Spotify confirmed hundreds of Kpop songs were removed from the music platform worldwide. This is because the streaming platform is trying and reaching an agreement with Kakao M.
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| Singer IU. instagram / dlwlrma |
Now, songs distributed by Korean label Kakao M have been removed from Spotify worldwide. Kakao M distributes the majority of Korean popular music, with 37.5 percent of the songs featured on Gaon Music Chart's 2020 Top 400 Yearly Song Chart.
In a statement provided to NME, a Spotify spokesperson confirmed Kpop songs from Kakao M will no longer be available to users worldwide starting March 1, 2021 "because our license has expired".
"We have been working with KakaoM over the past year and a half to renew global licensing agreements, so that music from their artists will remain available to Spotify's 345 million + listeners in nearly 170 markets worldwide," Spotify said.
They added, "Despite our best efforts, the licensing agreement we have with KakaoM (which covers all countries apart from South Korea) has ended."
Twitter user @lemonphobic has put together a number of artists affected by this issue, including IU, Cherry Bullet, Cravity, GFriend, Mamamoo, CL, Nu'est, and many more, to name a few:
Wei
Kim Wooseok
The Boyz
d1ce
Aunt
Minseo
IU
Victon
Pink fantasy
Epic high
Cherry bullet
Oneus
e'last
Cravity
Giriboy
June
Kim Sunggyu
Bae173
Moonbyul
DPR live
Eh3n
woo! ah!
Hyolyn
Code kunst
Drippin
Jannabi
Jukjae
SEVENTEEN,
MONSTA X
Apink
Sunmi
(G) I-DLE
LOONA
SF9
HyunA
4Minute
VIXX
INFINITE
Dreamcatcher
MOMOLAND
ASTRO
Zico
Block B
BEAST
Jessi
WJSN
AOA
BTOB
Golden Child
VICTON,
Lovelyz
PENTAGON
Hyolyn
KARD
HE
Younha
SECHSKIES, and others.
Meanwhile, artists who are signed to SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and BigHit Entertainment (excluding BigHit Label) are not affected by the deletion.
Some netizens have put forward the analysis that license negotiations with Kakao M, which owns Melon, ran into trouble when Spotify launched its domestic service last month.
Regarding this, an official from Spotify said, "The overseas license contract has nothing to do with the launch of the Korean service."
Kakao M, the largest music distribution company in Korea, recorded a 37.5% distribution share of music sources ranked 400th on the Gaon Chart last year.
Spotify said, "We recognize that this is very unfortunate for many artists, fans and listeners around the world, and we sincerely hope that the current situation will be resolved as soon as possible."
"We will continue to do our best to positively contribute to the mutual growth of the music industry and streaming ecosystem," he was quoted as saying by Yonhap News. /tirto.id