K-Pop Powerhouse HYBE Acquires Atlanta Rap Label Quality Control, Home of Migos, Lil Baby and City Girls, in $300 Million Deal

Photo credit: Eric Ray Davidson

Pictured (from L-R): HYBE Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk, QC CEO Pierre "P" Thomas, QC COO Kevin "Coach K" Lee and HYBE America CEO Scooter Braun. 

Quality Control Music, the Atlanta-based record label that is home to chart-topping artists Migos, Lil
Baby and City Girls, has been acquired by South Korean Music company HYBE in a deal worth $300 million.

HYBE America shared the news on Wednesday, and while the company did not mention numbers in its announcement, a filing with Korean regulators indicates the company is paying a $250 million purchase price for the company and issuing $50 million in new stock to its founders Kevin "Coach K" Lee and Pierre "P" Thomas.

"HYBE are perfect partners for Quality Control as we come together to take our story and work global," Thomas, CEO of Quality Control said. "This partnership will create a global platform for our artists, which has been our goal since day one for them."

HYBE America is led by Scooter Braun, who has played integral roles in launching the careers of several pop and hip-hop stars, including Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. The move marks his first as CEO for the company, established in 2005 as Big Hit Entertainment, which is home to some of K-pop’s biggest acts including international superstars BTS.

Braun called Quality Control "one of the most significant independent labels in the world" and implied that the label would have some autonomy under the new arrangement.

"It's important to my team and me that P and Coach continue to have the freedom, and now our global resources, to continue to do what they do best," he said.

Quality Control Co-Founder and COO, Lee, who said he and Braun have cultivated real trust and a common way of looking at the world and culture over the years, added, "P and I are ecstatic about this partnership with Scooter and HYBE and are confident they can get us to our global ambitions we've had in our scope since the beginning of our company as nothing means more than our artists impacting world-wide."