K-pop albums' annual physical sales set to hit record 80 million in 2022: Chart

SEOUL: South Korea's K-pop physical album sales are at the brink of reaching the 80 million milestone for 2022, thanks to the robust performance of boy band BTS and popular girl groups.

The annual physical sales of the top 400 K-pop albums had stood at 74.2 million as of Dec 10, up 29.9 per cent from a year earlier, Yonhap news agency reported citing the country's benchmark Circle Chart revealed Saturday.

K-pop superband BTS sold 6.07 million physical copies during the cited period, buoying the overall non-EP sales.

A jump in girl groups' album sales also stood out this year.

Female singers logged 32.6 per cent of all physical sales for K-pop in 2022, up 16.5 percentage points from a year earlier, according to Circle Chart.

The portion of male singers, however, decreased by 17.3 percentage points to 66.2 per cent.

-- BERNAMA