AEG Presents and K-Pop promoter Powerhouse announce strategic partnership

AEG Presents and K-Pop touring and marketing company Powerhouse have announced a strategic partnership to collaborate on all aspects of live K-Pop business including touring, production, marketing and media. 

The concert promotion and artist development company started its relationship with Powerhouse in 2010, and worked to produce the SM Town Concert at Staples Center, as it was then named. The event was regarded as the first showcase of K-Pop in the US and sold out 12,500 tickets in minutes, according to AEG Presents.

Since then, the two firms have collaborated on further K-Pop tours including the 2017 ‘The Wings Tour’ from BTS in North America, as well as the popular group’s 2018 ‘Love Yourself’ arena world tour. The partnership also produced ‘The Connect World Tour’ from Monsta X.

C.S Hah, Powerhouse chief executive and president, said: “In the course of the last two decades, K-Pop has grown to be one of the most popular genres in the global music industry. The K-Pop market has proven its depth and width to be more matured than ever, and I hope our launch of this formal partnership with AEG Presents can help K-Pop grow to reach new horizons across the regions.”

Gary Gersh, AEG Presents’ president of global touring and talent, added: “C.S Hah and Powerhouse have a track record that speaks for itself. Powerhouse has tapped into what’s becoming an ever-expanding international market for K-Pop, and we are thrilled to build upon an already strong foundation between the two companies.”

Over the last five months, AEG Presents and Powerhouse have produced and promoted four major tours from some of the most popular groups in K-Pop, including Blackpink, Tomorrow X Together, Enhypen and Ateez.

This year, Blackpink have sold out 14 North American arenas, plus an additional 10 shows in the UK and Europe. Tomorrow X Together performed eight sold-out shows in two months and Enhypen sold out seven arenas in October 2022. Ateez sold out 11 arenas of their North American tour which ended earlier this month.

Powerhouse was founded by journalist turned concert promoter C.S Hah in 2008 and now boasts headquarters in Seoul and Los Angeles. Since 2012, Powerhouse has also been a partner of KCon, a K-Pop festival, and in 2018 produced 15 shows for BTS’ Love Yourself US Tour, which marked the most arena concerts played in a single tour of the country by a K-Pop group.

Adam Wilkes, president and chief executive of AEG Asia Pacific, said: “Powerhouse and AEG Presents have a great history together, and our collaboration has only become more extensive as the barriers continue to evaporate between global music markets.  This feels like a logical progression in our ongoing partnership.”