Kakao Entertainment has formed a strategic partnership with Tencent Music and LINE Music, aiming to broaden K-pop’s global horizons.
Kakao Entertainment has recently signed separate memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music and JOOX under Tencent Music Entertainment Group in China, as well as LINE MUSIC in Japan, for the joint launch of the “K-pop Artist Chart” (tentative) based on integrated metrics.
The landmark business collaboration marks a major milestone in K-pop’s globalization. The “K-pop Artist Chart” will calculate rankings based on comprehensive metrics of music enthusiasts’ engagement and streaming activity across all participating platforms. Currently, the chart is planned to be released on Melon as early as the 1st half of next year.
It will present music engagement patterns in Asia in a unified flow, allowing users to stay abreast of global K-pop trends more easily on Melon. Artists and their labels will be able to gain a new reference point for devising their strategies.
Tencent Music is the operator of “QQ Music,” “Kugou Music,” “Kuwo Music,” and “JOOX” — influential streaming platforms in Chinese Mainland and Southeast Asia.
Melon is a flagship music platform in Korea with more than two decades of history, known for paving the way for K-pop’s global ascent. Notably, its TOP100 and HOT100 charts have long served as major indicators of K-pop’s popularity. Melon’s data are used to honor artists at the Melon Music Awards (MMA), K-pop’s largest annual awards ceremony, as well as to determine winners on major music shows in Korea. In June 2023, Billboard began incorporating Melon data into its own charts – a testament to K-pop’s growing clout around the world.
LINE MUSIC, a Japan-based music streaming service, offers a music experience integrated with the ecosystem of the communication app LINE, which is used by 99 million people in Japan.
“It is very meaningful to introduce a global-standard chart for K-pop amid its ongoing boom, created by three companies spearheading the Asian music industry,” said Joseph Chang, co-CEO of Kakao Entertainment. “The ‘K-pop Artist Chart’ will add new value to the industry, artists, and music enthusiasts by delivering a reliable standard. Going forward, Kakao Entertainment will continue to contribute to the growth of the K-pop ecosystem and the elevation of its global influence.”
LINE MUSIC CEO Jun Masuda said, “We are very glad that Japan’s LINE MUSIC has partnered with Asia’s leading music streaming services to launch the ‘K-pop Artist Chart,’ which will serve as a new metric for K-pop. K-pop is in high demand in Japan, and being able to reflect every activity of Japanese followers on a global chart will be a meaningful initiative. Alongside such a global move by K-pop, LINE MUSIC will also continue striving to expand the ecosystem for J-pop and Japanese artists as a music platform.”
Source: Press Release
