Fans will probably be very surprised by this news when not long ago SM and HYBE were facing off in a seemingly uncompromising battle. Not only that, SM also recently faced investigation in the stock price issue with Kakao after the previous rights dispute with HYBE.

However, K-media reported on April 14 that SM artists will soon be available on Weverse's global fandom platform created by HYBE. This unєхpєctєd handshake also brings a lot of value and benefits to both giants of the entertainment industry.

Here is the story surrounding the collaboration between SM and HYBE when the artists entered Weverse:

In February, Kpop fans were stirred by the news that HYBE became the largest shareholder of SM Entertainment. After that, fans witnessed a great battle where SM didn't want to split the rights and HYBE tried to take control of the company.

But even more surprising, just 1 month later, HYBE officially announced its withdrawal, ending the competition with Kakao about buying shares of SM Entertainment. HYBE and Kakao not only reached an agreement regarding SM Entertainment's management, but also agreed to cooperate on future platform-related matters.

And that partnership opportunity came sooner than we could have imagined! On April 14, K-media reported that entertainment industry insiders said SM Entertainment artists had agreed to join Weverse. This is the result of the platform collaboration that HYBE announced they will pursue with Kakao and SM Entertainment previously.

SM Entertainment artists have been active in Kwangya Club and LYSN before that. All artists, from Kangta and BoA to aespa and NCT, are using Kwangya Club. With this decision, all activity on Kwangya Club will be shifted to Weverse. 

Not only is communication with fans done on this platform, but the distribution plan of SM Entertainment artists' goods is also implemented on Weverse Shop. The right to run paid fan club services is also expected to be secured.

Industry officials believe joining Weverse will be a win-win situation. Weverse is expected to make communication between artists and fandoms more convenient by taking the champion position in terms of user convenience among domestic fandom platforms.

Currently, Weverse is considered the largest platform for interaction between fans and idols in the Kpop world. Many artists have joined this global fan base such as BTS, TXT, New Jeans, Prettymuch, Apink, VIXX, AKMU, Big Bang, BLACKPINK, etc.

However, it is expected that Dear. U company, an affiliate of SM Studios, an SM Entertainment subsidiary, will be affected. Dear. U operates Dear. U Bubble is a messaging platform between fans and artists. Dear. U recently acquired the fandom platform Universe, a platform similar to Weverse. Competition to secure artists is expected to ignite as Weverse brings in SM Artists. Bubble is unlikely to be affected.

Overall, this is a new partnership strategy and of course it will cause a lot of controversy in the early days of operation in the fan community. With the details being coordinated, it is expected that an announcement will be made soon on when and how the artists will be joining Weverse.