Despite just having launched in South Korea earlier last month, hundreds of K-pop releases were abruptly removed from Spotify and people are not happy
UPDATED MARCH 11, 2020
Kakao Entertainment Corp. (previously Kakao M) has announced that the company has reached an agreement with Spotify, making the content available on their platform across the globe, including in South Korea.
"Kakao Entertainment Corp.(previously Kakao M) has entered into an agreement with Spotify and will sequentially provide its music content to Spotify for service in and beyond Korea. Through its diverse partnerships around the world including Spotify, Kakao Entertainment hopes that music lovers around the world can easily access its artists’ and music content to enjoy K-pop. Kakao Entertainment remains committed to the Korean music ecosystem and its growth and will continue protecting the rights of artists, labels and local rights holders going forward," a Kakao Entertainment spokesperson said in a statement.
"We are pleased that Kakao Entertainment Corp.’s content and artists are back on Spotify, allowing our 345 million+ global listeners across 170 countries to once again enjoy the music they love. Spotify’s mission has always been to connect artists to their fans all over the world and to give listeners access to all of the world’s music. We are delighted that our Korean listeners will now also be able to enjoy this local music alongside our 70 million+ songs and 4 billion+ playlists. We remain committed to making a positive impact on Korea’s music streaming ecosystem through our partnerships with artists, labels, and local rights holders," Spotify added.
Songs by the likes of K-pop artistes such as IU, Hyolyn (former Sistar member), Hyuna, Monsta X, GFriend, Mamamoo, CL (former 2NE1 member), Epik High and more were seemingly wiped off global streaming giant Spotify's catalogue yesterday after the company failed to reach an agreement for a new licensing deal with distributor Kakao M, leaving both fans and artistes devastated.
For the uninitiated, Kakao M is an entertainment company that's currently one of the largest co-publisher companies in South Korea and distributor of thousands of K-pop music. Kakao M also owns and operates Melon, South Korea's most popular music streaming service which boasts 3.2 million customers.
