{"id":191994,"date":"2021-03-02T07:48:08","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T04:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/spotify-removes-hundreds-of-k-pop-songs\/"},"modified":"2021-03-02T07:48:08","modified_gmt":"2021-03-02T04:48:08","slug":"spotify-removes-hundreds-of-k-pop-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/spotify-removes-hundreds-of-k-pop-songs\/","title":{"rendered":"#Spotify Removes Hundreds of K-pop Songs"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Spotify Removes Hundreds of K-pop Songs<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

Hundreds of songs from popular K-pop acts, including Sistar, IU, Monsta X, Epik High, and more, have been removed from Spotify<\/a> in markets outside of South Korea. In a statement to the NME<\/em><\/a>, Spotify confirmed that the songs would no longer be available \u201cdue to the expiration of our license.\u201d But the Korean company that owns the rights to the songs claims that Spotify refuses to renew the global license to their catalog.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Korea\u2019s Kakao M is one of Korea\u2019s largest distributors, and also owns MelOn<\/a>, the country’s largest digital streaming platform. Korea is the sixth-largest music market in the world. Spotify launched in South Korea just one month ago, on February 1<\/a>, and while they continue to negotiate domestic licenses for Korean music, the deals governing Spotify\u2019s licenses to stream music in markets outside Korea expired March 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Spotify claims that they were unable to renew the global licensing agreement, despite \u201cworking with Kakao M over the last year and a half\u201d to reach a deal. But speaking to a local Korean news<\/a> outlet, Kakao M representatives claim that Spotify has a policy that requires entering domestic and global agreements simultaneously, meaning that they could not renew the global rights without settling on domestic rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Some insiders have speculated that Kakao M\u2019s ownership of MelOn, a direct competitor to Spotify in the Korean market, is likely to be a factor in negotiations, as the streaming giant\u2019s control of large swaths of the global music market is powerful leverage in negotiations with domestic distributors. Spotify is now available in 178 countries, with 345 million monthly active listeners, and 155 million paid subscribers as of Q4 2020<\/a>. MelOn has 8.81 million monthly active users.<\/p>\n

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https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jeff__Benjamin\/status\/1366139619381809152<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

While popular music comes and goes from the service in various markets as individual deals are signed or expire, Kakao M\u2019s control of a large portion of Korean pop music\u2014itself a global phenomenon\u2014has made a more dramatic impact. And while negotiations with Spotify remain ongoing, Kakao M\u2019s music remains available on other DSPs, including Deezer and App<\/a>le Music.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n