Quality Control Music to Be Acquired By HYBE America for Almost $300 Million

ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 01: Pierre "Pee" Thomas and Kevin "Coach K" Lee attend 2nd Annual The Black Ball Quality Control's CEO Pierre "Pee" Thomas Birthday Celebration at Fox Theater on June 1, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.(Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)

Quality Control Music to Be Acquired By Scooter Braun’s HYBE America for Almost $300 Million

Iesha February 9, 2023 Entertainment Leave a comment

HYBE America has recently acquired Quality Control Music, the Atlanta-based rap label that is one of the hottest hit-makers in music today.

Scooter Braun, who represents pop stars like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato, has made this acquisition his first significant move after taking over as the sole chief executive of HYBE America last month. In addition, the company also manages BTS, the superstar group in South Korea.

On Wednesday, HYBE America and QC Media Holdings, the label’s parent company, announced the deal, which is thought to have been over $300 million.

“QC is one of the most significant independent labels in the world,” Braun told The New York Times. “They not only distribute music, but they also distribute culture. Their artists are the voices of their communities.”

HYBE, which has only recently begun to look beyond K-pop’s boundaries, is removing one of the most coveted independent labels from the market to expand its global repertoire.

Quality Control has been responsible for the rise of rap acts like Migos, Lil Baby, The City Girls and Lil Yachty since its founding in 2013.

In early 2017, the label scored a global hit with “Bad and Boujee,” featuring the distinctive, stuttering flow of Migos along with Lil Uzi Vert.

According to the label, “Bad and Boujee” spent three weeks on the Billboard 100, while Lil Baby’s music catalog has reached over 37 billion streams.

The label will continue to be run by Thomas and Lee under Braun’s direction.

“We want to take our brand worldwide and need partners with mindsets like ours — ground up, self-made, and building companies from nothing,” Thomas, Quality Control’s chief executive, said in a statement. “All of Hybe’s leaders are entrepreneurs with track records for finding, growing, and amplifying their talent globally.”

Currently, the future value of the group Migos is unclear following the death of Takeoff, who was killed last year. Offset is suing the label over ownership of his solo recordings, and Quavo is currently being managed by Brauns company, SB Projects.

The deal between HYBE and Quality Control is the latest example of giant music companies acquiring smaller labels known for their close relationships with artists.