K-pop soars on Asian tour revenue, physical album sales

K-pop acts led Asia’s touring market over the past year as physical album sales also climbed, bringing the industry closer to 100 million copies sold in 2026. Seventeen topped Pollstar’s Asia touring chart with $97.4 million in gross revenue, while K-pop acts occupied the chart’s top four spots. Physical album sales reached 79 million copies from January through September, up about 7.6 million from the same period last year. The market needs roughly 21 million more copies in the final three months to reach 100 million.

HYBE reported second-quarter revenue of 1.45 trillion won, including 647.7 billion won from concerts and 326.8 billion won from albums and digital music.

Pollstar’s chart covered shows played from Aug. 1, 2025, through July 31, 2026; Seventeen sold 661,088 tickets across its Asia touring activity.

TWICE ranked second on the chart with $76.18 million, followed by TXT and BTS, which grossed $49.07 million in Asia as part of its ARIRANG world tour.

BTS’ ARIRANG sold 3.98 million copies on its first day, according to Hanteo Chart, and 4,224,016 copies in the first half of the year, according to Circle Chart.

August physical album sales exceeded 11 million copies, while September sales fell 38 percent from August and 37.8 percent from a year earlier.

Published Oct 21, 2026 5:06 pm KST

Seventeen tops Pollstar's chart as album sales near 100 million copies for year

K-pop boy band Seventeen / Courtesy of Pledis Entertainment

K-pop is riding a surge in concert ticket and physical album sales, two of the industry's key revenue streams, as data released this month showed the genre dominating Asia's touring market and closing in on 100 million album sales for the year.

The two businesses sit at the core of K-pop agencies' earnings. At HYBE, concerts brought in 647.7 billion won ($488.5 million) of its record 1.45 trillion won in second-quarter revenue, while albums and digital music accounted for 326.8 billion won, followed closely by merchandise and licensing at 310.6 billion won.

K-pop acts took six of the 10 highest-grossing touring spots in Asia over the past year, led by boy band Seventeen, which grossed $97.4 million and sold 661,088 tickets, according to U.S. concert industry publication Pollstar's Asia Focus Top Touring Artists chart.

The chart covers shows played between Aug. 1, 2025, and July 31, 2026.

K-pop girl group TWICE / Courtesy of JYP Entertainment

K-pop acts filled the chart's top four spots. TWICE came in second with $76.18 million, followed by TXT and BTS, which grossed $49.07 million in Asia as part of its "ARIRANG" world tour. BLACKPINK and ENHYPEN ranked eighth and ninth, respectively.

Seventeen played 22 shows in Asia on its "NEW_" world tour, which kicked off in Incheon in September last year before moving on to stadiums in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Bulacan in the Philippines.

According to its agency, Pledis Entertainment, the group became the first K-pop act to sell out four concerts at Hong Kong's 50,000-capacity Kai Tak Stadium. It had placed second behind British band Coldplay on last year's chart.

A version of BTS’ fifth studio album “ARIRANG” featuring member J-hope is displayed in the music section of Kyobo Book Centre in Jongno District, Seoul, in March. Newsis

100 mil. mark in sight

The album market is showing similar momentum. Cumulative physical album sales from January to September reached 79 million copies, about 7.6 million more than the same period last year, according to Circle Chart.

The rebound began in March, when BTS released "ARIRANG," its fifth studio album and first as a full group in three years and nine months. The album sold 3.98 million copies on its first day, according to Hanteo Chart, and logged 4,224,016 copies in the first half of the year on Circle Chart.

Monthly sales topped 10 million copies for the first time this year in April, when boy bands TXT, NCT WISH, &TEAM and TWS released new albums, and have crossed that line three times so far. CORTIS added to the momentum in May as its second EP, "GREENGREEN," sold more than 2.3 million copies in its first week.

From left, K-pop boy band CORTIS members Martin, Juhoon, Keonho, Seonghyeon and James pose during a showcase for the group’s second EP, “GREENGREEN,” at YES24 Live Hall in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, April 20. Newsis

August was the strongest month of the year, with sales exceeding 11 million copies. Stray Kids and ENHYPEN sold about 3.9 million and 2.24 million copies, respectively, together accounting for 52.8 percent of sales among the top 400 albums.

Sales cooled in September, however, falling 38 percent from August and 37.8 percent from a year earlier, despite releases from &TEAM, CLOSE YOUR EYES and BOYNEXTDOOR.

To return to the 100 million mark for the first time since 2023, the market needs roughly 21 million more copies over the final three months, and a crowded fourth-quarter lineup could help close the gap.

ATEEZ, which topped the Billboard 200 for the third time with its 14th EP in June, returns with "GOLDEN HOUR : Part.6" on Nov. 13, while TXT will release its ninth EP, "PERFECT STORM," on Nov. 16.

BABYMONSTER, IVE and Illit are also among the acts slated to release new music before the end of the year.

