Tag: BTS

K-Pop Takes Over, From ‘Gangnam Style’ to Global Domination

October 11, 2018

Last week, when K-pop group BTS took the stage at New York’s Citi Field, international #BTSArmy members showed up in droves; some had traveled from across the country and camped out weeks in advance for the promise of catchy beats, a chorus that hooks you, and charismatic dance moves.

Just a few years ago, a sold-out show at one of America’s biggest stadiums may not have been in the cards for a young Korean band. And yet, BTS has inspired fans of all ages, races, cultures, and genders not just in Asia, but in the U.S. and around the world. Call it an official global phenomenon.

K-pop’s popularity has reached a fever pitch: On Spotify, more than 14.2 billion K-pop tracks have been streamed globally, and fans have spent over 46 billion minutes since July 2015 listening to their favorite Korean tracks. These numbers grow each day, making K-pop one of the most-streamed genres across the globe. Its fast tempos, thrilling visual components, and resonant use of melody and storytelling have captivated fans on every continent—and on our dedicated K-pop hub.

The K-Pop hub on Spotify

“K-pop or the Hallyu wave is truly an Asian success story. For a genre that’s in a different language and from a very different culture, it is inspiring to see how K-pop is making its mark on the global stage,” says Eve Tan, Shows & Editorial, Team Lead, Spotify, Southeast Asia. “It is our aim to be a platform of discovery for both artists and music lovers, and we are excited to help Spotify fans across the world enjoy and be inspired by Korean music.”

K-pop first captured the world’s attention with PSY’s 2012 viral “Gangnam Style.” Ever since, the genre has evolved into a diverse and popular subculture internationally. Driven by social media fan fever and Korean TV dramas, the Korean Wave—an increase in global popularity of South Korean culture and entertainment—has broken through to the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and beyond.

Recently, K-pop hit some major international milestones. In September 2017, the genre had its first Billboard Top 10 debut with BTS’s Love Yourself: Her. This past July, GOT7 became the first K-pop act to play Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, and last month, BTS, in partnership with UNICEF, became the first K-pop group to deliver a speech at the United Nations.

To capitalize on their rising popularity across the globe, many K-pop artists now record songs in multiple languages. GOT7 recently dropped their new album title track “Lullaby” in four languages: Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, and English. Some bands have even formed subunits to target different audiences, like supergroup EXO, who perform in both Korean and Mandarin. NCT even has three subunits—NCT U, NCT 127, and NCT Dream—each focused on reaching different age groups and demographics.

Plus, more K-pop artists than ever are collaborating with popular English-speaking artists. BTS and Nicki Minaj dropped their buzzy and vibrant “Idol” video in September 2018, and girl group BLACKPINK has an exciting new collab in the works with English pop singer Dua Lipa. Consider K-pop’s crossover officially complete.

For your K-pop cravings

From the latest K-pop tracks to Korean OSTs (dramatic and highly addictive love songs), there’s a suitable Spotify playlist within our dedicated hub. First introduced in 2015, our K-pop hub is as addictive as the music itself, leading to a significant increase in streams and sharing of Korean music on Spotify.

Today, our K-Pop Daebak playlist (daebak is Korean for cool) hosts exclusive access to vertical video premieres from emerging and chart-topping acts. To keep up with the latest news, dance tutorials, and all things K-pop, be sure to follow the official Spotify K-Pop Daebak twitter account, @SpotifyKDaebak.

4 Questions (and Answers) with Cecilia Qvist, Global Head of Markets

October 11, 2018

From our humble beginnings in Stockholm to our current presence in 65 markets, Spotify is on a mission to bring music streaming to the entire world. But we’re not quite there yet. There’s a lot at play when determining whether to enter a new market, a process Cecilia Qvist, our global head of markets, oversees diligently.

Cecilia heads Spotify’s international expansion and product localization efforts and is focused on the growth of users globally. We sat down with her to learn more about Spotify’s criteria for entering new markets.

1. What’s Spotify’s approach to market growth?

There are two natural ways for Spotify to grow: by increasing the number of users in our existing 65 markets and to expand into new territories. When it comes to the markets where Spotify is already live, we have a multitude of levers that we can pull along the entire user funnel, from creating awareness to acquiring new users to lifetime retention.

Let’s look at activation as an example. The moment a user opens the app for the first time, we need to make sure their expectations—from the sign-up flow, to general onboarding, to using our algorithm-based discovery tools—are met. These expectations are different from market to market and from user to user, and we are always looking to improve them. All these seemingly little adjustments go a long way in growing the user base sustainably.

On the other hand, we launched in four new markets earlier this year: Romania, Israel, Vietnam, and South Africa. Before launching, we looked at various macroeconomic and socio-demographic factors including things like size and health of the music industry and creator ecosystem, licensing landscape, smartphone penetration, quality of smartphones, consumer segments, and more.

2. How do you ensure that you enter new markets in a way that is both relevant and culturally appropriate?

We learned early on that one size does not fit all. Take Japan, for example, where we built a karaoke feature because this is what everybody expects from a streaming app there. But broadly speaking, we spend a lot of time in a market before we launch there, working with user researchers who produce diaries from different user types. We engage with the creators on the ground to understand how they would like us to participate in the market, and we conduct a lot of product tests to make sure we can bring the right features, language, and designs into the markets. The Spotify app is already built around personalization—each user gets a personalized experience from the beginning. If you register in Brazil, you will see Brazilian funk in the Browse section, whereas in the Philippines you would see our local hit playlist Pinoy Party.

On the Spotify for Artists blog, we speak about our goal to match every listener with the perfect music for them. That’s why we have a team of over 100 editors around the world—music experts and cultural ambassadors whose job is to spread the joy of music discovery everywhere from Brazil to Japan to Turkey.

3. How do you foresee music streaming evolving as it becomes more global?

Streaming and global go hand in hand. If you look 50 years back, very few bands had an international audience—think the Rolling Stones or the Beatles. However, if you look at music consumption on streaming platforms today, you see an eclectic mix of international artists being regularly played in each and every market we’re live in.

Take the Romanian-born artist INNA, who has most of her fans in Mexico, Turkey, and Spain. And finally, take K-pop as another example, where the likes of Psy and BTS have reached global hits because of music streaming. At Spotify, we see global distribution as a massive benefit for creators and users alike. Creators have access to more fans, and music aficionados can discover more music than ever before.

We recently launched our Global X playlist, an initiative by our Global Cultures team where you find an eclectic mix of songs from cultures around the world all in one spot, ready to be enjoyed by everyone everywhere. I think this just shows how diverse global streaming has become.

4. While Spotify is continuing to expand, what can customers in existing markets look forward to?

We’re always looking to improve our service, no matter where Spotify is live. I’m excited to see further advancements in the podcast ecosystem, where we have already celebrated big successes with original podcasts like Fest & Flauschig in Germany or Tlatelolco: la plaza en Movimiento in Mexico. As we continue to develop the platform, we will continue to evolve it by adding more unique content and improved services towards creators and users alike.

On the user front, we’re always looking to improving the music experience for all the fans out there. We’re also expanding beyond the core platform to offer “Fans First” events where fans can meet their artists in intimate live sessions. On the creator side, we have a full pipeline of useful tools that make it easier for them to manage their catalogs, understand their audiences, and generate additional revenues.

Music is an integral part of every culture. We’re dedicated to making sure everyone, from our users to our creators, can express themselves with the music that’s meaningful to them, wherever they are.

Spotify is available internationally in 65 markets and growing. Sign up today.