Circle Chart to stop adding muted streams to listen count

Circle Chart will no longer count music streams done while muted, its service provider Korea Music Content Association announced Tuesday. [KOREA MUSIC CONTENT ASSOCIATION]

Circle Chart will no longer count music streams done while muted, its service provider Korea Music Content Association announced Tuesday.

Circle Chart is responsible for publishing music charts using the data provided by music streaming platforms serviced in Korea, including Melon, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and more.

“Music streams done while muted take account of 7 percent of the total weekly streams,” Korea Music Content Association said Tuesday.

“It is hard to see that music streaming done while muted counts as listening to music in a proper way.”

The association added the action also adds consistency as some music providers already filter out improper streaming attempts before providing the data to Circle Chart.

“Circle Chart, as the only music chart that receives K-pop data from [Korean] and global music platforms, provides data to weekly music shows, end-of-year music award ceremonies and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry ... We hope to more accurately reflect the K-pop industry with this action,” Choi Kwang-ho, secretary general of the Korea Music Content Association said.

As new systems have to be developed to track and filter out streaming done while muted, the new policy can take until the end of this year to be fully implemented, the agency said.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]