‘BIGC’ Partners with ‘ConnectedStage’ to Expand Global K-Pop Concerts and Digital IP, Starting With Japan

‘BIGC’ Partners with ‘ConnectedStage’ to Expand Global K-Pop Concerts and Digital IP, Starting With Japan

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Korean entertainment tech startup BIGC has signed an MOU with ConnectedStage, a concert production company specializing in local concerts in Japan, to launch a new global business venture. BIGC has been focusing on creating diverse digital revenue models, ranging from large-scale concert home building for domestic broadcasters and production companies to fan engagement, live streaming, and commerce. With fans in 164 countries and over 60% of its paying users being international, BIGC has established itself as a global player. Through this MOU, BIGC plans to co-host mega concerts in Japan and other Asian regions, expanding its business reach.

ConnectedStage, which will be partnering with BIGC, is a concert production company founded by industry veteran Hyunjoon Cho. Cho, who previously served as the head of StubHub‘s Korean branch, leads a management team with over 10 years of experience in K-pop concerts and ticket platforms in Japan. Having collaborated with major entertainment companies like SM and YG for mega events and driven the sell-out success of ‘NeighborsCon’ featuring top K-pop artists like NCT DREAM last November, Connected Stage brings extensive experience in hosting large-scale concerts, making it a strong ally for BIGC’s business expansion.

The MOU between BIGC and ConnectedStage focuses on co-hosting K-pop concerts in Asia, planning and operating joint events, and jointly promoting the monetization of K-pop and K-content IP distribution. The collaboration will see ConnectedStage handle the overall production of offline concerts, while BIGC will manage global fan marketing, live streaming, and digital IP monetization, delivering live concert experiences to fans worldwide.

For their first collaboration, the two companies are preparing the ‘Asia No.1 K-pop Concert’ for the second half of this year. This joint project will involve a leading Korean broadcaster, with four concerts scheduled over eight months. BIGC will oversee overall project planning, global fan management, live streaming, and secondary IP monetization, while the partnering broadcaster will handle production and artist recruitment.

Starting with its entry into Japan, BIGC plans to explore overseas concert and entertainment IP businesses. The global concert market, a massive industry generating annual revenue of 80 trillion KRW, is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 6.2% from this year to 2031, with over 50,000 pop artist concerts held each year. Given BIGC’s specialization in K-pop, the company aims to establish itself in Japan, the largest consumer market for K-pop, before expanding its entertainment IP business to other Asian countries, Europe, and the United States.

BIGC, which has been making unprecedented attempts such as launching ‘Fanplay’ utilizing AI-PoweredI MCs & audiences, plans to introduce a new tech-based play culture to global K-pop fans.
Mihee Kim, CEO of BIGC, stated, “Through concerts hosted directly by BIGC, we will present new concept concert references that have never existed before, innovating the digital experience of global concert IP and entertainment content. K-pop concerts in Asian countries are just the beginning of our journey.”

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