Plush keychains, cameras, wine glasses... K-Pop album makeover

Ms. A, a female office worker in her 30s, has recently become obsessed with the K-pop group "NCT WISH." In particular, she is looking forward to the Jeong A-Lu stuffed toy key ring bar that "NCT WISH" releases every time they make a comeback.
The bum is cute and I like the design, so I am very satisfied. "It's a combination of an album and goods, so it's more valuable than a regular album," she said. "The stuffed animal key ring is fashionable.
"It can also be used as a shopping item." ["Cute trash" is an old word... The popularity of "K-POP albums" that are highly desired for collection]
K-POP albums, which combine unique ideas with practicality, are becoming increasingly popular. Wireless communication replaces plastic CDs.
The music can be listened to through a special app via an NFC chip, and the goods are produced in the form of merchandise that represents the artist and the album, stimulating the desire of fans to purchase them.
Apart from photo cards, BAM's CDs and accessories are virtually useless, and they have earned the stigma of being "cute trash" that harms the environment. However, the albums that have been released recently are highly collectible items.
The album is composed of songs that have been highly satisfying to fans. The representative album is "NCT WISH". "NCT WISH" uses the character "WICHU" and sells "WICHU stuffed animal kits".
The "WICHU Plush Key Ring Album" was created in the form of a plush key ring that can be attached to a bag.
The album includes a WICHU character stuffed toy, a photo card, and an NFC chip that allows you to listen to music using a special app.
The album allows users to view various photos in the viewfinder by pressing the shutter. The response has been good. It has spread virally among fans and sales are steadily increasing.
According to CIRCLE Chart, the cumulative sales of NCT WISH's second mini album "Poppop," released last month, is 1,129,353 copies.
Sales of the ring albums were about 150,000, accounting for 13.3% of the total. The stuffed animal key ring album was especially popular, ranking within the top 5 on the album charts for three weeks.
An SM Entertainment official who planned the "NCT WISH" stuffed animal key ring album and camera album said, "Previous physical albums had to conform to CD standards.
"However, by applying NFC technology to albums, it is now possible to plan albums in a variety of shapes and sizes," he said.
The fact that you can touch it and store it away gives it value as a possession. We may be in the streaming age, but the value of a physical album remains valid."
[Sluggish album sales... Merchandise albums are expected to be a new revenue model]
This is not the only album that arouses the desire of K-POP fans to own. "NCT" MARK
released a juice pack version of his first solo album, "The Firstfruit." Inspired by the album name, he designed the album structure in the shape of a real juice pack, and
A magnet in the shape of a cutout is also included to enhance its practicality.
The "Shop" was released in the form of a wine glass, which attracted a lot of attention.
This item appears in the video and is a wine glass that contains a CD and a round photo card, attracting attention.
Other notable products include the "TOGETHER" cassette tape album (with built-in sound source and speaker) and the "NMIXX" MP3 album (with a built-in sound source in the MP3 player).
An agency official said, "K-pop album sales exceeded 100 million copies in 2023, but have been declining since then. If merchandise-type albums can be successfully established in the music market, K-pop will
"This will be a new revenue model for P."