hankyoreh

Key figures from the IFPI’s "State of the Industry" report for 2024. (courtesy IFPI)

The global recording industry grew by 10.2% in 2023, with subscription-based streaming and physical album sales growing by 11.2% and 13.4%, respectively.

The figures appeared in a recent report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The IFPI, whose membership includes over 8,000 record companies around the world, publishes a yearly report covering trends in the global recording industry.

One especially notable part of the report was the exceptional showing by K-pop acts. In a global album chart tracking last year’s top-selling albums, K-pop albums occupied five of the top 10 spots, including “FML” by Seventeen (No. 1), “5-Star” by Stray Kids (No. 2), and “ISTJ” by NCT Dream (No. 6). And four K-pop acts were among the top ten entries in the global artist chart: Seventeen (No. 2), Stray Kids (No. 3), Tomorrow X Together (No. 7) and New Jeans (No. 8).

IFPI’s global album chart for 2023 featured five albums from Korean acts. (courtesy IFPI)

What does the IFPI think about those results? The Hankyoreh posed that question to Lewis Morrison, IFPI’s director of global data and analysis, during a video interview on Thursday. Morrison, who is based in the London main office, was visiting a branch in Singapore.

Morrison said the global recording industry has unexpectedly sustained double-digit growth over the past few years. The streaming market led growth overall, with K-pop accounting for a large share of growth in the physical album market.

Physical albums used to dominate the market, but now streaming accounts for 67.3% of sales. There was a sharp decline in the physical album market in the 2010s, but that has rebounded over the past couple of years.

With demand for LPs surging, Morrison said, not only older bands like Pink Floyd but also young artists such as Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish are releasing albums on vinyl. The spread of the K-pop fandom into North and South America has driven up record sales, and Taylor Swift has had a huge impact as well.

Such factors, he noted, are why the physical album market is still growing even in the age of streaming.

IFPI’s global artist chart for 2023. The top 10 artists feature a total of four Korean acts. (courtesy IFPI)

Morrison recognized K-pop’s positive impact on the global recording industry. He noted that in 2019, there was just one K-pop album with more than a million sales, but last year, there were 35 albums that hit the million mark. According to Morrison, BTS paved the way, and other capable and talented artists have followed in their footsteps.

An effective strategy for K-pop labels, Morrison explained, has been making aggressive investments and forging partnerships with global labels. Another big factor is that the development of the internet and social media makes it increasingly easy to encounter K-pop anywhere in the world.

Morrison thinks K-pop has a bright future in the global market. He admitted to having doubts about whether K-pop could sustain its growth while the BTS members were on hiatus to complete their military service. But a steady stream of outstanding artists like Seventeen have risen to the top of the charts since then, convincing him that K-pop will keep growing. He also sees more opportunities through partnerships with global labels.

Left: Lewis Morrison, IFPI’s director of global data and analysis. Right: Um Taejin, Korea consultant for the IFPI. (courtesy IFPI)

But certain conditions are needed for K-pop’s continuing growth, stressed Um Tae-jin, Korea consultant for the IFPI, who was also present for the video interview.

“K-pop has been a pillar of Hallyu exports. But if K-pop is to keep developing as an industry, Korea also needs to make institutional and policy changes to protect copyright and creators’ rights,” Um said.

Um made note of AI, which has been in the spotlight lately. “We need to require that [AI companies] receive permission from rights holders before using musical compositions in AI learning and demand transparency about what data they’re using,” he said.

Morrison noted that there are sure to be future obstacles to growth in the recording industry, including K-pop. But he promised that the IFPI would keep monitoring trends to support the music ecosystem’s continuing development.

Figures by region in the IFPI’s State of the Industry report. (courtesy IFPI)

By Suh Jung-min, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]