Recently, Jason Mraz, a representative pop singer, hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg, and rock band icon Weezer simultaneously released albums, creating a buzz in the global music market.
The albums released by these global top artists are not traditional CDs but KiT Albums, which use a new album format called KiT developed by a domestic venture company.
The KiT Album concept was first introduced by Seok Cheol, CEO of the domestic venture company MuseLive Co., Ltd., who launched an NFC album called Kino Album in 2014, early on suggesting the potential of a new album market.
CEO Seok stated, “We confirmed that adopting NFC or QR code methods, which are computer devices used in transportation cards, cannot satisfy the core customer need of ‘album ownership value,’ and that sales and tracking of new album formats in the global music market are practically impossible.” He added, “MuseLive developed EUC (Encrypted Ultrasound Communication), a new short-range communication technology, through the convergence of innovative ideas and IT technology, completing the futuristic album format called KiT.”
The new album product applying KiT technology, the KiT Album, has already released over 350 popular K-pop albums from artists such as BLACKPINK, NCT, and SEVENTEEN, recording sales of 5 million units globally and is currently used in 211 countries worldwide. It has achieved the remarkable feat of being recognized as the first new album format to be charted on global album sales charts in countries including Korea, the UK, Australia, and Germany, following LPs, cassette tapes, and CDs.
The new format KiT, which combines the cooperation of K-pop production companies leading the future market and the accumulated IT technology of MuseLive Co., Ltd., has attracted the attention of global artists. Now, global top artists such as Jason Mraz, Snoop Dogg, and Weezer are choosing to release KiT Albums.
An industry insider said, “Currently, discussions are underway for the release of KiT Albums by various global artists, and the process of making it an official album format on Billboard is progressing smoothly. We are pleased that KiT, a new album format developed with domestic technology, can play even a small role in enhancing the value and influence of content such as K-Pop.”
Meanwhile, MuseLive Co., Ltd. plans to not only exhibit at a solo booth at CES 2023 held in Las Vegas, USA, in January 2023 but also promote the new album format optimized for the smart era through a pitch titled “KiT, a New Format for the Revival of the Album Industry” on the CES stage, in cooperation with the Startup Promotion Agency under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
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