YG Entertainment (Korean: YG 엔터테인먼트) is a record label and talent agency founded by Yang Hyun-suk based in Seoul, South Korea. YG is an abbreviation for "Yang Goon", a nickname given to the Executive Director/Founder Yang Hyun-suk.[3]
Once the home of hip-hop groups Jinusean and 1TYM, its current roster of recording artists are known to be some of the biggest K-pop acts internationally, especially Big Bang, 2NE1, and Psy. In terms of revenue contribution, Big Bang is the company's biggest act.[4]
Today, YG Entertainment is known as one of the "Big Three" record companies in South Korea, along with SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, for their large market share.[3] Official contents by YG Entertainment and its artists have cumulatively garnered more than 6.8 billion views and are subscribed to by more than 17 million users on YouTube.
The company officially became a publicly traded company on November 23, 2011. In 2012, YG Entertainment's share prices saw a year-over-year increase of more than 60% due to the increase in publicity following the achievements of multiple artists on the label, especially Psy's hit Gangnam Style.[5]