过去一年，K-pop艺人引领了亚洲巡演市场，实体专辑销量也随之攀升，使亚洲音乐产业距离2026年1亿张的销量目标更近一步。Seventeen以9740万美元的总收入位居Pollstar亚洲巡演榜榜首，而K-pop艺人则包揽了该榜单的前四名。今年1月至9月，实体专辑销量达到7900万张，比去年同期增长约760万张。距离1亿张的销量目标，市场还需要在最后三个月内再售出约2100万张。

HYBE公布第二季度营收为1.45万亿韩元，其中演唱会收入为6477亿韩元，专辑和数字音乐收入为3268亿韩元。

Pollstar 的排行榜涵盖了 2025 年 8 月 1 日至 2026 年 7 月 31 日期间举行的演出；Seventeen 在亚洲巡演活动中售出了 661,088 张门票。

TWICE 以 7618 万美元的票房位列第二，TXT 和 BTS 紧随其后，BTS 在亚洲的 ARIRANG 世界巡回演唱会上获得了 4907 万美元的票房。

根据 Hanteo Chart 的数据，BTS 的《ARIRANG》首日销量为 398 万张；根据 Circle Chart 的数据，上半年销量为 4224016 张。

8 月份实体专辑销量超过 1100 万张，而 9 月份销量比 8 月份下降了 38%，比上年同期下降了 37.8%。

发布于2026年10月21日下午5:06（韩国标准时间）

Seventeen 荣登 Pollstar 排行榜榜首，专辑销量逼近 1 亿张。

韩国男子组合 Seventeen / 图片由 Pledis Entertainment 提供

韩流音乐正受益于演唱会门票和实体专辑销量的激增，这两项都是该行业的主要收入来源。本月公布的数据显示，韩流音乐在亚洲巡演市场占据主导地位，并且今年的专辑销量即将达到 1 亿张。

这两项业务是韩国流行音乐经纪公司盈利的核心。HYBE公司第二季度营收创下1.45万亿韩元的历史新高，其中演唱会收入为6477亿韩元（约合4.885亿美元），专辑和数字音乐收入为3268亿韩元，紧随其后的是周边商品和授权收入，为3106亿韩元。

根据美国演唱会行业出版物 Pollstar 的《亚洲焦点顶级巡演艺人榜》，在过去一年中，韩国流行音乐艺人占据了亚洲十大最赚钱巡演艺人中的六个席位，其中男子组合 Seventeen 领衔，收入达 9740 万美元，售出 661088 张门票。

该榜单涵盖了 2025 年 8 月 1 日至 2026 年 7 月 31 日期间播出的节目。

韩国女子组合TWICE / 图片由JYP娱乐公司​​提供

韩国流行音乐组合包揽了榜单前四名。TWICE以7618万美元的票房位居第二，TXT和BTS紧随其后，BTS凭借“ARIRANG”世界巡回演唱会在亚洲斩获4907万美元票房。BLACKPINK和ENHYPEN分别位列第八和第九。

Seventeen 在“NEW_”世界巡回演唱会上于去年 9 月在仁川拉开帷幕，随后前往香港、新加坡、曼谷和菲律宾布拉坎的体育场进行演出，共在亚洲举办了 22 场演唱会。

据其经纪公司Pledis娱乐称，该组合成为首个在香港启德体育场（可容纳5万人）举办四场演唱会全部售罄的韩国流行音乐组合。他们在去年的排行榜上位列第二，仅次于英国乐队Coldplay。

今年3月，在首尔钟路区教保书店音乐区，展示了防弹少年团第五张正规专辑《ARIRANG》的封面版本，该版本收录了成员J-hope的封面。（Newsis）

100密位标记已在视野中

专辑市场也呈现出类似的增长势头。据Circle Chart的数据显示，今年1月至9月，实体专辑累计销量达到7900万张，比去年同期增长约760万张。

防弹少年团的复苏始于3月，当时他们发行了第五张正规专辑《ARIRANG》，这也是他们三年零九个月以来以完整体形式发行的首张专辑。根据Hanteo Chart的数据，该专辑首日销量达398万张，上半年在Circle Chart上的销量则达到了4224016张。

今年4月，男团TXT、NCT WISH、&TEAM和TWS相继发行新专辑，单月销量首次突破1000万张大关，迄今为止已有三张专辑销量达到这一里程碑。5月，CORTIS的第二张迷你专辑《GREENGREEN》首周销量超过230万张，进一步推动了这一销售势头。

4月20日，韩国男子组合CORTIS成员Martin、Juhoon、Keonho、Seonghyeon和James在首尔东部广津区的YES24 Live Hall举行了组合第二张迷你专辑《GREENGREEN》的发布会。（图片来源：Newsis）

8月是全年销量最高的月份，销量超过1100万张。Stray Kids和ENHYPEN分别售出约390万张和224万张，合计占前400名专辑销量的52.8%。

然而，尽管 &TEAM、CLOSE YOUR EYES 和 BOYNEXTDOOR 等艺人推出了新专辑，但 9 月份的销售额还是降温了，比 8 月份下降了 38%，比去年同期下降了 37.8%。

要自 2023 年以来首次重回 1 亿大关，市场在最后三个月还需要大约 2100 万册的销量，而第四季度密集的影片阵容可能会有助于缩小这一差距。

ATEEZ 凭借 6 月份发行的第 14 张迷你专辑第三次登上 Billboard 200 排行榜榜首，将于 11 月 13 日携新专辑《GOLDEN HOUR : Part.6》回归，而 TXT 将于 11 月 16 日发行第九张迷你专辑《PERFECT STORM》。

BABYMONSTER、IVE 和 Illit 等艺人也计划在年底前发布新音乐。