Because BTS’ return is much more than a musical event
It was 2022 when BTS decided to stop. At the apex of a global successquantifiable in 500 million copies soldbeyond 104 billion streams And countless records conqueredthe South Korean boy band announced a break to allow its members to fulfill the compulsory military service in South Korealeaving one of the pending most impressive stories in pop music. Four years later, BTS is ready to return to the scene. Not just with one record, but with a series of muscular and blockbuster operationsintended to make the comeback – as artists’ returns with new music, after a hiatus, are called in the industry – one of greatest in pop history: not just a musical eventbut cultural. We start today with “Arirang”as the boy band titled its first album of unreleased songs in six years, as many as have passed since “Map of the soul: 7 – The Journey”. And then streaming performances, documentaries, live concerts: or how monopolize media attention for entire weeks. Remember the media coverage of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour? Here it is: the return of BTS risks being that thing, but squared.
The streaming event and the documentary
«We’ve been away too long. Trends change every season. We cannot stand still. We are finally back where we need to be. And maybe it’s something only we can do,” BTS say in the trailer “BTS: The Return”. The official trailer of the documentary, published two weeks ago on the Netflix and BTS YouTube channel, scored 3.6 million views. The film will be released on the streaming platform on March 27a week after the publication of “Arirang”which will be celebrated tomorrow at 12 (Italian time) with the streaming from the historic Gwanghwamun of Seoul of a monumental performance of the boy band. It’s not just about music, but about a strategic signal: BTS becomes the center of a new phase of live streaming entertainmentalongside sporting events and international shows. The show will in fact mark aexpansion of Netflix’s live programmingbecoming the first live event ever broadcast from Korea and widespread in global streaming. The event is added to a solid lineup of live content broadcast on the platform which includes “Skyscraper Live”, “Star Search”, “Jake vs Joshua”, “WWE” (in Italy from April 1st), “NFL Christmas Gameday”, “Paul vs Tyson”, “Canelo vs Crawford”, “Six Kings Slam” and many others. Directed by Bao Nguyen (formerly behind “We are the World: the night that changed pop”), the film tells the story of behind the scenes of the return. After completing their mandatory military service in South Korea, the seven members reunite in Los Angeles to make music together, returning to one shared creative spaceshaped by the time they spent apart and theirs personal changes. The result is described as «a portrait of resilience, brotherhood and artistic reinvention».
Concerts at the cinema
The experience doesn’t stop at streaming. The April 9th will start from Goyang, South Korea, the world tour: it will be the band’s first after four years and the calendar includes (for now) 82 dates that will keep BTS busy in the stadiums and arenas around the world until next year. Two of the very first dates of the tour will be broadcast live in cinemas around the world with “BTS World Tour ‘Arirang’ Live Viewing”. The first appointment is Saturday 11 April with the concert in Goyang (11.45 Italian time: repeat at 3.30), the second Saturday 18 April with the concert in Tokyo (11.45 Italian time: repeat at 3.30). This is not an absolute novelty for the group: already in 2019 the concert film Bring the Soul: The Movie had grossed over 24 million dollars. But this time the scale is global and simultaneous.
An out-of-scale comeback
The numbers explain better than any definition why this is a comeback out of scale. According to analysts’ estimates, the new album “Arirang” could, on its own, generate approx 95 million dollars between physical sales, streaming and digital. The revenues of world tour are estimated around 1.8-2 billion dollarswith the possibility of surpassing even Taylor Swift’s and his own records “Eras tour”. Adding up tours, albums, cinema, streaming and merchandising, BTS’ return is one of the most most profitable comebacks in the history of music and as an event capable of generating beyond 2 billion dollars directas well as a global economic impact that can get to tens of billions.
Call them songs.
