Pop Music Industry Research Articles

Research on the Exploitation of Artists in the K-pop Industry

The Korean pop music (K-Pop) industry has garnered fame in the recent years and has had a great economic impact on South Korea . It is best known for its music, performances and content creation but behind the glitz and glamour of the idol industry lies the dark truth if exploitation of its artists particularly minors. This paper examines the exploitation of artists, the trainee system, debut process, sexualization of minors and the impact of sasaeng fans. The unfair contracts, long working hours, the toxic beauty standards, limited rights over their craft which often leads to physical and mental health issues for these young artists’. The K-pop industry has been under scrutiny for its treatment and sexualization of minors. The intrusive and obsessive behaviors of the sasaeng fans further exacerbate the situation leading to concerns over the well-being of the artists. It also covers the government’s role and intervention in protection of minors and the protection of artists. However, more needs to be done to address these issues within the industry and strong measures need to be taken to ensure the well being of the artists and protection of minors within the industry.

Balancing Act: Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement and Its Impact on Creativity in the South Korean Pop Music Industry

This paper explores the relationship between intellectual property rights enforcement and creativity in the South Korean pop music industry. Through qualitative interviews with industry professionals and an analysis of South Korea’s copyright laws, this study reveals how stringent copyright enforcement influences music production and innovation. The findings suggest that while copyright laws are essential for protecting creators’ rights, they also pose challenges for creative freedom. This paper contributes to the discourse on copyright law and creative industries, highlighting the need for policies that both protect intellectual property and encourage artistic innovation.

Comparative Study of the Pop Music Industry in China and the United States

The pop music industry has a wide-ranging social influence and serves as an important medium for cultural exchange and international dissemination. This article aims to conduct a comparative study of the pop music industries in China and the United States, with the goal of comparing the differences and variations in pop music development between these two-major economic and cultural powers. Firstly, we compare and analyze the differences and similarities between the two countries in terms of music market size, music consumption patterns, and the value chain of the music industry. Secondly, we explore the challenges and opportunities faced by the pop music industries in China and the United States, aiming to inspire reflections on the development of the pop music industry in both countries. The study reveals that the future direction of China's pop music industry focuses on increasing the number of paying users and integrating pop music with social platforms. On the other hand, the U.S. pop music industry is dedicated to expanding into emerging overseas markets and enhancing its own influence. The future development trends of the pop music industry in China and the United States provide valuable insights for further exploration and promotion of the pop music industry's development.

A comparison of the production of popular music works: the classic pop works of the 1970s century and the reproduction of the classics in the current pop industry---- Take Queen as an example

The aim of this study is to explore the production comparison of popular music works. Taking Queen as an example, by comparing A Night at the Opera released in 1975 and Bohemian Rhapsody: The Original Soundtrack released in 2018, I have found differences in their underlying production logic and discussed the reasons for these differences. In summary, this study reveals the differences in the production logic between classic pop music and current pop industry's reproduction of them, and provides some constructive insights.

The Awakening of Female Consciousness: Study on K-Pop Girl Groups Music Videos

Since the 21st century, the Korean Pop music industry (K-Pop) has begun to grow by leaps and bounds, forming a music industry that is representative of Korean culture. Over the course of more than twenty years, K-Pop groups have begun to make new attempts and challenges with their works, especially the girl groups that have received more attention in recent years. More and more people are paying attention to the deeper meaning they want to express behind their works. This study focuses on three music videos by the K-Pop girl groups, (G)I-DLE, ITZY, and Red Velvet. Based on John Fiske's semiotic theory, it conducts a visual analysis of their music videos to investigate how the music videos of K-Pop girl groups reflect the awakening of female consciousness. It was found that all three girl groups expressed their feminist ideas through their music videos, reflecting the further profound development of K-Pop works and the strengthening of female consciousness in Korean patriarchal society.

K-Pop과의 비교분석을 통한 중국 대중음악 (C-Pop) 산업 발전방안 연구

This study considers the development process and status of K-Pop that influenced C-Pop, and presents a plan to develop the Chinese pop music industry which is on a downturn by analyzing the impact of K-Pop on C-Pop. The research subject is the K-Pop and C-Pop industries from the late 1990s to the present; , literature review and individual case analysis methods were adopted for effective analysis. The following plans for the development of the Chinese pop music industry were derived through SWOT analysis. Primarily, marketing strategies using Internet new media such as TikTok should be implemented, a “star-type” new singer training system should be established, and a service model that combines “O2O” online and offline consumption channels should be utilized. Subsequently, new singers should lead musical success through the formation of their own fandom culture with a strategy that goes beyond the existing older generation singers. The study aims to contribute theoretically and practically to the development of Chinese pop music by deriving implications for the Chinese pop music industry and presenting ways to develop Chinese pop music in a slump.

