BTS Leads U.S. K-pop Album Sales with 5.8 Million Units; Domestic Sales Drop 19.4% in 2024 for First Time in 10 Years

K-pop maintains a strong position in the U.S. music market. According to U.S. album sales statistics, BTS has recorded the highest sales volume ever at 5.8 million units, followed by Stray Kids with 3.07 million units in second place and TXT at 2.1 million units in third. TWICE ranks fourth with 1.53 million units, while ENHYPEN comes in fifth with 1.52 million units. However, the situation in the domestic market is quite different. In 2024, domestic K-pop album sales amounted to 93.28 million units, a 19.4% decrease from 115.78 million units in the previous year, marking the first decline in sales in 10 years. The industry views this as a sign of concern regarding the overall K-pop industry. The decline in sales for individual artists is particularly noticeable. SEVENTEEN, which sold 16.07 million units in 2023, saw its sales drop to 8.98 million units in 2024, while Stray Kids’ sales fell from 10.94 million units to 6.11 million units. Even the highest sales volume for a single album dropped from around 5 million units (for SEVENTEEN) and 4 million units (for Stray Kids and SEVENTEEN) in 2023 to the 3 million unit range in 2024. The number of groups that achieved “million seller” status, meaning they sold over 1 million units, also decreased from 26 groups to 24 groups. Industry insiders point to the absence of BTS and BLACKPINK as the main cause. The failure to produce “mega groups” on par with them among newer artists is considered the key factor behind the declining sales. In particular, YG Entertainment, BLACKPINK’s agency, recorded its best-ever performance in 2023 during their tours, but immediately turned into a loss once their activities stopped in 2024. Nevertheless, some argue that it is difficult to consider the entire K-pop industry in crisis despite the decline in album sales. A music industry insider explained, “K-pop has relatively strong defensive capabilities compared to other media industries because its IP is easy to utilize,” adding that attention should be paid to “aggressive discovery of new talents and their faster growth rates.” In fact, HYBE set a new record for the highest revenue ever recorded since its establishment in 2024, reaching 2.2545 trillion won. Although album and music streaming revenue decreased by 11.3% to 861 billion won compared to the previous year, concert revenue increased by 25.6% to 450.9 billion won, offsetting the weakness in album sales. Despite the military service absence of BTS members, a total of 10 groups held 172 concerts, generating income. SM Entertainment also saw its revenue increase by 11% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 181.8 billion won, with concert revenue surging by 88.2% to 22.5 billion won. During that period, concerts were held 12 times by NCT WISH, 9 times by NCT DREAM, 9 times by TVXQ!, 14 times by Chanyeol, and 9 times by Yuta. New groups from various agencies such as ILLIT, RIIZE, TWS, BABYMONSTER, and NCT WISH are expected to generate revenue as they enter stable growth phases, and the continuous debut of highly skilled new artists is also viewed as a positive sign. Meanwhile, in overseas markets, there is an emphasis on the importance of expanding into global markets, as exports of Japanese K-pop albums decreased by 24.7% compared to the previous year.