These 18 Companies Alone Made Up Nearly All K-Pop Album Sales In 2021
There are tons of K-Pop artists at dozens of different entertainment companies in South Korea, though unfortunately, a lot of them never end up getting as much popularity as others. There are a couple of major companies — such as SM Entertainment, BigHit Music, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment — that pretty much any K-Pop fans has heard of, due to the success of their idols. It’s not surprising, then, that only a little over a dozen companies make up the majority of all sales in the K-Pop industry! Here are the 18 that contributed the most in 2021, along with their best-selling albums from the year.
18. Brand New Music
Artists under this label include: AB6IX, BDC, MXM
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: Mo’ Complete by AB6IX (101.6k sales); Mo’ Complete: Have a Dream by AB6IX (93.4k sales); Salute: A New Hope by AB6IX (71.7k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 299.1k
17. TOP Media
Artists under this label include: MCND, UP10TION, Kim Wooseok
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: 2nd Desire [Tasty] by Kim Wooseok (97.3k sales); Connection by UP10TION (49.7k sales); The Earth: Secret Mission Chapter.1 by MCND (26.9k sales); MCND Age by MCND (25.6k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 311.8k
16. Konnect Entertainment
Artists under this label include: Kang Daniel
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: Yellow by Kang Daniel (320.1k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 335.6k
15. EDAM Entertainment
Artists under this label include: IU
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: Lilac by IU (393.0k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 428.7k
14. Woollim Entertainment
Artists under this label include: INFINITE, Golden Child, Rocket Punch, DRIPPIN
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: Game Changer by Golden Child (148.2k sales); Yes. by Golden Child (114.0k sales); A Better Tomorrow by DRIPPIN (47.6k sales); Ring Ring by Rocket Punch (26.7k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 507.7k
13. Cube Entertainment
Artists under this label include: (G)I-DLE, BTOB, PENTAGON, CLC, LIGHTSUM
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: I Burn by (G)I-DLE (211.9k sales); Love or Take by PENTAGON (114.1k sales); 4U: Outside by BTOB (83.1k sales); Vanilla by LIGHTSUM (41.1k sales); Windy by Soyeon (38.7k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 522.5k
12. FNC Entertainment
Artists under this label include: SF9, Cherry Bullet, P1Harmony, CNBLUE, AOA, N.Flying, FTISLAND
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: Turn Over by SF9 (227.2k sales); Rumination by SF9 (185.3k sales); Disharmony: Break Out by P1Harmony (67.2k sales); Man on the Moon by N.Flying (59.4k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 587.8k
11. Fantagio
Artists under this label include: ASTRO, Weki Meki, Ong Seungwoo
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: All Yours by ASTRO (360.3k sales); Switch On by ASTRO (309.8k sales); I Am Me by Weki Meki (11.4k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 731.2k
10. RBW
Artists under this label include: MAMAMOO, ONEUS, ONEWE, PURPLE KISS
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: Blood Moon by ONEUS (175.3k sales); WAW by MAMAMOO (130.7k sales); Devil by ONEUS (120.6k sales); Binary Code by ONEUS (103.2k sales); Redd by Wheein (76.8k sales); Hide & Seek by PURPLE KISS (43.9k sales); Guilty Pleasure by Hwasa (30.4k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 867.6k
9. KQ Entertainment
Artists under this label include: ATEEZ, Block B
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: ZERO: FEVER Part.3 by ATEEZ (732.9k sales); ZERO: FEVER Part.2 by ATEEZ (514.5k sales); ZERO: FEVER Epilogue by ATEEZ (344.6k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 1.43 million
8. Starship Entertainment
Artists under this label include: MONSTA X, Cosmic Girls/WJSN, CRAVITY, Wonho, K.Will, Soyou
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: No Limit by MONSTA X (409.8k sales); One of a Kind by MONSTA X (358.5k sales); Season 3. Hideout: Be Our Voice by CRAVITY (176.5k sales); The Awakening: Written in the Stars by CRAVITY (174.7k sales); Love Synonym Pt.2: Right for Us by Wonho (105.1k sales); Unnatural by Cosmic Girls/WJSN (92.6k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 1.50 million
7. IST Entertainment
Artists under this label include: THE BOYZ, Apink, VICTON, Weeekly
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: Thrill-ing by THE BOYZ (638.6k sales); Maverick by THE BOYZ (628.0k sales); Voice: The Future Is Now by VICTON (111.9k sales); Play Game: Holiday by Weeekly (46.4k sales); We Play by Weeekly (42.7k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 1.71 million
6. BE:LIFT Labs
Artists under this label include: ENHYPEN
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: Dimension: Dilemma by ENHYPEN (1.18 million sales); Border: Carnival by ENHYPEN (772.3k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 2.13 million
5. YG Entertainment
Artists under this label include: BLACKPINK, BIGBANG, WINNER, iKON, TREASURE, Akdong Musician
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: LALISA by Lisa (762.9k sales); R by Rosé (618.9k sales); The First Step: Treasure Effect by TREASURE (351.0k sales); Page by Yoon (123.8k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 2.57 million
4. Pledis Entertainment
Artists under this label include: SEVENTEEN, NU’EST
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: Attacca by SEVENTEEN (2.06 million sales); Your Turn by SEVENTEEN (1.47 million sales); Romanticize by NU’EST (208.4k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 4.10 million
3. JYP Entertainment
Artists under this label include: TWICE, Stray Kids, ITZY, DAY6, 2PM
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: NOEASY by Stray Kids (1.29 million sales); Formula of Love: O+T=<3 by TWICE (632.5k sales); Crazy In Love by ITZY (487.6k sales); Taste of Love by TWICE (557.4k sales); Guess Who? by ITZY (331.7.k sales); Must by 2PM (141.1k sales); The Book of Us: Negentropy by DAY6 (110.1k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 5.96 million
2. BigHit Music
Artists under this label include: BTS, TXT
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: Butter by BTS (2.96 million sales); The Chaos Chapter: Freeze by TXT (859.2k sales); The Chaos Chapter: Fight or Escape by TXT (745.0k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 9.42 million
1. SM Entertainment
Artists under this label include: EXO, NCT, Red Velvet, SHINee, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, aespa, TVXQ
Top-selling albums from this label in 2021: Sticker by NCT 127 (2.43 million sales); Hot Sauce by NCT Dream (2.09 million sales); Don’t Fight the Feeling by EXO (1.30 million sales); Favorite by NCT 127 (1.28 million sales); Hello Future by NCT DREAM (1.28 million sales); Bambi by Baekhyun (1.03 million sales); Universe by NCT (933.4k sales); The Renaissance by Super Junior (480.2k sales); Don’t Call Me by SHINee (447.5k sales); Queendom by Red Velvet (360.1k sales)
Total album sales in 2021: 17.41 million
