This year, K-pop’s annual album exports are expected to reach another record high.
It was analyzed that large-scale K-pop idols such as boy group BTS led the popularity, while rookie girl groups such as IVE, LE SSERAFIM and NewJeans fulfilled their duties and stood firmly behind.
The music industry believes that K-pop has already become a popular phenomenon as it spontaneously gains popularity among local music fans in China in a situation where direct marketing through TV and concerts is blocked after “Korean Wave Ban”.
The boom in exports of K-pop albums can be interpreted as a reflection of the failure to hold concerts during the pandemic. Fans comforted their disappointment of not being able to enjoy concerts by opening their wallets to buy albums. In addition, as K-pop’s popularity becomes hotter around the world, exports of albums are also showing a steady growth.
Choi Kwang Ho, secretary-general of the Korea Music Content Association, explained, “Aside from BTS, there are many outstanding groups this year. In the past, sales of physical albums were mainly made by male groups, but these days, girl groups tend to sell a lot, too.“
Source: Isplus
