But can the success continue?
Threatened by AI, quasi-monopolies over live concerts, low streaming revenue and the collapse of small venues; the music industry has no lack of problems to deal with. But one thing has been a constant over the past few years – the success of Korean music. Buoyed by a vibrant K-Pop scene and dominated by large corporations, it has built a formidable economic eco-system that fuels growth in South Korea and across the broader region as far as Japan. Big names include
Rosé
,
Red Velvet
(photo) and
Aespa
.
In real terms, the South Korean digital recorded music market almost doubled in value between 2019 and 2023, according to figures published by the
Korea Music Copyright Association
(
Komca
), from $692 million (€615 million) to $1.32 billion (€1.16 billion) in the meantime.
It doesn’t stop there. The organization predicts that this growth will continue and that the market will reach $1.7 billion (€1.5 billion) in 2027. Most of this growth is estimated to come from streaming. Youtube Music has dominated the market since last year, with a 30.7% market share, ahead of local platforms Melon (28.3%), Genie Music (11.3%) and FLO (9.4%).
(Michael Leahy. Source: @Music_Zone. Photo: Hiu Yan Chelsia Choi / Unsplash)
