In 2016 the plan for BTS in America fit on one line. American television first, then US pop radio, then collaborations with American artists, then arenas. Every decision for two years got measured against that line.
I was the group's US managing partner from 2016 to 2018, working alongside Big Hit Entertainment, now HYBE. The fans, ARMY, and the label carried that breakthrough. My job was the American campaign. Since 2018 I have managed Monsta X, and the same order has held. Here is the playbook, and why the order matters.
Start with what the group already has
A K-pop group that is ready for the US is usually not starting from zero. There is a fanbase in America already, often a large one, built online. There is a home label with a release schedule, a creative team and a lot of experience. The US campaign does not replace any of that. The home label stays the home label. The US partner works next to it and runs the market they know.
The fanbase is the proof. The rest of the American business, TV bookers, radio programmers, promoters, labels, needs a reason to believe that proof applies to them. Each step in the playbook gives the next one that reason.
Step 1: television
National TV is the first step because it turns an online fanbase into a story the mainstream can see. A TV booker who says yes puts the group in front of an audience that has never heard of them, and gives every other gatekeeper something to point to.
For BTS that meant the 2017 American Music Awards, the first performance there by a K-pop group, and a late-night run on Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Late Late Show with James Corden. [I wrote up how the TV side worked](/case-study-bts-tv).
TV comes first because it is the step that converts most directly from fan demand. A booker can see the audience numbers, the social response and the ticket sales. The ask is simple: put this group on, and that audience watches.
Step 2: radio
US pop radio is the hardest step and the most valuable. It is how a song reaches people who do not go looking for it. It is also where most international acts stop, because radio wants songs that fit the format, a label promotion team that works the stations week after week, and proof that listeners will not change the channel.
For Monsta X, the Epic Records deal in 2019 put a US label with a radio promotion department behind the records. That is how a record gets worked at pop stations. Monsta X reached US Top 40 pop radio, a first for a K-pop group, and in 2020 All About Luv, sung in English, went to No. 5 on the Billboard 200.
Step 3: collaborations
A collaboration with an American artist or producer does two jobs. It brings the collaborator's audience, and it gives American media a familiar name to hang the story on.
With BTS, the "Mic Drop" remix with Steve Aoki and Desiigner went to No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. I also worked on the A&R for "Best of Me" with The Chainsmokers in 2017 and "Waste It On Me" with Steve Aoki in 2018.
The rule I follow: the collaboration has to make sense to both audiences. A name on a feature is not enough. The song has to sound like it belongs to both artists.
Step 4: arenas
Arena dates are the result of the first three steps, not a step you can skip to. Promoters book arenas on demand they can measure. BTS sold out US arena dates on the 2017 Wings Tour. Monsta X headlined Staples Center in Los Angeles in 2019, the same year they became the first K-pop act at the iHeartRadio Music Festival.
The booking agent comes in here. A manager builds the demand. The agent sells it. [Those are different jobs](/blog/music-manager-vs-booking-agency/).
Why the order matters
Each step is easier because of the one before.
- A TV appearance gives radio programmers a reason to listen.
- Radio play gives American artists a reason to collaborate.
- Collaborations bring new listeners who buy tickets.
- Ticket demand gives promoters a reason to book arenas.
Doing it in a different order usually means spending money without the next door opening. A big US tour before there is US demand loses money. A collaboration with no TV or radio behind it reaches the people who already knew the group.
What has changed since 2016
The order has not changed. The tools have. Short-form video now does part of what a TV spot did, and streaming numbers give radio programmers more data than they had then. The fanbase is still the proof. The US campaign still has to turn that proof into a story American gatekeepers can say yes to.
The full year-by-year record, with sources, is on [the K-pop US breakthrough timeline](/kpop-us-breakthrough/).
More from the blog: What a US market entry plan looks like · US pop radio for international artists · How to pitch a US manager from abroad · Who broke BTS in America.