SEVENTEEN’s “Disappointing” Ticket Sales Point To The “Problem” With K-Pop
Recently, SEVENTEEN announced their NEW_, which is scheduled to begin on September 18. The tour will take the group to several locations in Asia and North America, possibly adding more dates in the future.
Despite being in their tenth year of activities, the group’s North American dates were mostly booked in smaller arenas in uncommonly visited cities, which sparked major reactions. Netizens were surprised by the group’s performance in these smaller venues following ticket sales.
According to a popular update account that tracks touring information, the group has sold 75.79% of tickets for the nine concerts. Going by date, the sold rate ranges from 86.4% for the final date in Washington D.C, and 60.83% in Sunrise, Florida.
SEVENTEEN WORLD TOUR [NEW_] @pledis_17 🇰🇷
🇺🇲 U.S.
🎟️ Tickets Available: 32,088
📈 Sale Rate: 75.79%
🔵 Tickets Sold: 100,479
🔴 Resales: 4,420
💺 Net Capacity: 96,059+
💃 Shows: 9🔖Sale Date: 2025.08.06 (+3)
⏳ D-63#SEVENTEEN #세븐틴#SVT_WORLDTOUR #NEW_US#SVT_TOUR_NEW_ pic.twitter.com/VdeqSluubT
— TouringAsiaPop (@TouringAsiaPop) August 9, 2025
While some have used this as “proof” of SEVENTEEN lacking a fanbase in the United States, others have placed the blame on Pledis and HYBE, while also highlighting a problem common among many touring K-Pop acts.
For one, there were only about 9 days between the tour’s announcement and ticket sales for Carat fanclub members, leaving little time to plan. Additionally, tickets ranged in price from 500 USD to 77 USD.
Hi my fellow Carats! Here's what Seventeen ticket prices looked like for the Sunrise show!
Prices (with just fees) are:
VIP: 542
Prime: 417(blue)
Next sec (1st bowl?): 260
Next sec (2nd bowl?): 194 -> 168
Nosebleeds: 155(blue) -> 129(orange & red) -> 103(green) -> 77(dark green) pic.twitter.com/fmfIBpxBa0— Jae ¯_(ツ)_/¯ (@jewelz12000) August 5, 2025
While those prices, especially the lower end, may seem manageable, many of the dates are outside of the stereotypically used cities, meaning more will have to travel to attend the show, adding additional costs.
SEVENTEEN are not the only group to give short notice on tours and ticket sales, and the numerous tours already taking place in a short time frame have left many with limited funds. This point, and others were pointed out in SEVENTEEN’s specific situation and overall for K-Pop acts.
hybe and other kpop companies need to fucking realize that you can’t drop tour announcements two months before the show dates and having ticketing sales the following week after dropping and expect groups to sell out https://t.co/LE8cYm53bg
— kai :D (@woobooby) August 10, 2025
We’ve hit a point in kpop concerts that not only are we out pricing casual fans but hardcore fans as well
Txt is one of my ult groups and I can’t afford to see them and it blows because companies aren’t gonna see this as “oh prices are too high” but as “oh they are losing fans” https://t.co/XmaJo6KX0k
— Vi ⭐️ misaing xdh & atz :( (@just_vi_bing) August 10, 2025
the thing is, companies are giving fans a week to figure out finances, pto, transportation, etc – for a concert that starts in a month or two. the prices for tickets has also TRIPLED, on top of everything else. concerts aren’t as accessible as they were 5 years ago, only… https://t.co/q7nhCWfecG
— lyd is seeing kai (@lydxing) August 10, 2025
While 75% is still impressive considering the factors, these points reflect a negative trend that will likely only continue to make it harder for artists to “sell out” locations.
