Digital-only K-pop albums and sustainability

Gone are the days of physical albums and photocards. Or are they? 

JYP Entertainment Leader of Change. JYP_EDM

JYP Entertainment, the agency that looks after the likes of TWICE, Stray Kids and ITZY, recently announced their plans to solely release digital albums as part of their bid for a more sustainable music industry.

Over the past few years, various members of the music industry have been making changes in order to achieve a more sustainable future. Glastonbury banned single-use plastics at its festival back in 2019, Coldplay pledged to cut direct emissions from their tours and The 1975 upcycled their own merch allowing fans to screen-print old merch at no extra costs. 

However, one large component of the music industry, which remains an issue for sustainability, is physical album sales. Although this has massively declined in the past few years, with more people streaming albums, K-Pop still excels when it comes to physical sales. There are some staggering statistics to showcase this, such as BTS’ ‘Map of the Soul: 7’ which sold nearly 4.5 million copies worldwide making it the best-selling physical K-Pop album of all time. 

Despite being so popular, during their ESG report, JYP Entertainment announced they will no longer release physical albums. 

2021 JYP ESG Report.

This was announced as part of the company’s “Change for the Planet” campaign which came about after they joined RE100, a global campaign to replenish 100% of the electricity used with renewable energy, becoming the first K-Pop agency to do so. 

Initiatives include Stray Kids “Message For the Ocean Clean” campaign and JYP’s “Songs That Care” song writing competition.  When it came to albums, JYP said: “We’re currently doing our best brainstorming to find the most environmentally friendly way to replace and reform the CDs of our artists.” 

This is something which Manchester and online based K-Pop shop KStars supports, as they are also looking at eco-friendly packaging for their customers. 

While there are some worries for the store, as album sales make up the majority of their sales, Jasmine Thomas, 22, avid K-Pop fan and former Assistant Manager for KStars explained: “As a business we understand the need to look at your business model and make tough decisions.”

Jasmine Thomas, 22, Avid K-Pop fan and former assistant manager for KStars.

But something that Jasmine spotted when it comes to stock coming into the store is that there are already some albums which have taken steps towards sustainability, such as BTS’s “Map of the Soul: 7” using recycled material for the poster set, instead of a full photobook. 

This is something which Jasmine suggests that more companies should look towards: “Since albums are mostly made from card and paper already, it would be an easy switch to opt for recycled materials,” she says.

Weverse have made moves towards more sustainable packaging, with digital albums including J-Hope’s ‘Jack in the Box’ and New Jean’s first EP each coming with a set of photocards and a QR code to access the album via the Weverse albums app. This in turn, reduces the materials used during the production of the album and lowers shipping and exportation costs.  

New Jeans’ first EP came in several different versions, including a Weverse albums version. Image: NewJeans Official Twitter.

Since photocards are such a large part of K-Pop collecting, it’s unlikely that companies will make these completely digital anytime soon. Thousands of collectors take to apps such as Instagram to trade photocards of their idols, with over 27 thousand posts on the ‘kpoptradeuk’ hashtag alone.

However, Jasmine explains that when it comes to photocards there should be a larger focus on building a bigger community of Photocard traders.

“Rather than buying new ones,” says Jasmine, “there are so many photocards out there, someone will definitely have the one you need.” 

Universally, all industries are looking towards sustainability and at ways to protect the planet, so it may not be a surprise to many that there will be a decline in the production of physical albums in the coming years. 

For fans of K-Pop especially, physical albums have meant more than just owning a CD by their favourite artist. They have been a way to collect exclusive merchandise and have an aesthetically pleasing K-Pop collection which can help them escape reality. 

But as JYP are striving for better sustainability, other agencies will be set to follow, so we could be entering a new era of the music industry where the meaning of a physical album will evolve again.

Edited by Chelsea Cheetham.