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Wither K-pop? No way, says Spotify. We're just getting started.

Published: 19 Jun. 2025, 17:09 Updated: 19 Jun. 2025, 18:26

SHIN HA-NEE
[email protected]

Park Jung-joo, head of music at Spotify Korea, speaks during the Spotify Soundcheck press event on June 19, held in southern Seoul. [SPOTIFY KOREA]

Has K-pop already lost its momentum after an explosive growth earlier this decade? Not quite, says Spotify Korea — as both the industry and the global streaming giant are still just getting started.

“While some data suggested a slowdown in K-pop growth, Spotify has been seeing a steady uptrend in its K-pop-related metrics over recent years,” said Park Jung-joo, head of music at Spotify Korea, during a press event in southern Seoul on Thursday.

Despite a dip in physical album sales last year, K-pop’s traction in streaming remains strong as the genre continues to attract a global audience, according to Park.

“We believe K-pop’s potential is still limitless,” Park said. “And we’re only getting started.”

The Thursday event, titled Spotify Soundcheck, highlighted the company’s journey so far in Korea since its launch in 2021.

According to Spotify Korea, K-pop streaming on the platform increased a whopping 470 times from 2014 to 2024. The average annual growth over the past decade has been significant, surging 90 percent in the United States and 98 percent in the Southeast Asian region per year on average. Last year alone, Korean songs were streamed for a total of 9.7 million hours worldwide.

As such, royalties paid to Korean artists by Spotify increased 12 percent last year compared to a year earlier, representing a three-fold jump compared to 2019.

Under its core mission to bring artists closer to their fans, Spotify has collaborated with various Korean artists, including boy bands Seventeen and Enhypen, hosting global pop-up events for fans.

Korea, as a user market, has also seen notable growth, according to Park.

"Korea stands out in its user pattern within Spotify's listener-centered user experience," she said, explaining that Korean users create the largest number of playlists in the world.

"Spotify aims to create an ecosystem where Korean artists can steadily build their careers, secure and expand their global fan base, and receive fair compensation in return,” said Park.

Spotify, for that end, aims to be a "cultural hub," she added.

“We will continue our commitment to going beyond being a mere streaming service to become a platform to bring artists and fans closer to each other.”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]