Streaming of K-pop surges 362 pct globally over 5 years: Spotify

The global streaming of K-pop music on Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming platform, has surged over the past five years as the genre’s global influence continues to grow, data showed Tuesday.

According to the data from the streaming service, K-pop streams increased by 362 percent in the global market and 182 percent in the United States in 2023 compared to 2018. In Southeast Asia, where K-pop is particularly popular, streaming surged by an impressive 423 percent during the same period.

The U.S. led the list of countries with the most K-pop listeners, followed by Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Mexico, Thailand, India, Brazil, Malaysia and Canada.

“K-pop has become a global force, with artists breaking into international charts like Billboard,” Park Jung-joo, head of Spotify Korea’s music team said during a “K-pop talks session” event organized by the company in Seoul. “K-pop, which started in Korea, is being connected with fans around the world through many artists.”

Spotify’s Billions Club, which recognizes tracks with over a billion streams, has welcomed several K-pop songs, including BTS member Jimin’s “Like Crazy,” BLACKPINK member Lisa’s “Money” and BLACKPINK’s “How You Like That.”

Notably, “Seven” by BTS’ Jungkook reached 1 billion streams in just 108 days of its release, making it the fastest song in Spotify’s history to join the club.

Collaborations between K-pop and international artists have also fueled the genre’s global rise.

When Tomorrow X Together teamed up with Brazilian artist Anitta for “Back for More” and BLACKPINK’s Lisa worked with pop star Rosalia on “New Woman,” both tracks saw a surge in both K-pop acts’ first-time listeners, Spotify noted.

The service also noted that K-pop’s growth is not limited to top-tier acts like BTS, BLACKPINK and Stray Kids, but is also evident among rising groups.

In the first half of 2024, four of the top five most-streamed Korean songs internationally were from newface groups, such as ILLIT, which ranked first, Le Sserafim and Babymonster, which held third through fifth places.

Spotify’s data also revealed growing monthly listener numbers for emerging K-pop groups. Babymonster had 7.5 million listeners, Kiss of Life had 6.7 million and ILLIT drew in 10 million listeners globally.