South Korean boy band BTS have reportedly generated more than $561mn from 46 sold-out concerts on their ongoing ARIRANG world tour, attracting 2.85mn fans and setting a new commercial benchmark for pop groups.
The milestone follows an earlier report from Billboard, which confirmed in September that BTS had become the first pop group to earn more than $500mn from a single tour.
According to Billboard Boxscore, the seven-member group generated $171.7mn from 12 concerts in August alone, selling approximately 801,000 tickets. That was the second-highest monthly touring revenue recorded by the publication, behind Beyoncé’s $179.3mn in August 2023.
The ARIRANG tour began on 9 April in Goyang, South Korea, marking BTS’ return to large-scale international touring following a break for its members to complete mandatory military service.
By September, BTS had performed across North America, Europe and Asia. 38 performances during the third-quarter reporting period brought in $465.8mn and sold more than 2.3mn tickets.
The group subsequently continued its tour in South America, with stops including Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil.
The tour is scheduled to continue into March 2027, with further concerts across Asia and Australia. Billboard previously estimated that ARIRANG could eventually reach $1bn in ticket sales, potentially placing it among the highest-grossing concert tours ever recorded.
BTS tour pushes HYBE to record quarterly revenue
The group’s commercial success has also contributed to record financial results for HYBE, the South Korean entertainment company behind BTS.
On 28 July, HYBE reported its highest quarterly revenue of 1.45tn won ($1bn) for April to June 2026, more than double the figure recorded a year earlier.
Operating profit rose 159.3% year on year to 170.9bn won ($127.5mn), while net profit increased more than sevenfold to 109.8mn won ($82,316).
It was the first time HYBE’s quarterly revenue exceeded 1tn won ($749.7mn) and operating profit surpassed 100bn won ($74mn). Concert revenue reached 647.7bn won ($485.6mn), while merchandise and licensing generated another 310.6bn won ($232.9mn).
HYBE attributed much of the growth to BTS’ return, including the release of their fifth studio album ARIRANG in March and the launch of their world tour in April. Other artists under the company’s labels also contributed to the results.
