Tickets Prove More Lucrative Than Albums... K-Pop Sweeps Asian Stages

Six of the Top 10 Acts by Revenue Are K-Pop Groups
HYBE’s Concert Revenue Is Twice Its Album and Music Revenue
Large-Scale Tours Drive Entertainment Companies’ Results
Country-Specific Strategies Help Stabilize Revenue

The combined revenue of six K-pop groups among Asia’s top 10 acts by concert revenue accounted for more than 70% of the total. HYBE also ranked first among concert promoters, ahead of Live Nation. Large-scale tours are having an increasingly significant impact on the performance of domestic entertainment companies.

TWICE greets fans onstage during their fifth world tour, "Ready to Be." Courtesy of JYP Entertainment.

An analysis of the “2026 Asia Focus Chart” published by Pollstar, a U.S. trade publication covering the live entertainment industry, on October 26 found that K-pop groups generated $326.43 million (approximately KRW 431.9 billion) of the $461.75 million (approximately KRW 610.8 billion) in concert revenue earned by the top 10 acts. The figures cover performances held across Asia from August 2025 through July 2026 that were reported to Pollstar.

SEVENTEEN ranked first with $97.39 million (approximately KRW 128.8 billion), followed by TWICE with $76.18 million (approximately KRW 100.8 billion). Tomorrow X Together (TXT) came next with $53.04 million, followed by BTS with $49.07 million (approximately KRW 64.9 billion). BLACKPINK ranked eighth, and ENHYPEN ninth. The six groups sold approximately 2.18 million tickets, or 73% of the approximately 2.98 million tickets sold by all 10 acts.

Several groups also stood out for holding large-scale tours at the same time. SEVENTEEN’s world tour, “NEW_,” which began in Incheon in September 2025, took the group to Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Thailand, and Bulacan, the Philippines, among other destinations. The group held 22 shows across Asia, including shows at four domes in Japan, and sold approximately 660,000 tickets. All four shows at Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong sold out. TWICE sold approximately 450,000 tickets, while TXT sold approximately 430,000. BTS began its “ARIRANG” world tour in April this year and ranked fourth based solely on its earnings through July, the end of the reporting period.

The success of these artists has fueled the expansion of domestic entertainment companies’ concert businesses. In the ranking of concert promoters in Asia, HYBE placed first in both revenue, with $247.97 million (approximately KRW 328.2 billion), and ticket sales, with 1,827,914 tickets. Live Nation came in second, with revenue of $209.83 million (approximately KRW 277.7 billion) and 1,258,498 tickets sold. HYBE led by about 18% in revenue and about 45% in ticket sales. Japan’s Creativeman Productions ranked third, with $103.67 million (approximately KRW 137.2 billion).

Four groups under HYBE were included in this year’s artist ranking. HYBE 360, which oversees the company’s concert business, plans and produces global tours for multiple labels. Its approach is to run tours by different groups in multiple regions at the same time, increasing the number of shows and expanding into more markets.

Concerts have also come to account for a growing share of HYBE’s business. The company reported in July that concert revenue for the second quarter of this year was KRW 647.7 billion, about twice its KRW 326.8 billion in album and digital music revenue. Revenue from merchandise and licensing also reached KRW 310.6 billion over the same period. Concerts have become a major source of revenue, rather than ancillary events that follow album promotions. Tours also provide opportunities to expand the business through concert merchandise and content, in addition to ticket sales.

As concerts account for a larger share of revenue, performance can also become more sensitive to tour schedules. JYP Entertainment’s concert revenue in the second quarter of this year was KRW 39.9 billion, down 35.7% from the same period last year. Merchandise revenue also fell 34.5% to KRW 43.9 billion. A major factor was the high base of comparison, as revenue from Stray Kids’ large-scale world tour and related merchandise sales was reflected in the results a year earlier. Album and streaming revenue increased over the same period, but total revenue fell 15.1%.

For K-pop’s concert business to generate stable revenue, multiple artists need to continue performing even during periods without large-scale tours. The ability to determine where and how often to hold concerts based on audience demand and purchasing power in each country, as well as local production and operating conditions, has also become important.

“Rather than applying in other markets the same approach that worked in Korea, it is important to understand the characteristics of each market and adapt accordingly while maintaining the artist’s identity and the quality of the performance,” said Oh Yujin, head of HYBE 360.

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