More or less a foreigner: Domestic reception of multinational K-pop groups

With K-pop's tremendous growth transnationally, scholars have pointed to the industry's inclusion of singers from different national and ethnic backgrounds, highlighting them as examples of successful glocalization. But there has been little attention paid to how these “foreign” singers, now integrated into the Korean pop music industry, are received within South Korea itself. In South Korea, public attention towards these idols has intensified as a result of the global success of multinational K-pop groups like Blackpink and NCT. The public visibility of these idols complicates South Korea's image as an ethnically, linguistically, and culturally homogenous nation. This article examines the domestic reception of these idols, exploring the tensions that emerge at the intersection of Koreanness, K-pop, and multiculturalism in South Korea today. Drawing on focus group interviews with Korean K-pop fans as well as Koreans who do not actively follow the industry, the article explicates how foreign K-pop idols alternately challenge and reinforce contemporary understandings of Koreanness.

온라인 공연 기반의 대중음악산업 생태계 발전방안

The purpose of this study is to analyze the online and offline popular music performance ecosystem and explore development plans. To this end, the current status and characteristics of the pop music performance industry were derived, and in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 experts from the pop music performance industry and academia. By applying the interview results to the service value network model, the offline-based performance industry ecosystem(As-Is) and the online and offline convergence performance ecosystem(To-Be) were schematized, and specific development plans were proposed based on this. As a result of the study, it was found that in the popular music industry, new value actors in the online performance industry will flow into all value chains except for the creative source stage, and the range of consumers, which consisted mainly of offline visitors, will be subdivided online and offline.

Correlation Study between US Media Industry and BTS

[연구목적] 본 연구에서는 기존 대중음악산업 연구에 있어 상대적으로 부족했던 세계음악시장의 흐름에 대한 통찰력과 예술경영 측면에서의 차기 사업기획 관점을 보강하고자 하였다. 2019년 현재 한국의 음악상품 중 내수전용 상품으로서 한계를 극복하고 해외시장을 아우르는 성장가치를 제시한 그룹 BTS의 사례를 두고 아티스트가 전파하는 메시지와 전략을 소비자가 피동적으로 감흥하여 받아들였다는 기존의 유사연구에 대한 보완책으로 미국의 음악산업을 매개체로 설정해 근원적 원인을 증명하고자 한다. [연구방법] 기존 연구에서 성공사례로 지적된 유튜브와 트위터 등 소셜미디어를 통한 전파효과 외에 더욱 괄목할만한 실적수치상 기폭제 역할을 한 매체와 시기를 추가로 연구하고, 해당 매체의 경영적 환경과 필요전략들을 조사한다. 또한 BTS의 출연 이후 해당 매체의 경영적 성과의 상관관계를 증명함으로서 왜 그들이 케이팝 아티스트에게 문호를 여는 쪽으로 전략을 선회하는 것인지 밝힌다. [연구의 시사점] 아티스트와 소속된 기획사가 가진 전략적 자산과 음악적 소양을 모방해 자신의 성공전략으로 답습하려는 시도는 비단 음악산업만이 아닌 이윤추구를 목적으로 하는 모든 산업의 고질적 병폐이지만, 그로 인한 실패사례의 범람은 안타까운 현실이다. 본 연구는 생산자의 일방적 상품성 강요가 아닌 시장과 매체의 상황을 먼저 이해하고 공감대 생성 과정을 발견하는 선구안을 가지고 시의성 있게 소구를 만드는 문화상품 기획의 한 방법을 제시하는 계기가 될 것이다.To reinforce our insight into the flow of the global music market, which was relatively lacking in the research of the existing pop music industry, and our view of the next business plan in terms of art management. With the case of BTS, a group that presented growth value that transcends the limits and encompasses overseas markets among Korean music products as of 2019, this research aims to prove its fundamental cause by setting up the U.S. music industry as a medium as a supplement to the existing similar research that consumers have received messages and strategies disseminated by artists in a passive way. Therefore, in order to prove the above proposition, the media and timing that played a more significant role in the performance figures are further studied, as well as the dissemination effect through social media such as YouTube and Twitter, which were pointed out as success stories in previous research, and the management environment and necessary strategies of the media are investigated. It also proves the correlation between the media’s management performance after BTS’ appearance, revealing why they are shifting their strategy toward opening doors to K-pop artists. Whenever a new trend emerges in the music market, attempts to imitate the strategic assets and musical qualities of artists and their management agencies as their strategies are a chronic disease of all industries aimed at profit-seeking, not just the music industry, but the resulting flood of failures is a tragic reality. This research will serve as an opportunity to present a method of planning cultural products that make a timely appeal with a pioneering idea of first understanding the situation of markets and media, not the product maker’s unilateral pitching, and discovering the process of generating consensus.

