SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, BTS, BLACKPINK

K-pop’s global momentum isn’t just confined to chart-topping hits and massive album sales this year: it’s on full display under the bright lights of arenas and stadiums worldwide with new milestones hit by the likes ofSEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, BTS’ J-Hope,TVXQ!, BABYMONSTER and more.

Following the latest reports on midyear tour figures, the K-pop industry’s touring business has surpassed previous milestones with entertainment agencies leaning more heavily on live-performance revenue as we near the second half of 2025. It marks an apparent shift in K-pop, transitioning from being dependent on album sales to concert-fueled growth, with the trend unlikely to swing back as the rest of the year promises more prominent shows on the way.

SEVENTEEN Lead K-Pop’s Midyear Tour Report

Billboard’s midyear Boxscore report revealed that SEVENTEEN firmly established themselves as a world-class live act. Based on the reported touring data from October 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025, the boy band earned a staggering $120.9 million in gross revenue with 842,000 tickets sold during the period. Before celebrating their 10th anniversary in May, the stars secured the Number 3 spot on Billboard Boxscore’s all-genre midyear list — only slightly behind Coldplay and Shakira, who are on massive stadium tours of their own with that have grossed a respective $142.1 million and $130 million. Remarkably, SEVENTEEN essentially doubled its midyear gross for the second consecutive year, jumping from $30 million in 2023 to $67.5 million in 2024.

SEVENTEEN’s third-place finish marks the highest ranking ever achieved by a Korean act in Billboard Boxscore’s midyear tally, surpassing BTS’ previous Number 4 midyear placement from 2022.

But SEVENTEEN wasn’t the lone live phenomenon. Five K-pop acts made the all-genre Top 50 ranking for Billboard Boxscore, up from three in 2023 and two in 2022.

Fellow boy band ATEEZ, as well as J-Hope of BTS, follow SEVENTEEN with $28.4 million and $28.1 million grossed, respectively, with J-Hope noted as the first K-pop soloist ever to land on the midyear overall Top Tours chart. Rounding out this top five are ENHYPEN and Tomorrow X Together, grossing $25.6 million and $25.1 million, respectively.

Overall, K-pop acts on the midyear Top Tours chart generated $228 million while selling 1.6 million tickets from 78 reported shows. Billboard reports that the scene’s 2025 showing is a 79% increase over the 2024 total, which had already jumped 93% from 2023. In just two years’ time, K-pop’s presence on the midyear Boxscore has more than tripled.

Many K-Pop Labels Pivot to Live Amid Rising Revenue

These touring triumphs highlight a strategic pivot among South Korea’s entertainment giants.

As the industry’s reliably massive album sales have softened, live performances have become the primary driver of growth. Major players, including HYBE, SM Entertainment, and YG Entertainment, reported first-quarter revenue surges, primarily driven by concert earnings.

Check out a breakdown of the year-over-year first-quarter numbers for each of the “big four” Korean-pop agencies below, with data provided by The Chosun Daily.

