A new Live Nation study has highlighted Asia Pop’s exponential growth in the Australasian live music market.
The ‘Future Sound’ report found that 100% of music fans surveyed wanted more A-Pop live experiences, with TikTok Australia reporting 61 million K-Pop views by fans in the last 12 months alone.
2024 has proven to be the biggest year yet for A-Pop with Live Nation reporting a 600% increase in the number of live shows from the genre and a 275% surge in the number of artists since 2015.
Although globally popular, A-Pop has gone beyond Korea’s K-Pop with fans embracing a wide range of sub-genres, including J-Pop and City Pop. The genre’s popularity was highlighted by TWICE making history by playing four stadium shows in Australia in 2023, while ITZY’s performance at Spark Arena made them the highest-selling K-Pop act in New Zealand ever.
“What we’re seeing is not a new phenomenon; it has been an undercurrent in our musical landscape for years, only now receiving the widespread recognition it deserves,” said Wenona Lok, Asia Pop promoter at Live Nation Australasia. “Asia Pop has transcended its niche status and exploded into mainstream fandom, fostering deep connections between fans and artists through social content, dance and fashion to name a few.”
More A-Pop tours heading to Australasia
Testament to the rise of the genre’s appeal, 98% of fans now listen to music in languages other than English, according to the report. Surprisingly, over 60% prefer it, despite English being their primary language at home.
While A-Pop has long been associated with younger audiences, the study reveals a more diverse audience than expected, with 35% of its Australian and New Zealand fan base aged between 27 and 48.
Live Nation has a roster of A-Pop acts touring down under soon, including K-Pop superstars, Stray Kids who will perform stadium shows in Sydney and Melbourne on their <dominATE> World Tour in October, followed by Japanese virtual pop star Hatsune Miku’s first Australia and New Zealand tour ‘Hatsune Miku Expo’ in November.
Jocelle Koh, founder of Asian Pop Weekly, has been encouraged by the genre’s growth.
She said: “All of our experiences have taught us how important the live experience is to any music lover, and given the unique offerings of a K-Pop or Mandopop or J-Pop show, we’re excited to see how the support of promoters such as Live Nation can help to amplify that impact at ground level. Western consumption of Asian Pop has become so much more dynamic in the past three to four years, and globalisation of the wider genre is the clear next step.”
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