Twitter is critical tool for K-pop artists, with current artists Tweeting more than seven times a day

• The fourth generation K-pop groups Tweet more than seven
  times a day, multiple times more than previous generations of K-pop artists
• Twitter and K-pop Radar analyzed K-pop stars’ Twitter use for
  the first time, including analyzing Twitter use by each generation
• Increasing Twitter use reflects the growing global fanbase of
  the global phenomenon of K-pop

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Media OutReach – 14 June 2021 -
Twitter, together with K-pop Radar, analyzed K-pop stars’ use of Twitter for
the first time and found it to be a critical tool for artists as they built
global audiences, as the fourth generation of K-pop stars actively communicates
with global fans on Twitter. This analysis, “K-pop Generations Analysis by
Twitter Usage”, looked at 69 total K-pop artists with more than 300,000 Twitter
followers as of May 1, 2021, and analyzed the artists by generation.

Notably, K-pop the fourth generation
averages 323 Tweets before their official debuts. This may be a key factor in
the fourth generation artists’ global fanbases and successes, as fourth
generation artists release their first overseas album, on average, 9 months
earlier than the previous generation did.

 

▲Photo Description: K-pop
Artist Generation Analysis

 

K-pop stars’ method of communicating with
their fans has changed in line with the development of the K-pop industry, as
well as the media. First and second generation K-pop stars communicated with
their fans through closed communities, such as fan cafes. From the third
generation onward, artists shared content with their fans through global media
platforms such as Twitter, and started to communicate with wider fan bases
through live streaming and text messaging channels. Recently, beyond releasing
content, K-pop stars are diversifying ways to communicate with their fans by
actively utilizing new features such as Fleets and Spaces on Twitter. In
addition, as offline concerts and fan signing events were canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, they are actively communicating with global fans through
online concert streaming, as well as #TwitterBlueroom live Q&A on Twitter.

 

▲Photo Description:
Different Twitter Use Behavior by Artist Generations

 

In terms of Twitter usage, there is a
clear difference between the way that each generation used Twitter, especially
in the following areas.

 

Tweets per day

Excluding the first generation, who were
active before Twitter launched, K-pop stars averaged:

• 1.2 Tweets per day for second-generation
  stars
• 3.5 Tweets per day for third-generation
  stars
• 7 Tweets per day for fourth-generation
  stars

Fourth generation stars Tweeted 5.8 times
more than second generation stars, and 2 times more than third generation
stars.

 

▲Photo Description:
Cumulative Tweets by Generation for the Period of One Year After Debut

 

First Tweets

Comparing first Tweets to stars’ official
debut dates, Twitter and K-pop Radar found, on average:

• Second generation stars Tweeted for the
  first time 1,154 days (more than three years) after their debut
• Third generation artists Tweeted for the
  first time 132 days (more than four months) after their debut
• Fourth generation artists Tweeted for the
  first time 116 days (more than four months) BEFORE their debut

Analyzing the amount of Tweets for a year
following artists’ debuts reveals other differences between the generations as
well. Most second- and third-generation artists did not post Tweets before
their debut, and slowly increased their amount of Tweets after their debut.
However, a notable exception is BTS: BTS opened its Twitter account in December
2012, six months ahead of debut, and actively communicated with fans globally.
Currently, BTS has 36 million Followers on Twitter.

 

Fourth generation artists, such as ATEEZ,
THE BOYZ, ENHYPEN, Stray Kids, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, and TREASURE, communicated
with their fans after opening their Twitter accounts, months ahead of their
respective debuts. On average, fourth generation artists Tweeted an
overwhelming amount before their debuts compared to second and third
generations, with each artist uploading an average of 323 Tweets, and
accumulating 562,377 Followers even before debuting.

▲Photo Description:
Comparison of The Third and Fourth Generation K-pop Artists regarding Overseas
Advancement 

 

Global content

In addition to communicating with fans
globally via Twitter earlier than other generations, fourth generation artists
also released content for their fans globally faster than previous generations,
on average:

• The Fourth generation artists released
  their first overseas albums 9 months earlier than third generation artists
• The Fourth generation artists also held
  their first overseas concerts 13 months earlier than third generation artists

“Direct communication with global fans
through Twitter has now become a success formula for K-pop artists,” said
YeonJeong Kim, Head of Global K-pop and K-Contents Partnerships at Twitter, who
has led this analysis. “When BTS, a 3rd generation K-pop group, had intimate
real-time conversations with its global ARMY, it set an example for the 4th
generation to make this a feature of their engagement with fans. Fourth
generation artists like THE BOYZ, Stray Kids, ATEEZ, TOMORROW X TOGETHER,
GIDLE, ITZY, TREASURE, ENHYPEN, and aespa, who have been using Twitter as an
active communication channel even before their debut, are advancing to the
global stages faster than the previous generations, which demonstrates that
digital-based communication has a significant impact on growing their fandom.”

 

This survey included the following
artists:

 

The Second generation – TVXQ(@TVXQ), Super Junior(@SJofficial), Girls’ Generation(@GirlsGeneration), SHINee(@SHINee),
2PM(@follow_2PM) etc.

 

The third generation – EXO(@weareoneEXO),
BTS(@BTS_twt),
GOT7(@GOT7Official),
MAMAMOO(@RBW_MAMAMOO),
Red Velvet(@RVsmtown),
MonstaX(@OfficialMonstaX),
SEVENTEEN(@Pledis_17), TWICE(@JYPETWICE),
NCT(@NCTsmtown), BLACKPINK(@BLACKPINK)
etc.

 

The fourth generation – THE BOYZ(@Creker_THEBOYZ), Stray Kids(@Stray_Kids),
GIDLE(@G_I_DLE), ATEEZ(@ATEEZofficial),
ITZY(@ITZYofficial), TOMORROW X TOGETHER(@TXT_BigHit), TREASURE(@TreasureMembers),
aespa(@aespa_official), ENHYPEN(@ENHYPEN_members)   etc.

 

Since most of the first generation
groups, like HOT, Sechs Kies, SES, and Fin.K.L., were active before the launch
of Twitter, and do not currently have Twitter accounts, they were excluded from
this data analysis. Among first generation artists, however, Shinwa (@ShinhwaCompany), continue to be active as a group, and
share their latest news through Twitter. Also, Seo Taiji (@SEO_TAIJI), known as the ‘President of Culture’
and the originator of this chapter of modern K-pop, debuted as the group Seo
Taiji and Boys in 1992. After the launch of Twitter, he opened his own Twitter
account in April 2010, and has changed the account name to SEOTAIJI 서태지(@SEO_TAIJI) in March 2021. Currently, he is
connecting with fans globally by holding concerts via global livestreams on
Twitter.

 

In the run-up to ‘World Music Day’, which
is celebrated worldwide on June 21, Twitter is preparing to host #KpopTwitter
campaign where K-pop fans can participate and communicate. Twitter also plans
to organize various events such as #KpopFirstTweet campaign to find and share
the first tweets of K-pop artists for a week period starting from June 14 on
Twitter Music account (@TwitterMusic) and Twitter Korea official account (@TwitterKorea). #KpopMasterpiece campaign to recommend
hidden masterpieces is another event Twitter is currently preparing. Any K-pop
fans around the world can participate by posting a tweet with the hashtags.
Tweets that have garnered enthusiastic responses from fans will be collected
and published on Twitter blog.