HYBE acquires Quality Control, label of Migos, Lil Yachty, City Girls and more

9 February, 2023

hybe america acquire merge quality control media holdings

HYBE America, the US division of BTS-fronted South Korean entertainment company HYBE Labels, has officially acquired Quality Control (QC) Media Holdings, which is home to acts such as Migos, Lil Yachty, City Girls, Lil Baby and more.

The agreement was reported by Variety yesterday (February 8) PT, which detailed that HYBE America has entered into an agreement with QC Media Holdings to merge and acquire the latter. Quality Control is an Atlanta-based hip-hop label covering music as well as sports, film and television. The company was first founded by CEO Pierre “P” Thomas and COO Kevin “Coach K” Lee.

Per Variety, HYBE America’s acquisition of Quality Control was valued at $320million in stock and cash and led by HYBE America CEO Scooter Braun. Braun’s relationship with both Lee and Thomas reportedly dates back to the early 2000s when Braun was still based in the Atlanta.

The deal aligns with HYBE Labels’ missions to build a global entertainment giant rooted in music with interests in other entertainment, lifestyle and culture-rich mediums and platforms, said Variety. Despite the merger and acquisition, Variety reports that Quality Control’s existing music roster will continue their affiliation with Universal Music Group.

HYBE America’s agreement with Quality Control marks Braun’s first major move as the organisation’s sole CEO since he took on the mantle earlier this year. Aside from Quality Control, the company’s US catalogue of artists include SB Projects (the New York-based company home to Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, The Kid LAROI and more) as well as the Big Machine Label Group, which houses artists in the country genre such as Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts and Sheryl Crow.

“I am so proud and honoured to have Coach and P join Bang and I as our partners,” Braun told Variety in his announcement of the deal, referencing HYBE Labels chairman Bang Si-hyuk. “QC is one of the most significant independent labels in the world, working with incredible artists who are, and remain to be, the voices of culture. I’ll never forget riding around Atlanta over 20 years ago with Coach discussing our dreams and ambitions and how we said ‘If they let us in the game, we are never going to give it back.’ Now, all these years later, we are joining forces to make these dreams a reality.”

HYBE Labels – headquartered in Seoul, South Korea – is also home to an extensive roster of top K-pop acts, including BTS, ENHYPEN, TXT, SEVENTEEN, LE SSERAFIM, NewJeans and more. Aside from its American branch, HYBE Labels has also established entertainment industry presence in Japan with the launch of HYBE Japan.

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