K-pop festival Waterbomb will stage an Australian edition for the first time as it relaunches its international expansion.

The touring series plans to stop in Sydney later this year, picking up on the Waterbomb World Tour that faltered in 2024. Dates and performers will be announced in the coming months.

Waterbomb’s expansion comes after organisers failed to deliver its rapid global expansion last year, after it announced editions in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, the UAE, Singapore, the US, the Philippines and Indonesia.

The only new editions to go ahead were Hong Kong, the UAE, and Singapore, while the event continued its tour of multiple South Korean and Japanese cities.

The Los Angeles edition was postponed due to “operational challenges” with less than three weeks to go to the event, while the Indonesian debut in Jakarta was delayed in October. Extreme weather and flooding forced the cancellation of the Taipei and Ho Chi Minh events. No new dates have been announced for these editions.

“We’ll return stronger and better prepared to deliver the Waterbomb experience you’ve been waiting for,” said organisers at the time of US cancellation.

In contrast, another Australian festival will not return his year

Four stops are already confirmed for 2025, with plans to return to China, and South Korea, where the Seoul edition has been held annually since the event launched in 2015. The festival will debut in Manila, Philippines and Bali, Indonesia next month, after pushing both countries’ inaugural editions late last year.

Artists due to perform in Manila include Kangdaniel, Dynamic Duo, Sulreggae, Chanyeol, Bambam, Viviz, and other K-pop, hip-hop and dance stars.

Though lineups vary by city, past performers have included Blackpink, aespa, TWICE’s Nayeon, American rapper Jay Park, and SHINEE’s Taemin, and South Korean singers Hwasa, Chung Ha, Bibi, Simon Dominic, and Jessi.

In contrast, the Australian festival Hello Sunshine will not be held this year. The family-friendly event was set to return to Melbourne for its third year and debut on the Gold Coast this March.

Organisers cited low ticket sales and rising production costs as reasons for the cancellation.

Stone Temple Pilots, Smash Mouth, Wolfmother, Kasey Chambers, Rogue Traders, and Drapht were on tap to headline the event.

The cancellation is the latest to hit the Australian festival sector. Last November, the debut edition of You & Me Festival was cancelled for similar reasons. They join several Oz festivals cancelled in the past year, including Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo, and Return to Rio.

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K-pop giant HYBE has sparked privacy concerns after announcing it is to introduce an optional face-scanning entry system for shows in South Korea.

The Face Pass, which will replace ticket checks, will be piloted at boy band TWS’ 42:Club fan event, which runs from 14-16 February at the Handball Gymnasium in Seoul’s Olympic Park.

The tech combines finance app Toss’ facial recognition service with the ticketing platform of Korea-based Interpark Triple. HYBE says that fans will be able to register their facial data through Interpark before the shows, with the twin benefits of speeding up the entry process while also deterring touts.

“With a one-time facial registration, fans can enter venues easily and conveniently, enhancing their overall experience,” says Kim Tae-ho, HYBE’s chief operating officer. “We aim to expand this service globally to create a comfortable environment where fans worldwide can enjoy performances seamlessly.”

“Facial data is sensitive biometric information. Entrusting it to Interpark, HYBE and Toss raises questions about how it will be processed”

Face Pass users will be able to quickly enter events through gates equipped with cameras.

Fans will also be permitted to opt out of using the technology and instead go through a separate ticket verification process at designated booths. Nevertheless, the Korea Times reports the announcement has led fans to express reservations over privacy and security.

“Facial data is sensitive biometric information. Entrusting it to Interpark, HYBE and Toss raises questions about how it will be processed,” says one user on X. “Like past leaks of resident registration numbers or phone numbers, facial data could become vulnerable to breaches. The risk of misuse is real.”

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AEG Presents has joined forces with Galaxy Corporation, a Korean AI metaverse firm, to collaborate on the global expansion of the Korean pop (K-pop) genre.

It comes as AEG Presents gears up to open the “world’s first K-Pop specialised arena“, which will reportedly be enabled by the metaverse and augmented reality.

The strategic collaboration, announced this week during the Korean-Singapore Business Forum, is designed to further technological advancements in the touring and entertainment spaces, specifically around K-pop shows.

