Introducing Billboard’s New ‘K-Pop Fandom in the U.S.’ Report
K-pop is all about the fans. With that in mind, Billboard is releasing the new report, K-Pop Fandom in the U.S., based on a survey of nearly 1,400 U.S.-based Billboard readers who are also avid K-pop fans.
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K-Pop Fandom in the U.S. delves into the demographics of American K-pop fans, revealing how they listen to K-pop music, which K-pop merchandise they purchase and the activities (concerts, in-person events, fan clubs, etc.) that reveal the depth of their affection for the music, the artists and the community.
“The time is right to learn more about U.S. K-pop fans,” said Billboard’s Glenn Peoples, the author of the report. “Not only does K-pop continue to make waves globally, but the U.S. has also become an important home base for South Korean companies taking their distinct approach to artist development to Western countries. The reader survey helps shed a light on K-pop fans in the world’s largest music market.”
Among the survey’s findings:
- 82% of respondents listen to K-pop seven days a week.
- While 72% of K-pop fans regularly listen to pop music, just 19% are frequent listeners of Latin music and 15% are regular country music listeners.
- 36% of respondents have been K-pop fans for five or more years. Nearly half (46%) have followed K-pop for two to five years and 19% have been K-pop fans for fewer than two years.
- For all their enthusiasm, K-pop fans are more likely to listen to and buy music than attend concerts. Just 47% of respondents said they had not been to a K-pop concert in the previous year, with the lack of nearby performances and cost of tickets being the two most common explanations.
Billboard’s K-pop report arrives just as the genre is making waves again. Music from the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters dominates the Billboard charts. HUNTR/X’s “Golden” tops the two major international charts, the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. The U.S. is filled with K-pop fans, and the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack ranks No. 3 on the U.S.-focused Billboard 200 album chart, and the track “Golden” sits at No. 2 on the U.S.-based Hot 100 singles chart.
Newcomers such as HUNTR/X ride on a road paved by global stars such as BTS and BLACKPINK. Future chart-toppers will benefit from companies’ efforts to plant roots in the U.S. HYBE, for example, produced the girl group KATSEYE through a partnership with Universal Music Group’s Geffen Records. Additionally, SM Entertainment and Kakao Entertainment formed a North American joint venture and partnered with U.S. label gamma to launch the boy band dearALICE.
“With Americans’ growing interest in K-pop and groups born from K-pop’s artist development methods,” said Peoples, “expect more industry efforts on U.S. soil.”
Check out the full report right here.
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