K-Pop superstars BTS bank over $2 million from livestream concert

K-Pop boyband BTS had a virtual box office smash on Sunday with their pay-per-view BANG BANG CON The Live concert.

The livestream peaked with 756,600 concurrent viewers from 107 regions, according to Big Hit Entertainment, the equivalent of 15 shows at a 50,000-capacity stadium.

But it’s the box office gross that caught TMN’s attention. Big Hit said the virtual event broke the record for the highest-paid online concert.

Tickets were priced at US$35 for the general public, with BTS Army fan club members paying $26. The label and management behind the act also revealed the Fanclub grew by 10,000 members.

Korean news site, the Korea JoongAng Daily reports that the concert took a minimum of 21.9 billion won – or AU$26.1 million – from ticket sales.

Billboard K-Pop columnist Jeff Benjamin told TMN the concert’s success was a huge win for BTS.

“I think the Korean industry are learning from their live streaming concerts—with BTS as the shining example—could provide some major business opportunities for music in the future.

“The Korean music scene has actually done a great job at streaming high-quality content and concerts that incorporate AR and VR technology, but no act has a legacy like BTS,” Benjamin said.

The online presentation was delivered through six multi-view screens playing simultaneously.

Fans were able to choose from video call-like close-ups to full shots that encapsulate the group’s highly synchronized choreography, delivering fans a TV-worthy production.

“Though we may not be able to see each other at this time, we’ve been constantly striving to grow as a group, BTS member Jimin said.

“We are coping up with it pretty well so hope that you too can overcome this time by finding the small joy within. Hope we can meet each other again with smiles on our faces.”

‘BANG BANG CON The Live’ marked the first collaboration between Seoul-based Big Hit and US-based live streaming and video production company, Kiswe Mobile.

BTS performed a 12-track setlist over the 100-minute long event was performed across five rooms and two stages, each stylised in different moods, according to MBW.

BTS made chart history in Australia last year with Map Of The Soul: Persona, which debuted at #1 on the ARIA Album Chart, becoming the K-Pop seven piece’s first chart-topper in down under.

It was also the first release sung in an Asian language to hit #1 on the albums chart.