K-Pop's BTS scores another first as tour microphones head to auction

LOS ANGELES: They’ve conquered the world and released three best-selling albums in 2019. Now K-Pop band BTS is making its debut on the celebrity auction circuit.

Seven signed microphones used by the seven-member South Korean boy band are expected to sell for $10,000-$20,000 as a group at an auction next month during Grammy Awards week, Julien’s Auctions said on Friday.

The microphones, described by Julien’s as the first ever to come to auction from BTS. The band, with its message of self-confidence, has spearheaded a wave of Korean pop music beyond Asia and into the United States just six years after its 2013 debut. BTS in 2019 became the first group since the Beatles to score three No. 1 albums in a year on the Billboard 200 charts.

“The microphones were used from 2017-2019 on the ‘Love Yourself’ tour,” said Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions. “If you own something like this, signed by each member, that’s highly collectible and in years to come will very likely continue to appreciate in value.”

The microphones will be sold, along with guitars signed by artists including Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Dave Grohl and Pete Townshend, at the Jan. 24 online auction to raise funds for the Recording Academy’s charitable arm, MusiCares.

The auction will take place two days before the Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Jan. 26, and the same night that rock band Aerosmith is celebrated as the MusiCares group of the year for its impact on the music business over 50 years and its philanthropic efforts.

Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler will be selling off some of his signature scarves as well as a microphone stand, while guitarist Joe Perry is auctioning a signed Joe Perry Gibson Les Paul Signature guitar, which has a pre-sale estimate of $5,000 - $10,000.

Advance bidding for the auction begins on Friday at https://www.julienslive.com