52% of U.S. K-pop Fans Buy Duplicate CDs for Different Inclusions
Four Out of Ten Spend Over $100 on K-pop Albums
Four out of ten K-pop fans in the United States spend more than $100 (approximately 140,000 KRW) per year on purchasing K-pop albums.
Billboard, a U.S. music media outlet, recently released the results of a survey in its report "K-POP FANDOM IN THE U.S." The survey was conducted from August 15 to 30 last year, targeting 1,400 Billboard readers aged 14 and older.
Among the respondents, 63% said they had purchased a K-pop CD in the past year. Of these, 41% reported spending more than $100 on CDs. Specifically, 10% spent between $101 and $150 (about 140,000 to 210,000 KRW), 6% spent between $151 and $200 (about 210,000 to 280,000 KRW), 5% spent between $201 and $250 (about 280,000 to 350,000 KRW), and 20% spent more than $250.
Among all respondents, 52% said they had purchased multiple copies of the same album because of differences in design or included items.
In addition to albums, consumption of K-pop-related merchandise such as clothing, posters, and light sticks was also active. Billboard reported that most U.S. K-pop fans have no hesitation in purchasing and collecting related merchandise. Glenn Peoples, Billboard's chief analyst, analyzed that "K-pop fans are not simply consumers, but are dedicated and organized."
Spending on concerts was relatively low. 53% of respondents said they had not attended a K-pop concert in the past year. Only 16% had attended three or more concerts. The main reasons for not attending concerts were "the venue was too far away" (64%) and "ticket prices were too high" (56%).
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In terms of gender and age distribution, the proportion of women and young people was high. 80% of respondents were female, 48% were 24 years old or younger, and 12% were 55 or older. The 45-54 age group had a higher participation rate in merchandise purchases compared to their overall share among fans (11%). In this age group, 82% said they had purchased K-pop-related merchandise in the past year, and 55% said they had bought package albums that combine albums and merchandise?the highest rate among all age groups.
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