Weverse


Weverse is a Korean mobile app and web platform created by South Korean entertainment company Bighit Entertainment. The app specializes in hosting multimedia content and artist-to-fan communications for K-Pop bands and musicians. Its accompanying e-commerce app, Weverse Shop, sells subscriptions for content on Weverse, band-related products, and merchandise.
Weverse hosts a variety of free and subscription content including educational and entertainment videos, Instagram Story-style updates, and artist-to-fan interactions and platforms for users to connect with each other. The app is also used to publish official statements by Big Hit Entertainment on behalf of artists on its labels. As of July 2020, the platform is used by K-pop boy groups BTS, Seventeen and TXT, girl group GFriend, and currently airing K-pop survival show, I-LAND.
The software was developed by Big Hit technology subsidiary beNX. As of March 2020, Weverse had 1.4 million daily users and Weverse Shop over 1.8 million users from 200 countries.

Development

The app was developed by beNX, a subsidiary technology company of Big Hit Entertainment specializing in digital platforms and customer service. According to beNX president, Seo Wooseok, the app was developed to offer a platform for K-pop artists to interact with fans "on a deeper level" than that offered by YouTube or Twitter, which emphasize content delivery over communication. Big Hit co-CEO Lenzo Yoon characterized the app as a “one-stop service within the music industry.”
According to Jenny Zha, CEO of the digital media consultancy firm Infinitize, K-pop "market leaders like BTS," who have amassed significant fan followings, no longer need to focus on being discovered but rather on monetization and ownership of their content. Zha, in an interview with Billboard, explained that "labels want to create an asset they can own and mobilize for other artists and ventures because they know that fans will follow to where the content is. It creates more security for the label for the long term.”
Big Hit launched the e-commerce platform Weply in June 2019, which was later became the app Weverse Shop.
News of the app's development was first announced in October 2019 in an advertisement shown at the beginning of BTS's three-day Love Yourself: Speak Yourself stadium tour in Seoul, South Korea. The advertisement ran simultaneously to the 130,000 attendee of the concert as well as viewers watching via live-stream and in movie theaters.

Application

Platforms

Weverse is currently available as a website, an entertainment and communication-focused app of the same name, and an e-commerce app called Weverse Shop. Both apps are available for free for iOS on the Apple App Store and for Android on the Google Play Store. The Weverse web and app platforms host a variety of free and subscription content including videos, Instagram Story-style updates, and artist-to-fan interactions and platforms for users to connect with each other. The Weverse Shop website and app sell subscriptions for individual series on Weverse, as well as fan memberships and merchandise for the groups on its platform.

Content

BTS

Weverse hosts a variety of content for BTS, including video series and social media posts by individual BTS members.
BTS announced during the finale of its Love Yourself: Speak Yourself stadium tour in Seoul that the fourth season of its annual reality show, Bon Voyage, would be leaving the Korean video streaming service V Live, which hosted its first three seasons, for the new platform Weverse. The fourth season of Bon Voyage is available by direct purchase on the Weverse Shop app or with the purchase of an annual membership for BTS's global fan club. beNX reported sales of Bon Voyage's fourth season exceeded that of the third season which was available by subscription on V Live+.
In August 2019, BTS launched a six-episode mini-documentary series for purchase on Weverse entitle Bring the Soul: Docu-Series, which expands on BTS's 2019 documentary film . The first episode aired on Weverse on 27 August and concluded on 1 October. Each episode centered on a theme related to the group's Love Yourself album series and showcased content from the 2018 Love Yourself world tour.
On 22 March 2020, Big Hit Entertainment announced the launch of a video series entitled "Learn Korean With BTS" on the social media app Weverse. The project was first mentioned in February during a live-streamed press release by Big Hit Labels on YouTube, in which Bang Si-Hyuk explained that the project intended to “make it easy and fun for global fans who have difficulty enjoying BTS' music and contents due to the language barrier.” The idea for the project emerged in reaction to fans asking for English subtitles for BTS's videos. The series consists of thirty three-minute lessons on Korean expressions and grammar using footage from existing BTS content on YouTube and VLive, such as "Run BTS!," and "Bangtan Bomb." The videos were developed in collaboration with experts at the Korean Language Content Institute and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Big Hit Entertainment stated its intent to develop more educational programs with other artists on its labels. The first three episodes were released on 24 March, with subsequent videos posted weekly on Mondays.
A Weverse post by BTS member V seeking fan art of himself inspired by the cartoon The Simpsons was shared on Twitter and caught the attention of Simpsons writer Al Jean. Jean responded on Twitter stating that he would try to get BTS on the show.
Big Hit used Weverse to issue an official statement regarding the cancellation of the first four stops on BTS's upcoming world tour, Map of the Soul, in light of the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea. As of July 2020, over 6.1 million fans of BTS had signed up for either free or subscription services on the platform.

TXT

Big Hit boy group TXT opened their official fan community on Weverse in June 2019. Weverse offers a monthly, on-demand subscription called Behind which offers photos and videos of TXT, as well as BTS. As of July 2020, TXT had over 2.4 million fans registered on Weverse.

GFriend

K-pop act GFriend is the first and only girl group on Weverse. GFriend's label, Source Music, was acquired by Big Hit in 2019. As of July 2020, GFriend had about 732,000 fans on the platform.

Seventeen

Boy group Seventeen, managed by Pledis Entertainment, was the first artist not managed by Big Hit to join Weverse. Seventeen joined the platform in March 2020. As of July 2020, Seventeen had over 1.1 million fans on the platform.

I-LAND

BELIFT is currently airing a survival program titled, I-LAND. Weverse is acting as the main website of the show and has I-LAND cams with 1 hour multi-camera footage from the I-LAND and Ground. It will also host the voting part for viewers worldwide. As of July 2020, I-LAND had over 1.2 million fans on the platform.