LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 22: (left to right) Lisa (Lalisa Manoban), Rose (Roseanne Park), Jisoo Kim and Jennie Kim, from the K-Pop band Blackpink pose with their Honorary MBEs (Members of the Order of the British Empire), awarded to them in recognition of the band’s role as COP26 advocates for the COP26 Summit in Glasgow 2021 on November 22, 2023 in London, England. King Charles III conducted the special Investiture ceremony in the presence of the President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, and his wife, Kim Keon Hee. (Photo by Victoria Jones – Pool/Getty Images)
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Shares of K-pop agency YG Entertainment spiked as much as 29% after the company announced that it has renewed exclusive group contracts with all four members of girl group Blackpink.
The stock closed at 48,000 South Korean won ($36.58) per share on Tuesday, near its 2023 low of 47,000 won. But on Wednesday, it surged at the open and hit an intraday high of 61,900 South Korean won per share.
This could bring an end to the long running contract saga between the popular K-pop group and the agency. The drama took YG shares on a wild ride alongside the rumored ups and downs in contract negotiations.
The terms of the new deal were not immediately clear and the announcement did not specify whether the members renewed their contracts on an individual basis.
In late November, South Korean outlet Munhwa Ilbo reported that members would not renew their exclusive individual contracts with YG, but instead continue group activities as Blackpink under the label.
Munhwa Ilbo reported then that “exclusive contracts between each member and YG Entertainment were not signed. In the future, they plan to carry out individual activities and come together only for Blackpink activities.”
Shares of YG previously plunged each time South Korean media reported that members of the group will not renew with the label.
Blackpink is arguably one of YG’s most successful acts. The company said the group’s recent world tour attracted 2.11 million people around the world, spanning 66 performances in 34 cities.
Most recently, the four-member group became the first K-pop group and the first non-British musicians to receive honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire medals from British monarch King Charles III, in recognition of their advocacy at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow in 2021.
The group was also the first Asian act and K-pop girl group to headline the Coachella festival in the U.S. and the first K-pop group to headline a major festival in the U.K. at the BST Hyde Park festival.
Blackpink also holds the Guinness World Record for most-viewed music channel on YouTube for a group.