HYBE

HYBE Co., Ltd. is a South Korean entertainment company headquartered in Seoul, built on the K-pop group BTS and now operating as a multi-label group under founder and chairman Bang Si-hyuk’s “multi-home, multi-genre” strategy, with labels and joint ventures spanning Korea, Japan and the United States.

On 15 December 2025 HYBE formed a joint venture, NFO LLC, with Brandon Hixon of We Make Music and Colin Gayle of Africa Creative Agency, entering a global management partnership centred on South African artist Tyla. HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang (Jason Jaesang Lee) called it “an important turning point in Hybe’s global expansion strategy.” Jennifer McDaniels, president of management at HYBE America, works alongside Hixon and Gayle inside the venture.

The partnership covers global management, touring, marketing, promotion, digital strategy, multimedia production and brand partnerships, with HYBE stating it plans to explore further synergies in recording, publishing and merchandise. No financial terms, equity split or ownership percentage in NFO LLC have been disclosed in any source reviewed for this record. Tyla continues to be managed day to day by Hixon and Gayle; her recording agreement is unaffected, and her masters remain with FAX Records under exclusive licence to Epic Records.

HYBE America’s Nashville position changed in February 2026. On 12 February 2026 Scott Borchetta departed HYBE America, where he had served as CEO of Big Machine Label Group since HYBE’s purchase of Ithaca Holdings. Under the exit terms he reacquired the Big Machine Records brand name and will relaunch it for his own future ventures. No consideration for that reacquisition was disclosed in any source reviewed.

What HYBE America kept is the part that matters for rights. It retained the BMLG assets, the distribution deal, the publishing company Big Machine Music, and a number of artists on the label’s roster including Thomas Rhett, Brett Young, Midland, Justin Moore, Carly Pearce, Preston Cooper, Jackson Dean and Mae Estes. Isaac Lee, Chairman and CEO of HYBE America, said in the announcement: “Scott has made a lasting mark on the music industry with his sharp eye for talent and his unique vision.” Borchetta said he was “incredibly appreciative of my partnership with Hybe over these last five years.” So the label brand left and the publishing company stayed.

On 17 February 2026 the rebrand was confirmed: the HYBE-run Nashville operation now trades as Blue Highway Records, effective immediately, with The Valory Music Co. folded into it and Jake Basden appointed Chief Executive Officer. Big Machine Music remains under HYBE AMERICA and was not part of the rebrand. That is why the publishing deal HYBE America inherited with Cape Town-born songwriter Will Linley, announced 21 May 2025, did not move with the Big Machine Records name.

Ownership chain behind those assets: Big Machine Label Group was acquired by Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in 2019. The entirety of Ithaca Holdings, including BMLG and Braun’s SB Projects, was then acquired by South Korea’s HYBE in a $1.05 billion deal in 2021.