Global K-Pop streams surge by 42 percent

Global streams of K-pop content have surged by 42 percent, with Japan leading with 9.7 billion streams, followed by the US and Indonesia. Gen Z Japanese females are particularly keen on K-pop.

Boy band BTS [BIGHIT MUSIC]

Global streams of K-pop music have increased by 42 percent compared to last year, according to data by Luminate, a music and entertainment data provider, on Thursday.

Luminate's weekly publication Tuesday Takeaway revealed that the on-demand audio and video streams for the top 100 K-pop groups of 2022 has reached a combined 90.4 billion as of Oct. 5.

Japan was the highest with 9.7 billion streams, followed by the United States, Indonesia, Korea, India, the Philippines and Mexico.

Some 39 percent of Gen Z Japanese females listen to Korean music. This generation is 105 percent more likely to listen to K-pop compared to the general Japanese population, Luminate said.

Vietnam and Hong Kong showed a growth in K-pop streams as well, up 59 percent and 50 percent respectively from last year, the company added.

The regional streaming composition differs between the Top 5 artists in the U.S.: BTS, Twice, Blackpink, Stray Kids and NewJeans. The majority of streams for K-pop groups BTS, Twice, Blackpink and NewJeans were derived from Asia, each having over 50 percent. For boy band Stray Kids, over 60 percent of its streams came from outside Asia with 29 percent from the U.S., Mexico and Brazil.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]