Galaxy Corporation began breaking into the music sector last December by signing “King of K-pop” G-Dragon, leader of the influential K-pop band BIGBANG.

The company works to distribute Korean entertainment to a global audience, through VR/AR content production, digital events, and performances. In addition, Galaxy deals with intellectual properties and operates in the television sector, producing Netflix’s Physical: 100.

“We will provide a new type of performance experience to the audience by developing technologies such as AI, augmented reality (AR), mixed reality, and robots into entertainment,” says Choi Yong-ho, CEO of Galaxy Corporation.

“We will also promote sustainable growth of the K-pop industry by discovering and supporting new artists.”

Adam Wilkes, president and CEO of AEG Presents Asia, adds: “We are looking forward to how the collaboration between the two companies will bring about both artists and audiences. We will build a platform for K-pop artists to continue to thrive on the global stage.”

By entering the partnership, AEG Presents aspires to build upon previous successes in the genre

In recent years, AEG Presents has dialled in on the K-pop market. The multinational firm is behind the 20,000-capacity CJ LiveCity Arena, which is projected to open in early 2025.

Set to open in Goyang City, Seoul, the nearly ₩2 trillion (€1.3 billion) development comprises the arena and a 40,000-capacity outdoor performance space as part of a larger K-pop entertainment district.

Projected to welcome over 20 million visitors annually, the innovative venue is reportedly designed with technological advancements at the forefront, such as the metaverse and AR.

In 2022, AEG Presents formally partnered with K-pop touring and marketing firm Powerhouse, which has worked with some of K-pop’s biggest stars such as BTS and Blackpink and is a partner of the world’s biggest K-pop festival CJ ENM’s KCON. The two firms had been working in tandem since 2010 when they produced what’s remembered as “the first blast of K-pop in the US”.

KCON expanded to its fifth region earlier this year, landing in Hong Kong for the first time alongside Japan, the US, Europe and Saudi Arabia.

By entering the partnership with Galaxy, AEG Presents aspires to build upon previous successes in the genre. The firm promoted BLACKPINK’s latest trek, the 2022-23 Born Pink world tour, which became the most-attended concert tour by a K-pop girl group with 1.8 million attendees.

BLACKPINK went on to headline the AEG-backed BST Hyde Park in London last summer, a milestone for the summer series: “Having a K-pop band headline a UK festival for the very first time and deliver a great show was an important moment for us,” said Jim King, CEO of AEG’s European festivals.

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Coldplay have added new territories to their record-shattering Music Of The Spheres World Tour after ticket sales for the epic trek sailed past 10 million.

Launched in March 2022, the tour was recently confirmed by Billboard Boxscore to have grossed more than $1 billion – matching the feat of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

The 10 new performances in 2025 will include the British band’s first full-length headline touring performance in India since their 2016 performance at Global Citizen Festival. In addition, the quartet will play their first shows in Hong Kong since 2009, Abu Dhabi, UAE since 2016 and Seoul, South Korea since 2017, as they continue to fulfil their vow to reach every corner of the globe.

Coldplay, who are represented by Wasserman Music’s Marty Diamond and Larry Webman in North America and WME’s Josh Javor for the rest of the world, have confirmed they will release a limited number of Infinity Tickets, which are released for every Coldplay show and cost the local currency equivalent of €20 per ticket.

Tickets must be bought in pairs and are restricted to a maximum of two per purchaser. Locations are revealed when fans pick up their tickets in person at the box office on the day of the show.

“Coldplay are the perfect example of a UK band who came through the grassroots circuit on their way to worldwide stadium-filling success”

Earlier this week, Coldplay confirmed six new shows at London’s Wembley Stadium (22-23, 26-27 & 30-31 August) and two at Hull’s Craven Park Stadium (18-19 August) – the only European cities where they will perform next year. The band have pledged that 10% of proceeds from the 2025 UK dates will be donated to grassroots venues organisation, the Music Venue Trust (MVT).

Kicking off in March 2022, the Music of the Spheres Tour has now sold more than 10 million tickets across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, making it the most highly attended tour by a group of all time.

