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The meaning of the "China Market" in the K-pop girl group industry
The Chinese market is one of sensitive issues in the K-pop industry. As the Chinese tool market grows, it has become an indispensable part of the music industry, but inside K-pop fandom, there are also gestures to reduce the meaning of the Chinese market. It may be a byproduct of anti-China public opinion prevalent in Korean society, but rather, it seems to be public opinion based on each group's position in the Chinese market. Group fans with relatively small Chinese fandom argue that the Japanese market, which allows local tours, is much more important because China is blocked from local activities.
The debate comes and goes between female idol fandom rather than male idol group. Compared to male idols, female idols have a small core fandom, whether in Korea or abroad, so female idols are much more dependent on Chinese tools. When BTS set a record of 3.37 million K-pop initial sountracks with the "MAP OF THE SOUL: 7," 770,000 of them were Chinese tools. Other female idols also have differences in degree, but in general, they have a higher proportion of Chinese tools than male idols and various groups benefit. IVE, its "After Like" album last year, also has total of 650,000 Chinese tools, including the third one.
Tour performances and local activities are important for idols because they are a major channel for fandom sales. The tour is an opportunity to sell good to existing fans and attract new fans. There is nothing left over from the sale of tickets for the performance itself except for the rental fee. On the contrary, if there is a strong influx of fandom and fandom sales are possible, tour performances are not necessarily necessary. China is one of the regions with the biggest growth of core fans in recent years, and the sales and marketing effects of record sales are never small. Although it may be an era in which 100,000 female idol albums are sold in like a few years ago, female idols are ow in the era of 1 million first-time albums. China is a market where people buy as many as 200,000 to as 7.8 million albums.
Some argue that the export growth of albums in the U.S. market is steeper than in China that they buy more albums in China and that they buy more albums in Japan, citing statistics from the Korea Customs Service, but it is an error in interpretation that does not distinguish between male idol and female idol album sales. In the U.S. music export, a small proportion of global popular groups such as BTS in large, and more male idol albums are purchased in Japan. If you compare it by case, the answer comes out. Like BTS and Seventeen, direct sales of popular male idols in Japan range from 200,000 to 400,000 copies, while TICE, which has te largest direct sales of female idols, also has 100,000 individual album sales. In the rookie group, about 80,000 copies of aespa's direct imports from Japan are the highest, and compared to 800,000 aespa Chinese tolls, China can realize its share in the album sales of the "girl idol" grou- (not male idols).
It's a simple story to sum up. The music board is not everything but one of the important elements of the group's activities, and unlike male idols, the biggest element of female idols is Chinese tools. The global fandom market for male and female idols has a different structural situation. Unlike other overseas markets, where female idols have smaller core fans than male idols, China is the only market where the proportion of female idols' core fans is similar to that of male idols. That is derived from the sales result of female idol tool sales beyond male idol tool sales. It is difficult to have exceptions because it is a structural topography that encompasses the entire industry. In the case of HYBE, the company's fans say that it is not restricted by the Chinese market because it does not select Chinese trainees, but unlike even HYBE's boy group, girl groups rely on the Chinese market for album sales. In the case of NewJeans, it is an unusual case in which Chinese tools were made on a large scale with their debut, and this comeback album also has more than 300,000 Chinese tools, accounting for about half of the total initial sales of 700,000 copies. On the other hand, even Le Sserafim, which has a weak Chinese fandom, has about 200,000 Chinese tools, more than 30% of the initial sound board.
Above all, the meaning of the Chinese market is that it gives a growth engine to the girl group market, which has fallen into the red ocean. The girl group market has become super saturated as existing girl groups have longer life expectancy and new girl groups have poured out. Moreover, the size of girl group core fans is decreasing in the Korean market. The recent fact that certain girl groups are showing Namcho fandom-friendly moves, such as appearing on "Calm Man" Lee's late-year broadcast on the day of their comeback, has also turned to "popularity" because of the fandom pie has been depleted. Yeocho fandom has already become the mainstream female iidol fandom, and Yeocho community has a strong tendency to be closed. The move is aimed at promoting "popularity by gaining support from the "Namcho Community," which is open to the outside world and has a high ripple effect on issues.
On the other hand, in China, the logic that the market works is 'competition'. Because it is sensitive to records that prove fandom firepower, competition between groups in sales volume and fandom among members of the same group are fierce. Based on the huge population, the influx of K-pop fandom continues. The fiercer the competition, the more the pie is depleted, but the more the pie expands and sales increase. The existing group, which has long debuted, has also grown in pitch based on Chinese tools, and the rookie group has a different starting line from before, Instead of simply repeating that the Chinese market is blocked from local activities—of course, there will be a greater possibility if local activities are possible—they should nevertheless pay attention to the effect on the female idol market.
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