K-pop CD exports decline for first time in nine years

The export volume for K-pop CDs has declined in the first half of this year, marking the first downturn in nine years.

K-pop CDs and records displayed at a store in downtown Seoul. [YONHAP]

The export volume for K-pop CDs has declined in the first half of this year, marking the first downturn in nine years.

Export volume of audio-related products, including physical CDs for K-pop albums, fell 2 percent to $133.2 million from January to June, according to data from the Korea Customs Service.

The previous drop in CD export sales was in 2015, when the figure fell 7 percent to $12.77 million. However, export volumes have been growing each year since then, riding on the global popularity of Hallyu.

By country, Japan spent the most on Korean CDs with $46.93 million, followed by the United States with $30.45 million and China with $18.40 million. Taiwan, Germany, Hong Kong, Canada, the Netherlands, Britain and France made up the top 10 places in export volume.

Total K-pop album sales for the first half of this year also slumped, according to data by Kim Jin-woo, a head researcher at Circle Chart.

Sales for the top 400 albums from January to June fell 14.39 percent on year to 47.60 million units.

K-pop artists’ album sales for the first week since release have shrunk compared to their previous sales.

Seventeen fell from 5.09 million to 2.97 million; ZeroBaseOne from 2.13 million to 1.35 million; BTS’s RM from 0.62 million to 0.56 million; IVE from 1.61 million to 1.32 million and Red Velvet from 0.41 million to 0.27 million, according to market tracker Hanteo Chart.

aespa’s first full-length album, "Armageddon," sold 1.15 million units, up from prior EP sales of 1.13 million, but failed to surpass its third EP’s 1.7 million released last year.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]