Financial Reports Reveal Which Of The “Big Four” Entertainment Agencies Pay The Best Salaries

A 2019 report published by the Financial Supervisory Service explored the sales revenue, operating profit and the average salary of each of the big four music companies: YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment, Big Hit Entertainment and JYP Entertainment.

Many people have been wondering how much the emergence of Big Hit as one of the biggest music companies in Korea has affected the industry and how they stack up against the traditional “big three”.

The total sales revenue of each company reveals that SM Entertainment is still the most dominant company in terms of sales, the other three companies are closer but JYP is firmly in last.

SM Entertainment: ₩605 billion KRW ($502.5 million USD)
YG Entertainment: ₩284.3 billion KRW ($236.1 million USD)
Big Hit Entertainment: ₩224.5 billion KRW ($186.5 million USD)
JYP Entertainment: ₩125 billion KRW ($103.8 million USD)

— Financial Report

However, despite the massive sales revenue of SM Entertainment, it was Big Hit Entertainment who came out on top in operating profit.

Big Hit Entertainment: ₩78.3 billion KRW ($65 million USD)
SM Entertainment: ₩52.5 billion KRW ($43.6 million USD)
JYP Entertainment: ₩29 billion KRW ($24.1 million USD)
YG Entertainment: ₩11.4 billion KRW ($9.47 million USD)

— Financial Report

Next came the average employee salary of each company, who pays the best?

Big Hit Entertainment: ₩42.77 million KRW ($35,530USD)
YG Entertainment: ₩40.51 million KRW ($33,652 USD)
SM Entertainment: ₩37.46 million KRW ($31,118 USD)
JYP Entertainment: ₩36.22 million KRW ($30,088 USD)

– Financial Report

So Big Hit Entertainment pays their employees the best, but it is very close and each of the company’s employees earn a similar amount.