BTS's global reach grows beyond K-pop, Luminate data shows

BTS once again proved its global reach and the strength of its fan base, generating billions of streams from its latest album "Arirang" alone.

The band’s fifth full-length album “Arirang,” released in March, reached 3.8 billion streams across music platforms, such as Apple Music, YouTube Music and Spotify, between March 20 and May 14, according to global music data company Luminate.

Total global streams across BTS's catalog also surpassed 5.3 billion during the same period.

During the same period, Latin America accounted for the largest share of streams across BTS's entire discography at 27 percent, followed by Northeast Asia at 17 percent, North America at 14 percent, Southeast Asia at 13 percent and Europe at 12 percent.

The agency saw that the figures indicated the band's music was listened to widely across major markets worldwide rather than concentrated in any single region.

“Swim,” the lead track of “Arirang,” also reached over 500 million cumulative streams on Spotify as of May 26, according to the agency. It marks the first-ever song released globally this year to surpass 500 million streams on Spotify.

All B-side tracks of “Arirang” also surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify.

Physical album sales — including “Arirang” and its previous releases — also remained strong.

BTS's entire catalog sold 810,000 physical copies, including CDs and vinyl records, in the United States between March 20 and May 14, ranking No. 1 overall, according to Luminate data.

The group outsold the No. 2 and No. 3 artists by roughly fourfold, highlighting its overwhelming lead in physical album sales.

Luminate's data also pointed to exceptionally strong fan loyalty following the release of "Arirang."

Among those who are aware of BTS, 26 percent were classified as engaged listeners, 15 percent in the strong affinity group and 9 percent as superfans, according to a music data company.

All three figures reached record highs, rising by between 2 and 5 percentage points from 2021, when the survey was first conducted.

Listeners who are categorized as engaged refer to fans who go beyond simply listening to music by consistently consuming and interacting with artist-related content. Listeners categorized as having a strong affinity to the group or as a superfan represent core fans who have a strong emotional connection with the artist and actively support them by purchasing albums and music, consuming related content and attending concerts.

In Luminate's indicators measuring broader public interest, 44 percent of respondents fell into the "Like" category, while 32 percent fell into the "Listen" category.

The figures were up by 10 percentage points and 4 percentage points, respectively, from 2021, when the survey began.

“The steady year-over-year increases suggest that interest in and favorability toward BTS have continued to expand beyond the group's core fan base to the broader music-listening public,” BigHit Music said.

The data also showed that BTS has expanded its reach beyond the traditional boundaries of K-pop, as hip-hop listeners who do not consume much K-pop accounted for 7 percent of people aware of BTS.

"This analysis shows that BTS is not only maintaining strong loyalty among its core fan base but also continuously attracting new consumers, expanding its appeal to a broader audience," BigHit Music said. "Backed by its dedicated fandom, BTS continues to connect with more mainstream listeners and broaden its reach."

BY KIM JI-YE [[email protected]]