Spotify Hosts K-pop Talk Session
Supporting K-pop Growth with K-pop Playlists and Popup Spaces
As K-pop's influence expands in the global music market, K-pop is showing rapid growth on global music streaming platforms.
On the 8th, at the 'Spotify K-pop On!' filming site in Seoul, Park Jeong-ju, head of the Spotify Korea Music Team, explained K-pop streaming data during the Spotify K-pop talk session. [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the 9th, Spotify announced that K-pop streaming increased by 362% globally and 182% in the United States compared to 2018. During the same period, the Southeast Asian region, where K-pop is highly popular, saw a 423% increase.
The country that listened to K-pop the most was the United States. Following were Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Mexico, Thailand, India, Brazil, Malaysia, and Canada, which were ranked as the 'top ten' countries listening to K-pop.
Park Jeong-joo, head of Spotify Korea's music team, explained, "K-pop has a significant influence worldwide, and K-pop artists are entering various global charts such as Billboard through their music. K-pop, which started in Korea, is connecting with fans around the world through many artists."
Spotify operates the 'Billions Club,' which certifies songs that have achieved 1 billion streams. Currently, BTS member Jimin's "Like Crazy," BLACKPINK's Lisa's "MONEY," and BLACKPINK's "How You Like That" are included on this list.
BTS member Jungkook's "Seven" reached 1 billion streams in just 108 days after its release, making it the fastest song to join the Billions Club in Spotify's history.
Park added, "K-pop artists are expanding across countries by releasing songs through collaborations with various global artists. This leads to an increase in new listeners."
In fact, when the group Tomorrow X Together (TXT) released the collaboration song "Back for More" with Brazilian artist Anitta, or when BLACKPINK's Lisa released "New Woman" in collaboration with pop star Rosal?a, the number of listeners encountering these songs for the first time surged significantly.
Spotify analyzed that K-pop's growth is noticeable not only among top-tier artists like BTS, BLACKPINK, and Stray Kids but also among rookie groups.
The most listened-to Korean music overseas in the first half of this year was by Aileit. Next-generation K-pop groups such as LE SSERAFIM (ranked 3rd and 4th) and Baby Monster (5th) captivated global listeners, signaling their future success.
Monthly listener counts on Spotify showed Baby Monster with 7.5 million, Kiss of Life with 6.7 million, and Aileit with 10 million listeners.
As global fans' interest in K-pop grows, Spotify is offering various support measures for K-pop artists, including the K-pop genre playlist "K-pop On," the artist support program "RADAR," and pop-up spaces in collaboration with artists. They are also introducing Korean artists on major global playlists such as "Mega Hit Mix" and "Pop Rising."
Park Jeong-joo explained, "Last year, the number of times Korean artists' music was first listened to on Spotify worldwide reached 2.2 billion. The revenue generated by Korean artists on Spotify last year also tripled compared to 2019."
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