K-pop’s overseas revenue surpassed 1 trillion won ($721.5 million) for the first time last year, marking a significant milestone in its global growth.
According to The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute’s report July. 24, that K-pop overseas sales saw a significant increase, rising by 34.3% from $665.1 million in 2022 to $893 million in 2023.
The institute stated that K-pop overseas sales surpassed $720 million for the first time last year, based on a comprehensive analysis of K-pop overseas music royalties, physical album export performance from customs data, and disclosure data from each record label.
The largest portion of last year’s K-pop sales came from overseas concert revenue, which recorded $424.6 million (47.5%). The overseas concert revenue of six listed domestic record labels (HYBE, SM, JYP, YG, RBW, Cube) saw an average annual growth rate of 35% from 2018 to last year.
Additionally, album-related merchandise recorded $280.6 million (31.4%), and streaming services recorded $187.8 million (21%).
The institute projected that K-pop overseas sales will continue to increase in 2024, citing the global popularity of new K-pop artists from their debut and the continuous growth of the global music market for nine consecutive years.
However, they also pointed out areas for improvement, such as the excessive self-replication and uniformity of K-pop content, marketing strategies overly focused on selling photo cards and event tickets, and the issue of album waste.
