American record executive and talent manager Scooter Braun is set to join the final episode of Asian YouTube reality competition program &Audition – The Howling, which will complete the artists for Hybe’s first Japanese boy-band.
According to &Audition’s website, Braun will sit alongside Japanese record producer Imai Ryosuke and South Korean rapper Zico as the final round’s special producers.
The show will help fill the boy-band’s five remaining spots to complete its nine members.
&Audition said preliminary voting for the final round is underway and that the top five will be decided based votes and points from the producers.
Braun serves as the CEO of HYBE America and as a board member of its parent company HYBE Corporation.
HYBE America acquired Braun’s Ithaca Holdings for $1.05 billion in 2021.
The purchase includes Ithaca’s Big Machine Label Group, the company that sold the master rights to Taylor Swift’s first six albums to Shamrock Capital in 2020.
Ithaca’s acquisition also included Braun’s SB Projects management company, which works with major artists like Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber.
Meanwhile, Zico runs his own label KOZ Entertainment, while Imai Ryosuke is the founder and a composer for Japanese musician collective and production company TinyVoice.
The last episode of &Audition – The Howling is scheduled to air September 3 on HYBE Labels Japan’s official YouTube channel.
According to investor filings, HYBE generated revenues of South Korea Won (KRW) 512,218 billion in the three months ended June 30, 2022.
That Q2 revenue figure converts to approximately USD $391 million at current exchange rates, up by 83.8% year-over-year.
HYBE’s Q2 revenue of 512,218 billion KRW in Q2 was up 79.7% versus the prior quarter (Q1) when the company generated 284,974 billion KRW (approx. $217.4m).
HYBE’s Q1 and Q2 2022 results follow a year in which the company broke the billion dollar annual revenue barrier for the first time, reporting revenues of 1.257 trillion KRW for FY 2021, approximately USD $1.098 billion at annual average exchange rates (per the IRS), and up by 58% YoY.Music Business Worldwide