The industry’s fascination with artists’ most dedicated fans is only growing, and HYBE-owned Weverse stands out as a shining example of the scale that can be achieved with a superfan-dedicated app.
The HYBE-owned service connects artists and fans through interactive features like direct messaging and live streaming while also serving as a marketplace for merchandise and digital memberships.
Last week, Weverse expanded into music streaming, with a Spotify-powered service called ‘Listening Party.’ It connects artists and fans through “online parties” within the app, where they can listen to curated playlists together and chat in real-time.
All Weverse users with Spotify Premium can join listening events, but hosting capabilities are limited to Digital Membership subscribers — a premium tier launched in December with features including real-time translation in 13 languages and offline content saving.
According to HYBE’s CFO, Kyung-Jun Lee, speaking on the company’s recent Q4 earnings call, while the Digital Membership service is “in the beginning stage,” its profits “are expected to increase gradually,” with revenue recognition starting from January 2025 following a month’s free trial for users.
Weverse reached users in 245 countries and regions by the end of 2024, with 9.4 million monthly active users and 150 million cumulative downloads.
The platform now hosts 162 artist communities — up 30% year-over-year — including Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, and Conan Gray. Around 90% of the artists on the platform are signed to labels other than HYBE.
Highlighting the platform’s global reach, Weverse President Joon Choi tells us, that “one of the most interesting parts about Weverse is that 90% of our traffic comes from regions outside of Korea, which means that most of our users are global superfans”.
Choi also explains that the app’s global appeal informed the company’s choice of streaming partner for the launch: “Given this [global] demographic, we prioritized partnerships with global streaming platforms in order to bring the utmost convenience to our users,” he says.
“Spotify, in particular, had a similar perspective on superfans and that allowed us to move forward with the collaboration quickly. We also plan to integrate other global streaming platforms in due course, and are open to discussing various opportunities.”
(Spotify is currently developing its own “Music Pro” superfan tier expected to launch this year with features like early concert access and hi-fi audio.)
Listening Party includes social communication features such as real-time chat between artists and fans, reminiscent of the communication tools available on streaming platforms like NetEase Cloud Music in China – a feature Western streaming services have yet to fully embrace (apart from a few like Audiomack and SoundCloud).
Choi notes that the messaging feature is a valuable promo and marketing tool. “From a marketing perspective, this will help artists and labels identify their superfans and foster a safe environment for their fans to share their mutual love towards their favorite artists,” he says.
Recent data published by Weverse already shows strong fan engagement across the broader app. Artists shared 206,000 posts while fans created 370 million posts and sent 4.88 million digital Fan Letters last year. Weverse Live, meanwhile, streamed 5,787 broadcasts totaling 4,779 hours with 426 million total views.
There were also 20.6 million merchandise items sold via Weverse Shop in 2024 (+13% YoY).
Looking to the future, Choi indicates that Weverse wants to lean even further into the direct-to-fan engagement opportunity.
“By advancing our services, Weverse is dedicated to fostering ongoing participation between artists and fans while simultaneously offering artists a chance to tap into the increased opportunity in direct-to-fan engagement,” he says.
In the meantime, in this exclusive interview, Choi discusses how Listening Party fits into Weverse’s mission to create what he calls “the ultimate fandom platform…”
Tell us the strategic thinking behind the launch of the in-app streaming service?
Weverse is a global superfan platform that acknowledges and addresses the pain points of global fans. Fan experience used to be scattered everywhere, starting from fan clubs to buying merch, and even including streaming.
Weverse is all about creating a seamless experience for both fans and artists, helping them foster a healthy and sustainable relationship through their shared love for music.
Recognizing the significance of streaming in today’s music scene, especially for artists, we felt the need to encompass the streaming feature on our platform and provide artists with a strong tool to connect with their superfans.
Tell us about the marketing and promo benefits of the Listening Party service for artists and labels using WeVerse?
For artists and labels, Listening Party can serve as a new source of promoting their new songs and albums. By hosting a party, artists can interact with fans, share their thoughts, and showcase their new releases.
Real-time chat also allows them to get initial feedback from their fans in a safe and supportive environment.
Additionally, this feature offers a new way for artists and labels to connect with fans.
Given Weverse’s strong connection to fan communities, especially in K-pop, tell us about how the chat feature in particular will enhance the fan-artist interaction beyond traditional streaming models?
Our users hold a strong connection within their community, based on their mutual love for artists.
Listening to music collectively would help foster deeper bonds and a sense of ‘togetherness’, amongst the fans themselves, as it stimulates an exchange of mixed emotions between artists and fans.
Hosting capabilities for fans are exclusively available to those who have Weverse’s Digital Membership.. What other perks do you plan to roll out as part of the Digital Membership? Do you have any updates on the uptake of the Digital Membership so far?
When we launched Digital Membership last December, we identified specific needs that the fans were voicing and introduced several benefits as part of the subscription to provide the ultimate fan experience. These benefits include offline VOD downloads, voice enhancements for clearer sounds, ad-free video streaming, and AI upscaling.
Additional perks include extra Jelly rewards, an exclusive badge, and unlimited Fan Letters. Shortly after the initial launch, we added an auto-generated subtitle feature, providing real-time translation in up to 13 languages, including English, Japanese, and Chinese, enhancing accessibility for global fans.
With the addition of Listening Party, subscribers will now be able to enjoy another benefit, hosting their own party within the app and sharing their playlists. We hope to introduce more features that would help fans and artists enjoy a seamless experience according to their needs.
What is your forecast for the revenue-generating potential of the Digital Membership for 2025?
We are not able to disclose any specific numbers and figures at this point in time, as it has only been two months since we opened the service officially after the free month trial period.
However, it’s fair to say that the number of subscribers has been steadily increasing since the launch, and we expect the number to continue rising. With that being said, Digital Membership is still in its early stage, and we expect the profitability to increase over time.
Courtesy of Weverse
Do you have details to share about the addition of superstar artists signed to labels in the US, etc. to Weverse this year?
We are not able to share any details, but we are always open for discussion with artists from the US who are interested in joining our platform.
In the meantime, there are a number of global artists on Weverse already, and our priority this year is to closely work together with these artists and help them expand their global fandom.
What is the long-term vision for this in-app music streaming service, and how do you see it evolving over the next three to five years?
Weverse is a platform that provides various tools for artists to connect with their superfans. Our goal is to create more touchpoints — not just between artists and fans, but also among fans themselves.
The launch of Listening Party marks a significant step toward this goal.
By advancing our services, Weverse is dedicated to fostering ongoing participation between artists and fans while simultaneously offering artists a chance to tap into the increased opportunity in direct-to-fan engagement.Music Business Worldwide
