Harvard to Analyze Success Story of BTS

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"Effective training systems and bold investments lead to success," said Anita Elbus.

A report analyzing the success stories of Big Hit Entertainment and the group BTS will be used as a teaching material at Harvard University.

According to Big Hit, the team led by Anita Elvese, a professor at Harvard Business School, recently released a "case study" that analyzed the success factors of Big Hit and BTS on the Harvard Business Review online store. 

Professor Anita Elbus, who is considered a master of corporate marketing strategy, has drawn attention by studying the success stories of famous stars such as pop star Lady GaGa, rapper Jay Z, and former Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson.

The title of the report released by Professor Elbus this time is "Big Hit and Blockbuster Band BTS: K-Pop Goes Global," which extends around the world. 

In the report, Professor Elbus introduced BTS as a "true superstar who won the support of millions of fans around the world" and "a band of seven men in their 20s with unprecedented success around the world, including the U.S. market," calling it an "amazing achievement in that most of the songs are in Korean." 

Based on the success of BTS and the case of Big Hit that supported it, Professor Elbus pointed out the "How K-pop makes superstars" and explained the history of Big Hit and BTS from the beginning to the present. 

In particular, Professor Elbus, who paid attention to the training system and bold investment decision-making process in which Big Hit develops artists, said, "Big Hit's training programs are discussed with individual trainees in the form of university classes to find the best schedule."

"Big Hit is trying to find the best way between respecting autonomy and the efficiency of the system," he said. "The training program also includes music listening courses to educate trainees on what kind of music they like and how they can produce the music they want."

Professor Elbus also analyzed BTS' success stories with "Blockbuster Law," which focuses on investment in highly likely targets, while adding a detailed introduction to the form of Big Hit's contract that respects artists' decision-making rights and K-pop fans who are much more participatory and enthusiastic than other genres.

Professor Elbus, who started the case study when he visited Seoul with his research team in August last year, plans to use the report as a teaching material for the next semester. Professor Elbus, who posted the announcement of the case study on social media, also suggested an online public lecture.