The group are partnering with DHL on the tour to support their mission to cut tour emissions by 50%. Over the summer, the band delivered an update on their sustainability initiatives, revealing that, on a show-by-show comparison, the current tour has so far produced 59% less CO2e emissions than their previous stadium tour in 2016/17, exceeding their original target. More than nine million trees have already been planted around the world, with a further million to be planted before the end of the year.

Back in June, meanwhile, it was announced that Coldplay would be part of an advisory committee for their study of the live music industry’s carbon footprint.

Their newly announced Asia, India and UAE tour dates are as follows:

January 2025

11: Abu Dhabi, UAE – Zayed Sports City Stadium

18: Mumbai, India – DY Patil Sports Stadium

19: Mumbai, India – DY Patil Sports Stadium

April 2025

09: Hong Kong – Kai Tak Stadium

11: Hong Kong – Kai Tak Stadium

12: Hong Kong – Kai Tak Stadium

16: Seoul – Goyang Stadium

18: Seoul – Goyang Stadium

19: Seoul – Goyang Stadium

22: Seoul – Goyang Stadium

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A long-awaited arena development to help Korea capitalise on the K-pop explosion has been given a revised opening date after the project was paused.

Seoul Arena was originally expected to be completed in October next year, but is now targeted for 2027.

The Korea Times reports that work began in November 2023, but IT giant Kakao, which is partnering with the Seoul city government on the venue in the South Korean capital’s northern Dobong district, temporarily halted construction, blaming rising costs.

But the scheme appears to be back on track after a groundbreaking ceremony, originally planned for December, was held this week, attended by dozens of local dignitaries.

“Seoul Arena will become a landmark of Seoul’s northeastern region,” says the city’s mayor Oh Se-hoon.

“Kakao will strive to create spaces and programmes where global K-pop fans can experience not only music but also diverse K-culture and content”

The complex will include an 18,269-seat arena, plus a 2,010-seat performance hall, and is expected to draw 2.5 million tourists a year to the city.

“Kakao will strive to create spaces and programmes where global K-pop fans can experience not only music but also diverse K-culture and content,” adds Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a.

Despite the worldwide growth of K-pop, the country of its birth has been unable to satisfy demand due to a lack of venues, with Seoul Arena set to become South Korea’s first arena dedicated to staging pop concerts.

Meanwhile, a second Korean arena scheme, the AEG-backed 20,000-cap CJ LiveCity Arena, slated to open in Seoul’s Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, in 2024, has reportedly hit the rocks.

Goyang city government recently ended its agreement with CJ LiveCity — a subsidiary of media conglomerate CJ ENM — after the company halted construction in the spring of 2023 due to funding issues. Gyeonggi Province says it will “pursue business with a new vision and method”.

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Touring K-pop festival series Waterbomb Festival is expanding to several global markets this year, with new editions set for the US, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, the UAE, Singapore, and China.

Set to kick off this May in Xiamen, China, the international series will take water-soaked stars to Hong Kong in June before touring South Korea and Japan in July and more cities across both, plus Singapore, in August. A Bangkok edition has been set for September, with stints in Los Angeles, Ho Chi Minh City, Taipei, and Dubai to be announced.

First held in 2015 in Seoul, South Korea, the festival series first expanded to new markets in 2023 with two editions in Japan and one in Bangkok. This year, the series will visit nine cities in South Korea, four in Japan, and one in Thailand, along with the new editions.

The event was launched by Hong Kong-based streaming platform Viu and Singapore-based Evergreen Group Holdings, with local promoters helping bring it to new territories.

The K-pop genre continues to soar to new hights and into new markets

As the name suggests, Waterbomb intertwines various water activities alongside local and international lineups of K-pop, hip-hop, and EDM performers. Though lineups vary by city, performers include K-pop supergroup TWICE’s Nayeon, American rapper Jay Park, and SHINEE’s Taemin, and South Korean singers Hwasa, Chung Ha, and Bibi, among a variety of others. Former performers include Blackpink, aespa, Simon Dominic, and Jessi.