The Representation of Non-Heterosexuality in YouTube: Study on K-Pop Girl Group Music Video

Since the late 2000s, the Korean pop music industry (K-pop) has made significant progress outperforming the music industry of other countries. The abundance of South Korean media content showing the concept of “Girl Band” is engaging because of changes in gender representation in the Korean pop music industry. This study focuses on the representation of non-heterosexuality in the music videos of the K-Pop girl groups Mamamoo, Loona, and Red Velvet. The Music Video (MV) of the three girl bands shows other sexual orientations, as is often shown in the South Korean media. By observing the three music videos, the author found that South Korea has begun to represent several sexualities and genders that exist through the KPop industry. This study aims to analyze how the South Korean entertainment industry began to represent non-heterosexuality in the music video clips of K-Pop girl groups. The method used in the study uses a qualitative approach with semiotic analysis by John Fiske. The results of this study indicate the existence of a non-heterosexual ideology implied by the three girl groups through the content in the music video uploaded on the Youtube media platform

A Study on the New Paradigm Prospects for the Korean Pop Music Industry: Focusing on the Live Concerts Since the Post-COVID Era

A Study on the New Paradigm Prospects for the Korean Pop Music Industry: Focusing on the Live Concerts Since the Post-COVID Era

Campus Rock

During 1967-8, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Animals, The Who, Richie Havens, Jefferson Airplane and the Iron Butterfly, performed in the gymnasium at the small, liberal arts Drew University in suburban New Jersey. Turns out, this experience was not unique to Drew. College campuses across the country were essential for the growth of popular music, and of rock music in particular in the mid- to late-sixties. The music industry took notice as booking agents, record shops, pop music promoters, radio stations, and industry magazines and newspapers all began to place more emphasis on the opportunities provided by the nation’s colleges. While we know a great deal about activism on college campuses during the sixties, we know little about that same environment and its relationship to the growth and development of rock culture. This essay will explore the relationship between the growth of rock culture, the college campus, and the broader sixties experience. The college campus proved crucial in the development of rock music as student tastes determined “rock culture.” Folk, pop, soul/R&B, folk rock, hard rock, and psychedelic/acid rock, thrived simultaneously on the college campus from 1967 to 1970, precisely the period of significant change in popular music.

Campus Rock

During 1967-8, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Animals, The Who, Richie Havens, Jefferson Airplane and the Iron Butterfly, performed in the gymnasium at the small, liberal arts Drew University in suburban New Jersey. Turns out, this experience was not unique to Drew. College campuses across the country were essential for the growth of popular music, and of rock music in particular in the mid- to late-sixties. The music industry took notice as booking agents, record shops, pop music promoters, radio stations, and industry magazines and newspapers all began to place more emphasis on the opportunities provided by the nation’s colleges. While we know a great deal about activism on college campuses during the sixties, we know little about that same environment and its relationship to the growth and development of rock culture. This essay will explore the relationship between the growth of rock culture, the college campus, and the broader sixties experience. The college campus proved crucial in the development of rock music as student tastes determined “rock culture.” Folk, pop, soul/R&B, folk rock, hard rock, and psychedelic/acid rock, thrived simultaneously on the college campus from 1967 to 1970, precisely the period of significant change in popular music.

The Phenomenon of English-Indonesian Code Mixing as a Trend in Indonesian Pop Music Industry

This study discusses the phenomenon of code mixing as a trend in the Indonesian pop music industry, which in its development period has experienced a rapid increase over time. Indonesian song texts in the current context, estimated to start in the 2000s until now, many use English-Indonesian code mixing. With this phenomenon, the music industry in Indonesia seems to be running a new trend that is indirectly seen as a habit. Qualitative methods that emphasize on observing phenomena and focus on processes and meanings are used to understand the code mixing phenomena that have been identified in a number of Indonesian pop songs by linking them with Bourdieu's habitus theory, the role of the Indonesian language in the post-New Order era and the concept of using English in Indonesian according to Munsyi. The results show that there has been a habitus in the Indonesian music industry that gave birth to a trend of English-Indonesian code mixing where this code mixing became a phenomenon in the music industry as a form of new habits, but still could not be separated from the historical factors of the role of Indonesian language during its development.

