NOTES ON ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURE AND MORE FROM KOREA (OR WHEREVER)

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Korean Music Charts - January 2007

Absolutely shocking how poor sales were for December. I thought that Korea usually gets a Christmas bump, but it certainly did not this year. The top-selling album, the latest SM Entertainment holiday release, sold just 33,453 copies. The tenth-place album, Park Sang-min's latest, sold just 11,000 (last month, tenth place sold 20,000).

Foreign music sales were also pretty bad, although they were actually up a little from November.

Still no work on 2006 overall sales yet, but you can bet they are going to be pretty depressing. On the other hand, the advance word I am getting about digital sales (online downloads, mobile phone music, etc.) is pretty incredible. Last year, mobile and downloads were (officially) about $267 million, versus $118 million for CD and cassette sales. I say officially, because the math behind the numbers if pretty murky, with no one group responsible for all the rights or collecting all the money. Unofficially, that number could have been well over $400 million. And there are rumors that 2006 might have experienced another huge leap. I will write about those numbers as soon as I hear more.

This MonthArtistAlbum NameRelease DateThis Month's SalesTotal Sales
1.VariousSM Town 1012.1233,45333,453
2.SG WannabeThe Precious History11.1633,42678,548
3.Big BangVol. 112.2133,34333,343
4.Lee Seung-chulReflection of Sound9.2726,01786,593
5.RainVol. 4 - I'm Coming10.1320,995106,110
6.Dong Bang Shin GiVol. 3 - O-Union9.2820,046349,317
7.BrianThe Brian12.1815,37615,376
8.Bobby KimVol. 212.1113,72313,723
9.Sung Shi-gyungVol. 510.1011,91294,328
10.Park Sang-minVol 1112.0111,00811,008
(source: MIAK)

Foreign Sales:
This MonthArtistAlbum NameRelease DateThis Month's SalesTotal Sales
1.Il DivoSiempre12.017,233
7,233
2.Richard Yongjae O'NeilLachrymae9.076,49819,454
3.VariousLove and Memory12.075,471
5,471
4.The BeatlesLove11.215,081
9,126
5.WestlifeThe Love Album11.204,629
10,216
6.VariousStep Up (OST)10.244,407
4,761
7.Shin YoungokLove Duets12.053,845
3,845
8.Jo SumiWith Love8.253,418
19,055
9.VariousWine: Music & Story10.193,404
5,410
10.Kenny GThe Most Romantic Melodies11.203,237
6,698







(source: MIAK)

1 comment:

popseoul said...

interesting site... we are doing something similar as well... check us out at www.popseoul.typepad.com