Here’s a wild stat: 95% of the best-selling albums in 2023 were from the K-pop world

We’re still getting 2023 numbers from the recorded music industry. This latest fact blew me away.

According to the IFPI, the global organization representing the recorded music industry, 19 of the 20 best-selling in the world last year were from K-pop artists. These are digital download sales and physical CDs and NOT streams or vinyl.

Here’s the list. And let’s play “One of These Things is Not Like the Other.”

1. Seventeen
2. Stray Kids
3. NCT Dream
4. Seventeen (again)
5. Stray Kids (again)
6. Taylor Swift
7. Jung Kook
8. Exo
9. Ive
10. V
11. Zerobaseone
12. Aespa
13. Tomorrow X Together
14. (G)I-dle
15. NCT 127
16. Enhypen
17. Ive (again) J
18. Jimin
19. Enhypen;
20. Aespa.

Want another stat?? When we look at the the top 20 best-selling vinyl LPs of 2023, seven are by Taylor Swift. Add them all up and she sold 3.8 million fresh pieces of vinyl.

One more: 2023 vinyl sales were up 15.4% globally, Meanwhile, CD sales finished 13.6% of 2023.