A three year absence while the lads served their mandatory military service did not slow down the musical tsunami known as BTS.
In an age where streaming rules when it comes to the music charts and listening to music, BTS is setting new records in the U.S. with vinyl sales.
Nearly half of the United States know about the Korean boy band; nearly twice as much as any other international act. And the numbers cross every age group.
Shortly after all seven member of BTS finished their military service, they announced a new album and world tour. In its first week of release of “ARIRANG”, BTS sold a total of 516,000 physical copies – 208,000 of which were on vinyl; aiding them on the way to a number one debut on the Billboard 200 Album chart.
But in the end, it’s the streaming services that give BTS their biggest push with nearly four billion streams in the eight weeks after the release of “ARIRANG”. The numbers grew to 4.8 billion after 12 weeks and a whopping 5.6 billion 16 weeks after the March 20 release.
In an age of streaming, a single or album release spills over to the remainder of an artists’ catalog; giving them all a boost. Sixteen weeks after the release of “ARIRANG”, BTS’ entire catalogue had amassed a total of 8.7 billion streams.
BTS’ music label BIGHT MUSIC noted, “the findings from Luminate demonstrate that BTS has built a broad mainstream audience in the United States beyond its core fanbase, supported by strong levels of awareness and likeability. The high share of vinyl sales and sustained streaming performance further underscore BTS’ enduring influence in the global music market.”