AEG Presents has strengthened its commitment to the K-pop market by forming a strategic partnership with South Korean label and content company KQ Entertainment.

The move builds upon recent developments from the multinational promoting firm, which last year announced it would join forces with Korean AI metaverse firm Galaxy Corporation to further technological advancements in the touring and entertainment spaces, specifically around K-pop shows.

With this formal partnership, AEG will now lead producing and promoting breakout K-pop boy band ATEEZ’s worldwide tours. The eight-member group recently concluded the European leg of their Towards The Light: Will To Power trek, selling 180,000 tickets to sold-out crowds across the continent.

The AEG-promoted venture included milestones such as becoming the first K-pop artist to headline Paris’s La Défense Arena (cap. 40,000), and inaugural K-pop shows in cities like Lyon, Milan, and Zurich.

“We are always very keen to open up new arena markets for K-pop and we felt the perfect time to do this was on ATEEZ’s biggest-ever tour of Europe, and introduce Zurich and Milan which have both been resounding sold-out successes,” Simon Jones, AEG Presents’ SVP of international touring, said to IQ following the Swiss gig.

“The appetite for the genre shows no signs of slowing up.”

The recent tour’s North American leg sold 200,000 tickets and included sell-out shows at New York City’s Citi Field (41,800), two BMO Stadium (22,000) shows in Los Angeles, and Arlington’s Globe Life Field (40,300). ATEEZ will wrap up the tour with two Seoul shows at KSPO Dome (15,000) this weekend, 22-23 March.

Another AEG-supported K-pop project has reportedly stalled

AEG and KQ’s previous collaborations also include bringing the Billboard chart-topping band to Coachella last year as the first K-pop boy group to perform at the Goldenvoice festival, an AEG subsidiary. ATEEZ was also recently crowned K-Pop Artist of the Year at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.

This latest venture with KQ further cements AEG’s efforts in the K-pop realm. In 2022, AEG partnered with K-pop touring and marketing firm Powerhouse, which has worked with some of K-pop’s biggest stars such as BTS and Blackpink.

The two firms had been working in tandem since 2010 when they produced what’s remembered as “the first blast of K-pop in the US”.

AEG also promoted BLACKPINK’s 2022-23 Born Pink world tour, which became the most-attended concert tour by a K-pop girl group with 1.8 million attendees. The group headlined the AEG-backed BST Hyde Park in London in 2023, the first K-pop group to do so, with Stray Kids joining the headliner pool last summer.

Blackpink is due back out this year, with the Live Nation-promoted stadium tour stopping in Seoul, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, New York, Paris, Milan, Barcelona, London, and Tokyo.

But, another AEG-supported project, the 20,000-capacity, K-pop-specialised CJ LiveCity Arena in Goyang City, Seoul, has reportedly stalled.

Originally slated to open this year, the Goyang city government ended its agreement with CJ LiveCity — a subsidiary of media conglomerate CJ ENM — last year after the company halted construction in the spring of 2023 due to funding issues.

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The US debut of K-pop touring series Waterbomb has been postponed due to “operational challenges”.

The water-themed music festival was set to take place at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles from 28-29 September, but has now been called off with less than three weeks to go. Ticket-holders will be automatically refunded.

Acts booked to perform had included ATEEZ, Chung Ha, Hwasa, K-will, Kwon Eunbi, Loco, PH-1, Ryu Sujeong, Simon Dominic and DJ HOWMINI.

“We deeply appreciate the support and enthusiasm you‘ve shown for Waterbomb LA 2024,” says a statement on the event’s Instagram page. “However, due to various operational challenges, we regret to inform you that the event has been postponed. Your safety and delivering the best experience possible remain our top priorities, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

“We’ll return stronger and better prepared to deliver the Waterbomb experience you’ve been waiting for.”

The festival was launched by Hong Kong-based streaming platform Viu and Singapore-based Evergreen Group Holdings, with local promoters helping bring it to new territories.

“Initially, we set ticket prices to cover these costs and ensure a reasonable profit. However, we recognise that this has become a burden for our fans”

Waterbomb mixes various water activities alongside local and international lineups of K-pop, hip-hop, and EDM performers. First held in 2015 in Seoul, South Korea, the series expanded to new markets last year with two editions in Japan and one in Bangkok.

This year, it was due to visit nine cities in South Korea, four in Japan, and one in Thailand, along with new editions in LA, Vietnam, Taipei and Dubai.

However, the LA spin-off had experienced a troubled build-up, with organisers receiving criticism from fans after setting admission at $135-380 per day. They later apologised in response to the backlash, lowering ticket prices and revising the seating plan.

“Unlike Waterbomb Seoul, where additional costs such as flights, accommodation, security, and transportation for more than 200 people including artists and staff are not required, hosting Waterbomb in LA incurs significant expenses in these areas,” said promoters in an online Q&A at the time.

“The extended stay due to long-distance travel has also increased artist fees, and the cost of obtaining performance visas for artists and staff in the US is significantly higher compared to other countries. Additionally, local production and operation costs in LA are much higher.

“Initially, we set ticket prices to cover these costs and ensure a reasonable profit. However, we recognise that this has become a burden for our fans. Therefore, we have decided to adjust the prices, prioritising the event over profit, in order to reduce the burden on our customers.”

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