Most tickets sold for a livestreamed concert (current year)

BTS (South Korea) attracted 756,000 ticket-buying fans to their online concert BANG BANG CON: THE LIVE on 14 June 2020. Official fan club members – whose numbers swelled by 10,000 prior to the event – paid $24 (£19) to livestream the pop idols from a studio in Seoul, South Korea, with $32 (£25) tickets available for non-members, resulting in a minimum of $18.1 million (£14.4 million) made in ticket sales. Six camera angles were available for the septet’s 100-minute, 12-song set, which was broadcast to 107 territories via streaming platform Kiswe – through their partnership with Big Hit Entertainment – and on the record label’s own WeVerse platform. The group’s ARMY (fans) enjoyed hits such as “Dope”, “Just One Day” and “Boy with Luv”. On 10-11 October 2020, the record-shattering boy band stepped up their online presence with a two-day livestreamed concert – MAP OF THE SOULS ON:E – at Seoul’s Olympic Gymnastics Arena which generated ticket sales of 993,000. Fans could buy an “HD multi-view”, single-day ticket or a two-day pass which included access to a virtual exhibition. BTS had hoped to stage one of the concerts in front of a live audience, but the ongoing restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in both performances being streamed for fans from the comfort of their own homes. With tickets ranging in price from $45 to $81 (£35 to £62), MAP OF THE SOULS ON:E made a staggering $44.7 million (£34.4 million) in profit from ticket sales.

“This was the largest paid online concert to be held in the world,” said the group’s record label Big Hit (about the 14 June concert). “Even though the performing arts industry is struggling during Covid-19, BTS has opened up new possibilities through this online performance.”