANG CON The Live" and "MAP OF THE SOUL ON:E" in June and October, respectively. The former attracted 756,000 in a peak concurrent audience, while a worldwide audience saw the latter of 993,000. The shows have provided a range of immersive and luxury technologies such as multi-view technology, providing multi-angle full stage output, 4K resolution, live chat, and functions for coordinated light sticks.

Mike Schabel, CEO, Kiswe said, "We have been developing video streaming and fan engagement technology since 2013 and are excited to use that digital technology to extend beyond the boundaries of a stadium to help artists perform to their global fans, and for those fans to feel like they are part of the concert. Having supported truly live pay per view concerts with some of the biggest artists in the world, we strive to deliver incredible experiences for every fan."

"Big Hit's attempts to maximize fan experience are not limited to entertainment, but also implementing various technologies. KBYK is also part of this effort," Lenzo Yoon, CEO, Big Hit Global. "Our dream and goal is to provide the most advanced technology currently available so that fans can experience the artist's content in the best way possible under any circumstances. We will continue to study how new technologies and attempts in various fields can have a positive impact on strengthening our fan experience and actively introduce them."