Monthly spending on K-pop worldwide 2018-2024

According to a survey conducted across 28 countries in 2024, respondents stated that they spent an average of seven U.S. dollars on South Korean pop music (K-pop) content per month, an increase from about 4.5 dollars the previous year.

K-Pop consumption

Consumers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) showed the highest monthly spending on K-pop, at around 23.7 dollars per month in 2024. The same survey showed that the majority of K-Pop fans used YouTube for accessing K-Pop online, while Spotify was the second most popular online service for K-pop content. Due to the vast amount of content related to K-Pop, such as music videos, behind the scene videos, variety content and more, K-pop fans usually spend a lot of time watching said content. The average time spent engaging with K-pop, was highest among Filipino fans, followed by Thai and Indonesian consumers. 

Fan culture and collecting

K-pop content, especially CDs, usually has unique packaging which makes it attractive for consumers to buy and collect. An album usually includes a photobook and a lot of freebies such as photocards or stickers. Since the albums often include only one photocard out of many, fans often buy more copies to collect one of each member of the group. In some cases, idol groups release several versions of the same album with different photo concepts, so that avid collectors spend even more on K-pop. One example is the top-selling physical album of 2024, "SPILL THE FEELS" by SEVENTEEN, for which seven versions were available.