Luminate Data, a preeminent provider of music and entertainment data, released its 2023 Midyear Report, which offered intriguing insights about K-pop and its listeners.
Established three years ago, Luminate Data combined the resources of Nielsen Music, Alpha Data, and Variety Business Intelligence. Known for its extensive data collection and verification of more than 1.5 million talent records, including ethnicity, gender identity & preference, and race, Luminate is also the power behind the Billboard charts.
In the report, Luminate defines a superfan as someone who engages with artists and their content in five or more different ways. This definition is particularly relevant to K-pop fans, who are known for their high levels of engagement with their favorite artists.
Luminate’s data and insights, which offer valuable perspectives on entertainment consumption and audience outreach across the music, film, and TV industries, can lead to a greater understanding of the dynamics of K-pop fandom and its impact on the global entertainment landscape.
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The report shows that K-pop fans spend 75% more money on music categories per month than the average US music listener. Moreover, K-pop fans are 67% more likely to buy music to show support for their favorite artists.
The report also highlights music’s global reach, with 69% of US music listeners tuning in to artists from outside the US. This figure rises to 72% among Gen Z and Millennial music listeners, indicating the broad appeal of international music among younger audiences.
In terms of language preference, English, Spanish, and Korean were the most consumed languages for music in the first half of 2023. Other popular languages among US music listeners, in order of popularity, include French, Japanese, Italian, German, and Arabic.
Interestingly, while K-pop has a significant presence in the US, J-Pop is most popular in the New York tri-state area, according to Luminate’s mapping. The most-listened-to Japanese artists in the first half of 2023 were YOASOBI, Fujii Kaze, and Ado.
The report also reiterated several of the top 10 physical and digital albums on Billboard in the first half of 2023 were from K-pop groups and solo artists. TOMORROW X TOGETHER, STRAY KIDS, TWICE, SEVENTEEN, SUGA, and Jimin made the list, securing the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 9th spots, respectively.
In terms of format, the top CD album sales were comprised almost entirely of K-pop releases, with the exception of Taylor Swift. This contrasts sharply with vinyl sales, which didn’t feature a single K-pop act.
Interestingly, Luminate also assumes that K-pop fans will buy vinyl, despite it not currently being a big category for K-pop and only a handful of companies releasing vinyl albums. It will be interesting to see how this assumption plays out.
(Featured Image: Luminate Data introduced its report by saying it prides itself on “being a trusted, objective, and accurate data source reflecting and serving the entertainment industry at-large.”) Source: Twitter/Luminate’s official Twitter account.)