Digital transformation of business ecosystems: Evidence from the Korean pop industry

AbstractThe notion of business ecosystems is gaining prominence among academics and practitioners. Scholars advise that business ecosystems are inherently fluid, unbounded and amorphous and thus that their boundaries can shift. Practitioners further suggest that business ecosystems are characterised by inter‐network – as opposed to inter‐firm – competition, and, moreover, that they are mainly driven by technological advancements. And yet few studies examine the role of information technology (IT) in driving boundary practices that enable the formation and transformation of business ecosystems. Through an in‐depth case study of technology‐enabled transformations within the Korean pop music (K‐pop) industry, our study examines how the digital transformation of business ecosystems unfolded. Our study contributes to the emergent body of knowledge on business ecosystems in a number of ways. Our investigations uncover the conditions under which the constituent firms operate and analyse the role of IT and its implications on new organisational forms. From our analysis, we present a framework that reveals insights on critical boundary practices and formative strategies for digital business ecosystems. We illustrate how these boundary practices drive industry change, from a largely linear content delivery system resembling a value chain to a new value network of co‐specialisation and self‐organisation among firms in a new digital business ecosystem.

A Study on the Direction of Applied Music Education in the Trend of 21 st Century Digital Music Contents

1988년 서울예술대학에 실용음악과 개설 이래 현재까지 지속적으로 증가하여 실용음악 관련 학과가 전국적으로 76개 학교에 개설되었다. 이러한 증가의 이유는 K-Pop의 글로벌한 성공과도 연계하여 생각해 볼 수 있는데, K-Pop은 성장기 청소년들에게 심리적 안녕감을 주며, 더불어 음악적 재능을 갖고 있는 청소년들로 하여금 대중음악 예술가에 대한 우상화 효과와 동경심을 갖도록 하기 때문이다. 매년 국내 실용음악 관련 학과에서 배출되는 예비 대중음악 인력 공급은 시간이 지날수록 팽창하고 있다. 실용음악 교육은 음악 이론 및 실습과 더불어 미디어 콘텐츠 자체를 직접 생산할 수 있는 기술 교육도 포함하고 있기 때문에 전공자들에게 예술가 양성 측면과 콘텐츠 생각 측면 모두 접근 가능한 환경으로 구성되어 있다. 이는 예술가를 비롯한 사업가 혹은 연계 분야로의 진출 가능성을 내포하고 있다. 그러나 현재의 국재 실용음악 교육은 다양한 가능성의 잠재력을 갖고 있음에도 불구하고 콘텐츠 산업에서 필요한 디지털 기술 트렌드 추이와 산업 현장에서 필요한 역량 교육에서 있어서 다각화와 융합적 훈련은 미진해 보인다. 1980년대 MIDI의 출현은 대중음악 제작 시스템과 음악 산업의 큰 변화를 가져왔으며, 개인이 혼자서도 충분히 음악을 제작할 수 있는 시스템이 가능하도록 하였다. 21세기로 진입하면서, 음악시장은 디지털 시대로 완전히 정착을 하였고, 디지털 오디오 형식은 음악 공유의 새로운 시장 패러다임을 만들었다. IT 기술의 진보는 멀티미디어 콘텐츠 시장 활성화를 더욱 부추겼으며, 기술의 발전은 오디오 포맷과 녹음 기술에도 영향을 미치게 된다. 소비자들은 기존의 2채널 스테레오에서 5.1채널, 7.1채널, 바이노럴 녹음 등의 서라운드 음향 경험을 하게 되었고, 이는 음악 콘텐츠 제작의 방법 변화를 가져오게 된다. 기술의 진보에 따라 예술과 과학의 융합 교육이 필요하며, 정통적인 음악 교육을 통한 예술가 배출뿐만 아니라, 연계학문으로의 진출과 사업가 정신이 함양할 필요가 있다. 국내 대학에서 이런 융합 연구를 하는 사례들을 찾아볼 수 있는데, 국내의 일부 대학에서는 음악 교육 이외에 창의, 문제해결, 창업, 글로벌 역량 등의 과정을 포함하는 경우를 발견할 수 있었으며, 해외 대학에서는 미국의 CCRMA, 프랑스의 IRCAM 등의 사례에서 매우 적극적인 예술과 과학 융합 연구가 진행되고 있음을 확인하였다. 매년 수천 명에 이르는 실용음악 계열 전공 졸업자들은 이미 한국 사회에서 과포화 상태에 이르렀으며, 관련 직업은 제한되어 있기 때문에 경제활동을 위한 사회진출이 쉽지 않다. 정통 음악 교육 방식을 벗어나 음악 창의적 능력을 융합한 사업가 그리고 과학자를 배출할 수 있는 다각적 사고의 폭을 넓히도록 도움을 줄 수 있는 실용음악 교육 패러다임의 전환이 필요하다.Since the Department of Applied Music at Seoul Institute of the Arts opened in 1988, 76 applied music schools has been opened, nationwide. The reason may be connected to K-Pop’s global success, which promotes the psychological well-being of the youth, and the idolization of pop artists. This is because it has an effect and a longing. Preliminary human resources produced by domestic applied music-related departments for the pop music industry is growing every year. In addition to music theory and practice, applied music education includes technical education to produce media contents directly. This implies the possibility of entry as artists, entrepreneurs, etc. Although the current Korean applied music education has the potential to explore various possibilities, diversification and convergence training seem to be insufficient with respect to the requirements of digital technology in the contents industry and competency education in the industrial field. The emergence of Musical Instrument Digital Interface(MIDI) in the 1980s brought a major change in the popular music production system and the music industry, enabling individuals to produce music themselves. As we entered the 21st century, the music market settled completely into the digital age, and digital audio formats created a new market paradigm for music sharing. Advancements in Information Technology have further fueled the growth of multimedia contents market. They are affecting audio formats and recording technologies. Additionally, consumers have already experienced a surround sound effect of 5.1ch, 7.1ch, binaural recordings, etc., on existing 2ch stereos, which is changing the way music contents are being produced. Technological advancements call for art and science convergence education. Artists not only require the usual music education, but they also need skills to advance into connected studies and cultivate their business spirit. Examples of such convergence research are found at domestic universities. Some universities in Korea include music, education, problem solving, entrepreneurship, and global competency. With respect to overseas educational institutions such as Stanford Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics(CCRMA) in the USA and Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music(IRCAM) in France, it is found that research on art and science convergence is already in progress. Korea produces thousands of applied music graduates each year, resulting in oversaturation of the market. Hence, their careers are limited and so are their opportunities to get involved in economic activities. Applied music education will experience a shift in the paradigm that can help in expanding the multifaceted thinking required to produce entrepreneurs and scientists who have creative converged music skills beyond knowledge acquired from typical music education methods.

