In fact, 46 billion minutes of Kpop songs have been streamed by Spotify
since 2015. In places like South Korea, most music is actually physical CDs;
this is due to copyright laws and licenses. With many groups losing tons in
revenue when music is streamed, in order to make up for the losses, Idols
tend to release multiple special release albums with various covers, fan
cards, and other merchandise. These are often collectible and are more
considered merchandise vs the traditional album. Songs are often produced
2-3 times, once in Korean, Chinese and Japanese with English words
throughout all in the effort to gain a wide range of appeal.
Though there are many injustices in the Kpop music world, Kpop Idols, as
well as fans, are continuing to speak up to make things better. As Kpop expands
globally, western artists are becoming more and more excited to
work with Kpop groups and this growth allows not only for changes to the
South Korean music scene but positive growth for the Idols as well. Though
I do not agree with how things are run, the best thing I can do as a fan is
support the groups in their dreams and not just the ones I love but many
others because that is the only way their sacrifices to bring us great musical
content is not in vain.
Written By: SaiKira
KPop Boyband: EXO
Photo Credit: en.Wikipedia.org
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