Is K-Pop Investment Sustainable?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter So-yeon Park] Cape Investment & Securities maintained its positive outlook on expanding the entertainment industry sector, stating that "K-pop is still expanding."

According to FN Guide on the 3rd, Cape Investment & Securities recently reported that "the global fandom expansion of K-pop can be inferred from album sales, Billboard chart rankings, album export volume, and concert scale."

Cape Investment & Securities explained, "The Circle Chart Top 100 sales in August grew by 24% compared to the same month last year, continuing high growth," adding, "Kakao Entertainment, which had comebacks from two main artists, ranked first and showed remarkable sales volume, followed by JYP, HYBE, SM, and YG."

They projected that September sales likely increased compared to the same month last year (6.1 million copies). BLACKPINK from YG Entertainment and NCT 127 from SM, who made comebacks in September, are artists capable of recording sales exceeding 2.5 million copies each, with initial sales showing growth beyond expectations compared to their previous albums.

Researcher Hyung-min Park of Cape Investment & Securities mentioned that the rise in K-pop's global popularity can be confirmed from multiple perspectives.

Researcher Park said, "The frequency of K-pop appearances on the Billboard charts is increasing, and the average ranking is rising," adding, "Increased exposure of K-pop artists on the Billboard charts is expected to further enhance accessibility to K-pop among music consumers in the Americas."

The growth trend in album export volume is also continuing. Album exports recorded an average annual growth rate of 72% from 2019 to 2021. As of August 2022 cumulative data, there was a 4% growth compared to the same month last year. Despite a 13% decrease in album exports to China compared to the same month last year, overall growth was achieved, indicating a reduction in dependence on China and performance growth, according to Researcher Park. An increase in concerts outside Asia was also confirmed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.