• HYBE: Recording an overall 38.7% revenue spike to $365 million, concert revenue soared 252% to $112.4 million, overtaking music sales (which declined 5.9%). Concerts now account for 31% of total revenue, compared to 12% a year earlier. J-Hope helped the company crank a milestone in the U.S. as the first K-pop soloist to perform a stateside stadium with his April 4 and 6 shows at BMO Stadium that grossed $8.8 million from brought in 42,800 attendees for ticket prices ranging from $59.50 to $279.50.
  • HYBE’s 2024 and 2025 tour revenue included shows by SEVENTEEN, BTS’ J-Hope, ENHYPEN, Tomorrow X Together, LE SSERAFIM, BOYNEXTDOOR, &TEAM and more.
• SM Entertainment: Saw concert revenue climb 58% to $28.3 million, while album and digital sales still managed to rise 23% to $49.1 million.
  • SM’s 2024 and 2025 tour revenue included shows by TVXQ!, Super Junior’s Yesung, Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon, SHINee’s Minho, NCT 127, NCT DREAM, NCT WISH, aespa and more. SM is also celebrating its 30th anniversary with its all-label SMTOWN Live concert across select cities around the world.
• YG Entertainment: Posted the biggest jump among the four with a 275% year-on-year increase in concert revenue, hitting $5.4 million.
  • YG’s 2024 and 2025 tour revenue included shows by 2NE1, TREASURE, BABYMONSTER and more.
• JYP Entertainment: An outlier with a modest 3.1% revenue uptick to 140.8 billion won with a 41.6% drop in operating profit due to scaled-down tours and heavier investment in new debuts, the company’s concert revenue shrank by 26.5%, with concerts making up about 15% of the quarter’s revenue.
  • JYP’s 2024 and 2025 tour revenue included shows by DAY6, NMIXX, Xdinary Heroes and more.

The Rest of 2025 Should Bring Bigger K-Pop Live Number

With still a month to go until July, the remainder of 2025 appears to be shaping up as a landmark period for further live and touring growth.

As further evidence, HYBE CEO Park Jiwon noted in a recent earnings call that the conglomerate has more than 150 concerts confirmed for 2025 from its artists, with additional announcements to follow. “Both the scale and audience size will expand further in the second half,” Park said, per Chosun Daily.

Once again, peep the 2025 preview for the four major agencies.

• HYBE’s ongoing world tours as BTS members return: With mandatory military service completed in June for the remaining five members, BTS is reportedly expected to reconvene later this year, potentially fueling a major reunion tour. In the meantime, the eldest member, Jin, will embark on a world tour with dates across Asia, North America, and Europe this summer as J-Hope closes out his ongoing solo trek. ENHYPEN’s Walk the Line world tour will wrap its Asia dates in June before setting off to the States and Europe, while LE SSERAFIM has teased North American dates for their Easy Crazy Hot Tour in September.
• SM books global festivals amid a mix of tours: aespa confirmed playing major international summer festivals like Morocco’s Mawazine and Tokyo’s Summer Sonic, with aespa also returning to Los Angeles for KCON 2025 LA with SHINee’s KEY, NCT 127 and RIIZE. Meanwhile, NCT DREAM and RIIZE will be on tour throughout the year, while some of the label’s soloists, like KAI of EXO, and units like Red Velvet’s Irene and Seulgi, will also hold concerts overseas. The company’s 30th anniversary celebration concert, SMTOWN Live, will also feature additional shows in 2025, following dates previous dates in Seoul, Mexico City, and Los Angeles.
• YG’s big BLACKPINK comeback: The label’s top earner is displaying its sustained drawing power with large amounts of tickets sold for stadium shows even as the group has yet to drop any new music. The label’s latest girl group, BABYMONSTER, will also continue its world tour with more U.S. dates after initially starting in New York and Los Angeles earlier this year.
• JYP plays its pair of aces: Both TWICE and Stray Kids have major tours in the pipeline. The girl group will mark their 10th anniversary with a full-length album and an expected tour. Meanwhile, Stray Kids will continue to build on their April momentum, which included a Number 3 spot on Billboard Boxscore’s April 2025 report, after grossing $35 million from six shows and attracting 313,000 attendees as part of the dominATE World Tour. SKZ’s two-night stand at Mexico City’s Estadio GNP Seguros (on April 26–27) alone pulled in $14.1 million from 110,000 tickets sold between $48.91–$225.16. Earlier in the month in São Paulo, they also grossed $10.5 million from another 110,000 attendees, with tickets ranging from $40.16 to $160.64.

With unprecedented midyear grosses and Korean agencies realigning and diverting resources toward lucrative global tours, the K-pop industry’s blockbuster second half indicates its revenue mix is likely shifting even more toward live performances and, with that, setting new records around the world.