The K-pop genre continues to soar to new heights and into new markets, with behemoth HYBE reporting its concert revenue skyrocketed by 40% in 2023, reaching KRW 359.1 billion (€253m) in the year. Last autumn, fellow agency SM Entertainment announced its Q3 revenue surged 40% year-on-year, partly attributed to their star’s expansive world tours.

KCON, the world’s biggest K-pop and culture convention, also expanded to a fifth region this year, adding Hong Kong to its 2024 lineup of Japan, Los Angeles, Saudia Arabia, and to-be-announced Europe.

The 2024 schedule is as follows:

May
18-18: Xiamen, China

June
1-2: Hong Kong

July
5-7: Seoul, South Korea
13: Jeju, South Korea
13: Fukuoka, Japan
20: Daegu, South Korea
27: Busan, South Korea
27-28: Tokyo, Japan

August
3: Incheon, South Korea
10: Daejeon, South Korea
10: Osaka, Japan
17: Sokcho, South Korea
17: Nagoya, Japan
24: Suwon, South Korea
24-25: Singapore, Singapore
31: Gwangju, South Korea

September
TBA: Bangkok

TBA
Los Angeles, United States
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Taipei, Taiwan
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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Anti-scalping campaigners in South Korea are celebrating a victory after the country’s government pledged that new legislation to effectively outlaw the use of “macro tools” to buy tickets will come into effect this Friday (5 April).

Policymakers at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism are determined to combat the rampant resale which has been blighting shows in the country. As a result, they have revised the Public Performance Act so that scalpers now face up to one year in prison or a 10 million won (€6,880) fine for breaking the law.

Campaigners had complained that South Korea’s existing laws were antiquated, as the relevant legislation dated back half a century, long before digital ticketing and the nefarious use of bots had been contemplated.

“Ticket scalping threatens the basis of the market order for our culture and sports, and we (the ministry) will take severe actions against it,” says culture minister Yu In-chon. “The Culture Ministry will implement various policies that can root out and prevent ticket scalping, thus restoring the order in the distribution system of culture and sports fields.”

As part of the reforms, the culture ministry is now operating a website, and phone line where fans and concert organisers can report illegal ticket sales.

More than 50 percent of the tickets from sold-out performances typically go to scalpers.

Recently, Record Label Industry Association of Korea chair Yoon Dong-hwan told The Korea Herald that more than 50% of the tickets from sold-out performances typically go to scalpers – taking a huge potential revenue stream away from the K-pop business which invests so heavily in its talent, but also affecting the likes of the classical music sector and theatre productions. “Sometimes they take up more than 70% of the seats,” says Yoon, observing that the introduction of bots has accelerated the growth of dubious resale practices.

The Korea Herald has published a series of articles about the issue. Highlighting the scale of the profits being made by the online touts, in a December 2023 story, the newspaper said that resale tickets for popular boy band, The Boyz, were trading for as much as 7 m won (€4,812), while VIP seats for Sung Si-kyung were priced at 1,199,900 won (€825). The original ticket price for both was about 150,000 won (€103).

Although Yoon’s 50% of inventory claim is not backed up by official numbers, statistics show that ticket scalping in the country has been rising dramatically, with the Korea Creative Content Agency revealing that reports of illegal ticket sales went from just 359 in 2020 to 4,224 in 2022. A survey by Yoon’s label association stated that 32.8% of 19-29-year-olds had bought a ticket from a scalper at least once. The same question posed to respondents in their 30s and 40s resulted in 25% admitting they had purchased from touts.

On the talent side of things, performers have been introducing their own terms and conditions to try to stamp out scalping. K-pop star IU threatens a lifetime fan club ban for anyone illegally selling a ticket to her shows, while having cancelled concerts in January because of scalping, singer Jang Beom-june partnered with Hyundai Card to use NFTs to thwart the touts for his February appearance at Understage in Seoul.

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Seoul-based K-pop giant HYBE surpassed annual revenue of KRW 2 trillion (€1.5 billion) in 2023, powered by growth in its concert and album businesses.

Concert revenue soared around 40% year-on-year from KRW 258.2 billion (€178 million) in 2022 to KRW 359.1 billion (€253m) in 2023, with the total number of performances increasing from 78 to 125 during the period.

