BY4M

What BY4M does

BY4M Studio (주식회사 바이포엠스튜디오) is a Seoul-based private content production and culture business company founded on February 27, 2017. The company is organized around two divisions: Content Production (콘텐츠제작 부문) spanning Music IP, Video IP, and Story IP; and Culture Business (문화사업 부문) spanning Commerce, Food & Travel, and Lifestyle. The Content Production division internalizes the full IP value chain — developing music with top Korean vocalists (Jeon Sang-geun, Shin Ye-young, Rockid), producing and distributing films and dramas through its subsidiary Moving Pictures Company (무빙픽쳐스컴퍼니), and adapting webtoon and novel IPs (including titles such as 'Good Doctor', 'Discovery of Love', 'Your Wedding', 'Need Romance', and 'Bad Guys') across music, drama, film, and animation formats. The Culture Business division monetizes IP audiences through the BY4M FNT F&B franchise subsidiary (including the Yukimocchi gelato-mochi dessert brand), the 'Oppa, Shall We Travel' travel content community with 1.2 million subscribers, Byject fitness centers, and Geumeumdal self-photo studios, targeting the Korean 2030 (MZ) demographic.

The company's go-to-market combines event-driven digital marketing for theatrical releases (e.g., handling the Korean distribution of A24's 'Backrooms' in May 2026, two days ahead of North America), strategic channel partnerships with international studios and domestic production companies, and enterprise-level strategic investment from major Korean corporations. BY4M raised 13.8 billion KRW (~USD 11.6M) in December 2021 at a post-money valuation of approximately 1.6 trillion KRW (~USD 1.2B) from a strategic investor consortium including F&F, Naver, Com2uS, CRIT Ventures, E&Investment, Gravity Private Equity, and Naver Webtoon, with stated IPO intent. In December 2022, BY4M completed a small-scale merger absorbing Utopia M (유토피아엠), and in March 2024 the company announced a physical division (물적분할) of the business.

Revenue is generated primarily through transaction fees from content production and distribution, franchise operations, and consumer transactions across its F&B, fitness, travel, and lifestyle sub-brands. The company is led by Representative Director Yu Gwui-son (유귀선) and is headquartered in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Customer concentration is split between B2C consumers across multiple lifestyle verticals and B2B distribution partnerships with studios such as A24, providing moderate concentration risk offset by diversified consumer touchpoints.

Name

BY4M

Legal name

주식회사 바이포엠스튜디오

Website

https://by4mstudio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

BY4M Studio is a Seoul-based private content production and culture business company that internalizes a full IP value chain — music, video, story, and webtoon-to-drama adaptations — and monetizes audiences through F&B franchises, a 1.2 million-subscriber travel community, fitness centers, and self-photo studios targeting the Korean 2030 demographic.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Content Production and Cultural Business

NAICS

Record Production and Distribution (51225), Sound Recording Studios (51224), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Producers & Production Teams (MPAIAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Creator Licensing & Rights Monetization (UGC Licensing, Music/Video Rights) (MPACAFAK), Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams) (BPAFAIAJ)

Keywords

• Content production studio
• Music IP development
• Film distribution
• F&B franchise operations
• Intellectual property management

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Content Production & Distribution: BY4M generates revenue through production, investment, and distribution of films, dramas, and entertainment content. The company also produces music IP with top artists and distributes digital content.
2. F&B Franchise Operations: BY4M operates food and beverage franchise brands including BY4M FNT which manages various franchise and restaurant brands. The company also offers gelato-mochi dessert products under the Yukimochi brand.
3. Travel Content & Commerce: BY4M operates travel content communities and lifestyle brands. The company runs '오빠랑 여행갈래' (Oppa, Shall We Travel), a travel content community with 1.2 million subscribers, and lifestyle brands including BYJECT fitness centers and '그믐달' photo studio.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

BY4M Studio is a Korean content production and culture company that develops and monetizes intellectual property across music, video, and story formats. The company internalizes the IP value chain from creation (webtoons, novels, music production with top artists) to distribution (films, dramas) and downstream consumer experiences (F&B franchises, travel communities, fitness centers, photo studios).

Product overview

BY4M Studio operates as a multi-faceted content and culture company with a unified platform architecture spanning two main divisions: Content Production (음악 IP, 영상 IP, 스토리 IP) and Culture Business (Commerce, Food & Travel, Lifestyle). The Content Production division internalizes the entire IP value chain through music IP development with top domestic artists, video IP production and distribution via subsidiary Moving Picture Company, and story IP development spanning webtoons, novels, and essays that expand into dramas, films, and music. The Culture Business division monetizes IP through consumer products, franchise restaurants (BY4M FNT, 유키모찌), travel content communities (오빠랑 여행갈래 with 1.2M subscribers), fitness centers (바이젝), and self-photo studios (그믐달). The portfolio is interconnected: stories become webtoons, novels, dramas, films, and music; food and travel experiences are designed as content; and commerce products leverage entertaining IP content for the MZ generation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 유키모찌 (Yukimocchi): Italian gelato and Japanese mochi fusion dessert brand offering unique texture and taste experiences.
• 오빠랑 여행갈래
• 바이젝 (Byject)
• 그믐달 (Geumeuddal)

