In the first six months of 2020, Nielsen Music released its annual mid-year report regarding the full lists of bestsellers and streaming giants. The report shows that BTS' Map of the Soul: 7 has sold 552,000 copies of digital and physical formats.
Map of the Soul:7 is said to be the only title to sell at least half a million copies in 2020. Forbes notes that BTS will surely put up a fight to be the bestselling title of 2020 no matter the changes in sales that will take place before the year ends.
Read also: BTS breaks major iTunes record held by Adele
According to Forbes, the general album sales had dropped considerably in the past years. The total purchases of full-lengths had declined by 18% every year. Records that show the bestselling release for this year indicates that Americans are now opening up to the idea of purchasing albums. People of America have bought 45.5 million albums in 2020. Forbes also said that the list of best-selling albums includes pop, rock, country, and even hip-hop music. BTS' Map of the Soul: 7 has been far more successful than any other on the ranking, about 150,000 sales more than The Weeknd's After Hours, comes second at 407,000 copies sold. Read also: BTS Speaks at YouTube's "Dear Class of 2020"; Donates $1M to BLM, ARMY Doubles It Amidst the challenges that America faces, the total audio consumption increased to 9.4% over the mid-year, according to Billboard. When COVID19 struck the country, the U.S music industry was intense in the first half of 2020. The order to stay-at-home and the suspension of concerts led to a resilient consumption of recorded music. The sales of the albums and on-demand streams were up to 9.4% increase year over year. Read also: BTS' "Map of the Soul: 7" World Tour Now Shelved; Will Release Docuseries BTS also previously broke a virtual attendance record. With the "Bang Bang Con: The Live," the show reached a peak of 756,000 simultaneous viewers in 107 countries. The attendance of the show was equivalent to that of 15 shows with a 50,000 seat stadium each. The BTS "Bang Bang Con: The Live" has a big audience for a paid virtual concert. Big Hit Entertainment added that the show also helped them grow the BTS fan club, also known as BTS ARMY, by 10,000 members. The 100-minute show was the first collaborative show of Kiswe and Big Hit. BTS ARMY was invited to see the virtual house of the K-pop group. The BTS members performed in the virtual house composed of five rooms and two stages that had different styles and moods. According to Variety, the online concert was delivered in six multi-view screens simultaneously playing. BTS ARMY can video call-like close-ups to full shots of the BTS' choreography. One of the members, Jimin, told the fans that although they cannot see each other at this time, they are constantly doing their best to grow as a group. "We are coping with it pretty well, so hope that you too can overcome this time by finding the small joy within," Jimin said. The members of BTS lastly said that he hoped they could meet each other again with smiles in their faces. BTS played a 12-track setlist composed of "DOPE," "Black Swan," "Boyz with Fun," "Like," "Go-Go," "Just One Day," "Jamais Vu," "Respect," "Friends," "Boy With Luv (Feat. Halsey)," "Anpanman" and "Spring Day." 
2017 American Music Awards - Press Room LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 19: BTS poses in the press room during the 2017 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 19, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
Americans are interested in purchasing the album
Nielsen Music/MRC Data's U.S. Midyear Report
BTS virtual attendance record