World tours by Suga of BTS and Seventeen, as well as the first North American stadium and Japanese dome tours by Tomorrow X Together and Enhyphen, contributed to the company’s revenue growth. Le Sserafim also held their first Asia tour with sold-out shows in Seoul, Japan, and Hong Kong.

Overall, the South Korean firm behind BTS scored the highest annual revenue (KRW 2.17 trillion) and operating profit (KRW 295.8bn) since its establishment in 2005, representing a year-on-year increase of 22.6% and 24.9%, respectively.

HYBE has maintained growth of annual revenue of more than 20% each year since going public in 2020

Its three-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) stands at 31.7% for revenue and 24.7% for operating profit. HYBE has maintained growth of annual revenue of more than 20% each year since going public in 2020.

Album sales were another key driver in the financial results, with HYBE artists collectively selling 43.6 million units last year, doubling the figure from the previous 12 months. Its global fandom platform Weverse also exceeded a monthly active user base of over 10m.

In addition, HYBE America’s management affiliate SB Projects has signed new artists including singer-songwriter Ozuna and rapper Kaliii, last year. SB Projects is forecasting substantial revenue growth for this year with the release of Ariana Grande’s new album in March.

HYBE has also disclosed plans for a cash dividend of KRW 700 won per share, totaling KRW 29.2bn.

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Maroon 5 has been announced as a headline act for the grand opening of Mohegan Inspire Entertainment Resort in South Korea.

The American group will perform on 8 and 9 March at the resort’s new 15,000-seat venue to mark its inaugural international artist showcase.

Located on Yeongjong Island, in the city of Icheon, Inspire Arena is billed as the nation’s first multi-purpose arena.

“We are on the brink of a historic moment with the grand opening of Inspire,” says Ray Pineault, president and chief executive of Mohegan, which also operates the 10,000-cap Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, US.

“We are on the brink of a historic moment with the grand opening of Inspire”

“This is not just a celebration of our newest offerings but a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved. Hosting Maroon 5 and an array of world-class entertainment reflects our commitment to providing exceptional experiences. We’re ready to set a new benchmark in hospitality and entertainment, welcoming guests from around the globe to discover the magic of Inspire.”

Preceding the main opening event, a special concert called Inspire Salute featuring several K-pop artists is due to be held on 2 March.

Inspire underwent a soft launch last November for its three hotel towers, arena, water park, casino, and outdoor entertainment park.

Additional facilities such as a 1,000-seat food court, a digital art exhibition centre, and an indoor children’s playground will be unveiled in the future.

Inspire is one of three new concert venues to open in South Korea by the end of 2025, along with CJ LiveCity Arena and Seoul Arena.

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A 30-year-old man has been jailed for six years after swindling K-pop fans out of 595 million won (€413,000) in a concert ticketing scam.

The defendant, identified only by his surname of Kim, was convicted of multiple counts of fraud in South Korea.

Seoul Central District Court heard that Kim pocketed profits from the sale of non-existent tickets for concerts by acts such as Blackpink, Lim Young-woong and IU.

The Korea Herald reports that Kim also obtained loans using the credit cards of his victims based on the information he gathered via the scam.

“The defendant continued to go on scamming his victims even while he was being tried for fraud, and used the profits for gambling and making cryptocurrency investments,” the court was told.

The South Korean music business has been targeted by a number of scams

Kim has appealed the ruling.

A recent survey by the Record Label Industry Association of Korea revealed that 32.8% of 19 to 29-year-olds admitted to buying a ticket from tout at least once, with 20% saying they had spent more than 500,000 won (€347) on a ticket.

The South Korean music business has been targeted by a number of scams. Last year, K-pop giants SM Entertainment and HYBE warned fans about a fake event called Fest World Tour, which falsely advertised that acts such as Enhypen, Mirae, WayV, NCT Dream and Seventeen would be performing at stadiums across Asia.

In addition, the agency representing Young-woong said it cancelled 118 ticket sales for his 19-21 January 2024 shows after discovering that some were being resold at more than 6x face value.

Elsewhere, singer Jang Beom-june voided all tickets bought for his January and February concerts due to touting, opting to hold an online ballot instead.

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