Photo credit: Luminate
The music industry’s highest-ever physical sales for 2023 were announced using data from Luminate, further underscoring the link between K-pop fans and physical music sales.
While streaming remains the most popular way to consume music, physical sales across all formats have also increased — and superfans are helping to boost those numbers, according to mid-year data from Luminate.
Luminate defines a Superfan as a music listener aged 13+ who engages with an artist and their content in a variety of ways – through streaming, social media, purchasing physical merchandise or music, or attending live performances. In this case, Superfans were participants who reported interacting with their favorite artists in five or more ways.
In the US, superfans make up 15% of the population and they influence an artist’s relationship with their listeners. Fans who buy physical music in the form of CDs, cassettes, or vinyl are 128% more likely to be superfans and spend 80% more on music each month than the average listener.
Best physical sales of 2023 so far – CD and vinyl
Luminate data shows that K-pop fans are more than 69% more likely to buy a record in the next 12 months than superfans of other primary genres and are more likely to buy music to celebrate their Showing support is more than 67% higher than an artist. K-pop fans drive sales of CDs (46%) and cassettes (23%) more than fans of other genres, and one in four K-pop fans bought a cassette in the last year.
Top Selling CD Albums
- TOMORROW X TOGETHER – The name chapter: TEMPTATION – 395,000 copies
- Stray Kids – 5 Stars – 322,000 copies
- TWICE – To be ready – 258,000 copies
- seventeen – Seventeen 10th Mini Album “FML” – 233,000 copies
- Agust D (Suga from BTS) – D Day – 186,000 copies
- Taylor Swift- midnight – 176,000 copies
- Jimin (BTS) – FACE – 168,000 copies
- Ateez – The World EP 2: Outlaw – 129,000 copies
- ENHYPEN – Dark blood – 127,000 copies
- Stray Kids – Maxident – 114,000 copies
Top Selling Vinyl Albums
- Taylor Swift- midnight – 251,000 copies
- royal wool – Did you know there is a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard? – 132,000 copies
- Taylor Swift- folklore – 107,000 copies
- Tyler the Creator – IGOR – 104,000 copies
- Fleetwood Mac – rumours – 103,000 copies
- young genius The record – 100,000 copies
- Melanie Martinez – PORTALS – 93,000 copies
- Michael Jackson – thriller – 85,000 copies
- Pink Floyd – The dark side of the moon – 85,000 copies
- royal wool – Born to Die – 84,000 copies