The Success Plan of the K-pop Industry through the Case of BTS

Recently, K-pop is leading the development of Korean pop culture. And it has established itself as a culture that is accepted and maintained voluntarily by the public worldwide. Cultural development in a region is important because it is a product of the social quality of society. With the debut of ‘Seo Taiji and Boys’ in 1992, the idol group music began in Korea. At present, BTS has formed a global fandom and has become one of the most successful cases among Hallyu content. Therefore, for the development of Korean pop music industry, this study analyzes in various ways what strategies of BTS have made them successful.

Never Mind the Translation: Tong Yang-tze’s Art of Writing in Dialogical Perspective

In her calligraphic work, Tong Yang-tze (Dong Yangzi 董陽孜, 1942–) aims to break away from narrative tradition and to open up new modes of looking. Her collaborations with artists, Jazz musicians, dancers, fashion designers, film, the pop music industry, and architects have led to multi-sensual experiences. Her intentionally abstracted writing also provides an opportunity for people unable to read Chinese to translate the writing, to surpass linguistic and cultural barriers. While spontaneity is emphasized, this article views Tong’s intention of creating calligraphy with cross-threshold media from a dialogical perspective: her work aims to challenge traditional perceptions and practice, in a quest for contemporaneity and postvisuality in her art of writing.

Culture jamming against othering in pop music: Video remixes with cultural efficacy

In the context of the YouTube remix culture, individuals and civil society consume and re-imagine the productions of pop culture. Some movements occupy physical public spaces, through street art, counter-advertising, and culture jamming, largely taking on the advertising industry of capitalism. The drive to be ‘woke’ or aware of systemic injustices is also a recent trend, but not applied consistently in the entertainment industry. In the intersection of these trends, there lacks a media space that considers and collects creative and critical socially conscious remixes of the pop music industry and its messages. This communicative project seeks to select and compile examples of creative and critical responses to 6 pop music songs, focusing on works with high cultural efficacy. The objective for this project is to collect a set of examples in the specific subdivision of culture jamming, namely works using cultural efficacy to re-imagine the pop music industry. We search for what has already been selfpublished to social media that references the pop music industry or specific lyrics and music videos that lack representation, reinforce stereotypes, or dehumanize others. We will understand the foundations of culture jamming, cultural efficacy, and communication theory before outlining the methodology to be used and the results produced. In the discussion, we will see emerging patterns of non-amateur parodies and identify spaces for continued engagement as well as suggested continued research on expression.

Resistance of Mocca Band Against the Indonesian Music Industry (Case Study About Resistance of Mocca Band Dealing with Indonesian Music Industry)

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