South Korea's music industry - Statistics & Facts

Music industry

All in all, the South Korean music industry achieved an all-time high sales revenue of over 6.8 trillion South Korean won in 2019, as well as an export value of over 756 million U.S. dollars. The export value has been increasing steadily ever since 2009 when K-pop began to become a global phenomenon. Nevertheless, while K-pop is one of the most prominent music exports from South Korea, there are numerous other popular domestic music genres. Older generations especially enjoy Korean Trot, an older form of South Korean popular music. When asked about their favorite origin of music, 93 percent of music listeners in South Korea stated that they preferred listening to music originating from South Korea.

Music streaming

In the home country of Samsung and LG, a great majority of consumers own and use smartphones. With one of the best internet connections of the world, it is unsurprising that music consumers prefer to stream music rather than purchasing a physical copy. When asked about their preferred way of obtaining music, approximately 63.7 percent stated that they preferred streaming, while only 3.2 percent preferred to purchase a physical copy. In 2020, YouTube overtook the South Korean streaming service Melon as the most frequently used music streaming service in South Korea.

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