K-Pop “Poca Albums” On The Rise As Game Changers In The K-Pop Industry

The presence of “poca albums” is rapidly rising in the music market. The poca album maintains the core values of a physical album, but the diversification of content without time and space constraints, eco-friendly elements, and innovative volume reduction are added. In fact, POCAALBUM, which Makestar is producing, has rapidly increased sales over the past year. The number of artists who accounted for a larger proportion of Poca album sales than the initial release surged by more than four times. There are also artists with overwhelming sales of poca albums.

This is a reversal phenomenon in which people choose poca albums over physical CDs. ATEEZ sold about 230,000 copies, while (G)I-DLE recorded about 340,000 copies in the first week of poca albums. Plave sold approximately 150,000 copies of its debut album as a poca album alone. The number of cases of releasing only poker albums without CDs, including Lee Chae Yeon, is steadily increasing.

Considering that the fourth quarter performance has not yet been announced, this trend is expected to expand further. Not only idol groups, but also trot singers like Jang Min Ho are choosing to release poca albums. It is infinitely expanding its scope, including not only drama OSTs but also poca albums containing VLOG videos of actors. Even in the era of online and mobile streaming, the absolute presence of physical CDs appears to be shifting to poca albums.

This is the result of satisfying both consumer sentiments. “Poca Album” is a combination of a photo card and an album, the most preferred by K-pop fans. An NFC or QR code is mounted on a photo card-type paper disc, so you can easily enjoy album contents on the app by using it with a mobile device. You can enjoy the core value of the existing physical album in a lighter weight and volume.

Artists can provide a variety of content, including unreleased music, photos, and exclusive videos, without restrictions on time and space. In addition, like CD albums, the sales of poker albums are 100% reflected in major charts. It satisfies all the purchasing elements of a physical album, such as collecting various photo cards and goods included in the album, and participating in events such as fan signing events and video calls.

pocaalbum example ;

source : https://t.co/A8dRzQThun#XODIAC #소디엑 #ONLYFUN #XODIAC_ONLYFUN pic.twitter.com/J3D97BhM5r

— 씽요미 XODIAC #OnlyFun is COMING!!! (@ssingyomi) October 16, 2023

Additionally, the album package format serves as a frame to hold the photo card in place, allowing consumers to decorate it themselves using stickers. Eco-friendly elements in responding to the climate crisis are also becoming a model. CDs contain polycarbonate plastic, which takes 1 million years to naturally decompose. Even if incinerated, strong toxic gas is generated. However, poca album took the environmental impact into consideration by innovatively reducing the size of CD albums and making ink and paper using eco-friendly materials.

The emergence of poca albums is gaining momentum, led by the global entertainment platform Makestar. Makestar is used in 232 countries around the world and is an unrivaled platform that has held more than 1,000 events with over 400 teams of artists based on its differentiated planning capabilities. Recently, it was selected as one of the Top 100 Companies to Watch in 2023 by Forbes Asia. This is why the popularity of the poca album is not a one-time event, but is attracting attention as a game changer in the market.