K-pop artists are looking for opportunities to enter markets outside Asia as competition in the market stiffens.

Decreasing album sales due to the popularity of music download and video-sharing sites and the arrival of international pop stars to perform in Asia are leading K-pop stars to look further afield.

“They are trying to make money to cover losses from their album sales,” an official at CJ E&M said.
“K-pop artists are competing with world stars in the Asian market. So we need to target markets outside of Asia as well,” she added.

BIGBANG, a popular boyband in Korea, will travel around the globe to meet their fans starting at the Olympic Gymnastics Hall in Seoul March 2-5. BIGBANG is then set to take their tour to Asia, North and South America, and Europe, performing in 25 cities in 16 countries.

“The tour is presented by Live Nation, one of the leading entertainment companies in the world, and the shows are expected to be spectacular in terms of production size and creative direction,” YG Entertainment said in a statement on Tuesday. It will be the first world tour for an Asian artist that Live Nation will have produced and promoted, it added.

Internationally renowned director, Laurieann Gibson, has joined the tour as the creative director. Laurieann recently directed Lady Gaga’s “The Monster Ball Tour,” and also worked with other stellar artists such as Shakira, Janet Jackson, Beyonc and Katy Perry, YG said.

Boyband BEAST is currently on a world tour. A total of 21 concerts in 14 countries including the United Kingdom, Spain, the United States and Canada are scheduled for the rest of the year. The boy band kicked off its tour in Berlin on Sunday, drawing attention from German media, its agency Cube Entertainment said.

T-ara, one of the country’s leading girl groups, also holds their first performance in the United States in April. The group will put on a show with singers and groups that belong to the same entertainment agency, Core Contents Media, in San Francisco and L.A., according to the agency.

Super Junior and 2PM kicked off their world tour last year. Titled “Super Junior World Tour: Super Show 4,” the 10-member group, which performed in Osaka in December and in Taipai two weeks ago, plans to hold concerts in Singapore on Feb. 18-19. Schedules have yet to be confirmed, but they are to visit cities in Europe and South America as well, according to reports.

Starting in September last year, 2PM performed for fans in Taiwan, Jakarta and Singapore. The boy band continues its Asian tour titled “2PM Hands Up Asia Tour Concert” in Bangkok on Feb. 18, Nanjing on Feb. 25 and to Hong Kong on March 10.

About 27,000 tickets for 2PM concerts to be held in the three Asian cities are already sold out. Ticket prices about 100,000 won, almost the same as those charged for concerts held in Korea.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)