Fans frustrated by removal of hundreds of K-pop songs from Spotify
ONE month after launching in South Korea, Spotify has removed hundreds of popular K-pop artists from its global catalogue, amid a dispute with a South Korean distributor with its own music streaming service.
Fans of K-pop, the South Korean genre that’s become a worldwide phenomenon, have been frustrated to find some of their favorite artists like Sistar, IU, Monsta X and Epik High missing from Spotify music listings outside of South Korea as of March 1.
Spotify, a Sweden-based music and audio streaming platform, said in a statement that a deal with Kakao M, a major South Korean music distributor that runs MelOn, Korea’s top music streaming platform, had ended.
“Despite our best efforts, the existing licensing deal we had with Kakao M has come to an end,” Spotify said in a statement, the BBC reported.
“The fact that we have not yet reached agreement on a new global deal is unfortunate for their artists, as well as for fans and listeners worldwide. It is our hope that this disruption will be temporary and we can resolve the situation soon.”
Kakao M maintained that Spotify had chosen not to renew the contract, which expired Feb 28, according to Soompi, a website dedicated to K-pop news.
Kakao M tied the removal of the music to its ongoing negotiations with Spotify over a domestic music rights deal. The South Korea company had licensed Spotify to distribute music solely outside of the country.
“Due to Spotify’s policy that they must proceed with the domestic and global contracts at the same time, our global contract has currently expired,” Kakao M said, according to Soompi. “We are currently continuing our negotiations about the supply of music.”
On social media, fans expressed disappointment at the turn of events. “The world of Kpop is in chaos right now,” wrote one user on Reddit’s K-pop forum.
It is not uncommon for music to suddenly disappear from Spotify and other music streaming platforms as licensing deals expire or are renegotiated.