Products and services

• Music IP (음악 IP) BY4M's music IP division develops and produces chart-topping music content with top-tier domestic vocalists and artists including Jeon Sang-geun, Shin Ye-young, and Rockid. The division creates differentiated music content and provides digital music content marketing, proposing new environments for consuming and enjoying music.
• Video IP (영상 IP) BY4M's video IP division handles film, drama, and entertainment production, investment, and distribution. Through subsidiary Moving Pictures Company, the studio produces dramas, imports and distributes films, and participates in content production and distribution across the cultural industry. Recent distribution includes the A24 film 'Backrooms' in Korea.
• Story IP (스토리 IP) BY4M's story IP division develops various intellectual properties including webtoons, novels, and essays. The studio expands stories into music, dramas, films, and animations, creating a full IP value chain. Notable titles include 'Good Doctor', 'Discovery of Love', 'Your Wedding', 'Need Romance', and 'Bad Guys.'
• Commerce (커머스) BY4M's commerce division creates products and brands targeting the 2030 (MZ) demographic, presenting new directions in consumption through IP-driven product discovery and content-marketing integration.
• BY4M FNT (F&B Franchise Operations) BY4M FNT is the company's food and beverage franchise subsidiary, operating various franchise and restaurant brands with always new and fun experiences. Includes Yukimocchi gelato-mochi desserts.
• Yukimocchi (유키모찌) A gelato-mochi dessert brand created by combining Italian gelato and Japanese mochi, offering a unique texture and taste. Operated as part of BY4M FNT's food business.
• Oppa Travel (오빠랑 여행갈래) Korea's largest travel content community owned by BY4M Studio, proposing offline content designed by BY4M including food, tourist attractions, and activities to 1.2 million subscribers.
• Vyject (바이젝) A lifestyle brand based on Korea's largest fitness centers, satisfying the needs of everyone seeking a lifestyle that BY4M Studio pursues, available both online and offline.
• Geumeumdal (그믐달) A self-photo studio brand marketed as a photo hotspot, offering self-service photography studio experiences operated by BY4M Studio.
• Moving Pictures Company (주식회사 무빙픽쳐스컴퍼니) A subsidiary of BY4M Studio serving as a drama production, film import, production, and distribution company. Joined BY4M in 2021 and participates in content production and distribution across the cultural industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• 391,125 ticket sales in Korea for Backrooms within days of opening
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• (주)무빙픽쳐스컴퍼니 (Moving Pictures Company)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Moving Pictures Company became a partner with BY4M Studio in 2021 for drama production, film import, production, and distribution. The company operates as a drama production and film import/production/distribution company participating in cultural industry content production and distribution broadly.
• A24coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorA24 is the international distributor for the horror film 'Backrooms.' BY4M Studio handled Korean distribution of this film, which achieved $118 million worldwide box office from a sub-$10 million production budget.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Studio Dragon: Korea's leading drama production studio, listed on KOSDAQ, producing hit series for tvN and global streamers. Directly comparable as a Korean drama/series IP studio with proven adaptation pipeline, though BY4M also extends into music and F&B.
• Next Entertainment World (NEW): Korean film distribution and production company handling theatrical releases domestically. Closely comparable to BY4M's video IP distribution function (as seen in the Backrooms Korean release), though BY4M adds music and lifestyle verticals.
• Webtoon Entertainment: Naver-affiliated story IP platform behind 'Tower of God', 'Lore Olympus', and other adaptations. Comparable to BY4M's story IP (webtoon) expansion into drama/film, with BY4M's portfolio including 'Good Doctor', 'Bad Guys', and 'Discovery of Love' adaptations.

Broad incumbents

• HYBE: Global K-pop powerhouse behind BTS, with music IP production, artist management, and content expansion (films, gaming). Comparable in music IP development with top vocalists, but BY4M extends into F&B, travel, and lifestyle commerce rather than artist label dominance.
• Kakao Entertainment: Korean content platform spanning webtoons (Piccoma), music (Melon), and drama production. Directly comparable in story IP (webtoons), music, and video IP integration; a much larger competitor with platform ownership advantages BY4M lacks.
• SM Entertainment: K-pop label and entertainment company with music production, artist management, and content expansion (acting, webtoons, gaming). Comparable in music IP and artist-driven content, though BY4M's broader portfolio includes F&B franchises and physical studios.
• YG Entertainment: K-pop label and content producer (BLACKPINK, BIGBANG) with music IP, concert production, and lifestyle ventures. Comparable music IP production strength, though concentrated on artist label model versus BY4M's diversified content/lifestyle approach.
• JTBC Studios: Korean drama and film production arm of JTBC Group, producing premium content for global streamers including Netflix. Comparable in drama production capabilities and Korean distribution scale, with broader network ownership.
• CJ ENM: Korea's largest entertainment conglomerate spanning film production/distribution (CJ ENM Films), TV networks (tvN), music (CJ E&M Music), and live entertainment. Comparable as a broad incumbent integrating content IP across formats, but at vastly larger scale than BY4M.

Emerging players

• Yonghwa Entertainment (KeyEast): Korean talent management and content production company focused on actor-driven IP. Partial overlap with BY4M's content production approach, though smaller in scale and lacking the diversified lifestyle businesses.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BY4M