BTS returns to the music scene after its members completed military service, which is mandatory in South Korea and lasts from 18 to 21 months. The departure of the members of the K-pop boy band from the army was broadcast live on news television.
Hyundai Motor Securities analyst Kim Hyun-yong estimated that the BTS tour will include about 65 concerts and attract an average audience of about 60,000. viewers on each. Whether it will cover Poland is unknown. However, you can probably count on the band's European tour.
BTS is back. There will be concerts, records and gadgets
According to Billboard Boxscore, ticket prices for the 10 largest stadium concerts are rising. In 2024, in North America they were approximately USD 150.94, in Europe – USD 121.12, and in the rest of the world – USD 110.67.
“Billboard” indicates that, taking into account the growing inflation, depending on the region, from 4 to approximately 13 percent, 65 concerts evenly distributed over three regions, with an average attendance of 60,000. people, would give 3.9 million tickets at an average price of $150.29. That would mean gross sales of $664.1 million. For comparison, Coldplay had the most profitable route in 2024. They generated $401 million.
But concerts are not everything. Concert merchandise sales, combined with online sales and other licensing revenues, can also bring in huge sums. Billboard calculated that total BTS merchandise sales would be $352.7 million.
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Millions on albums
An integral part of any K-pop group's business is album sales. Given the built-up demand for new material, BTS will likely achieve sales on par with their last album “Proof,” which reached No. 13 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. Here, in turn, according to the magazine's conservative calculations, the new BTS album could sell four million copies at $20 each. per piece within 12 months, which would generate $80 million. gross revenues.
Revenues from streaming new BTS music will also be lucrative for HYBE, the band's South Korean label. Here, in turn, “Billboard” gives an estimated amount of $33.2 million.
These four segments – concerts, album sales, merchandise and licenses, and streaming – add up to a gigantic amount of approximately USD 1.05 billion.
The return of BTS will be a huge financial injection for HYBE itself. However, Billboard notes that the label is less dependent on the group than it was a few years ago. BTS's share in HYBE's revenues once reached up to 95%, but when the group went on hiatus, it dropped below 20%. in 2024,
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Who earns the most?
There are many indications that 2026 in the music industry in financial terms will belong to the K-pop band BTS. In recent years, Taylor Swift has been the queen of earnings.
It was calculated that the sales of Taylor Swift's album “The Life of a Showgirl”, which premiered in October, and its premiere screenings in cinemas, would increase her fortune by another $2.1 billion and allowed her to earn $2.1 billion.
