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(Last updated: 25 Feb 2008)
Trends and opportunities
The market
The music industry in South Korea is experiencing a healthy expansion and its current success mirrors the wider financial success of the country. Although recent years have seen a drop in CD sales and a curtailing of traditional music products, the rise in mobile music technology provides a perfect climate for Australian musicians to penetrate the market.
The music industry has seen a marked growth in the last few years due to the increasing use of mobile media. The domestic online music market has increased from A$53.7 million to over A$238 million in the past four years, growing at over 45 per cent per annum. The mobile portion of this online market now accounts for over 90 per cent of this figure and is now the most common way for Koreans to access their music.
South Korea is one of the world’s leaders in mobile and Internet technologies. The music industry is thus experiencing a renaissance at the moment, as Koreans develop their use of mobile and online media as a main tool to download and listen to music.
The Korean music market is characterised by a number of key factors:
- Korea is the world leader in mobile music and just over 90 per cent of online music sales are from mobile music technologies which puts Korea #1 in the world.
- Since 2004, the domestic online music market has outgrown the traditional music market and the gap between them is expected to grow.
- A strong performance and festival circuit with over 50 major international festivals per year, which cater to a wide variety of music genres and styles.
The Korean Government endorses and sponsors most of the festivals that are on offer, as well as being at the forefront of pushing the broadband and wireless technologies that make it very easy to download music.
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Ringtone |
The music from processing original one and is now being upgraded from the initial monopoly. |
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Ringtune |
The music from cutting part of original one.
Unlike ringtone, ringtune now uses part of original one without any touch so performers and producers can get earnings. |
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Ring-back
tone |
The music that the caller can hear over the phone when making a phone call.
Introduced first by SKT (Korea telecom company), Vodafone Germany is now providing this service. |
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Full-track D/L |
As DRM problem is solved, the demand for MP3 D/L is growing. |
Opportunities
Festivals
Korean music festivals provide a fantastic opportunity for bands to make further contact with the Korean public. There are at least 50 big international festivals that are fully funded by the government and through sponsorship, of which there are a few that meet the specific requirements for Australian acts.
The Pentaport Rock Festival, which is the biggest rock festival in Korea, is a 3-day paid festival in summer that attracts about 50,000 people per day to the Incheon area. Other festivals include jazz festivals, such as the Mirror Pond Jazz Festival and the Jara Island International Jazz Festival, the biggest international jazz festival in Korea. It is a 5-day paid festival that attracts 30,000 per day. A number of Australian acts have had success at these festivals in the past. The fourth one is Jeon Joo Sori Festival.
License contract with Korea record labels
At the moment, a number of Australian acts have reached agreements with Korean label, The Limelight Music Consulting Co. to start moving into the Korean market. Austrade has a healthy relationship with this label and a number of other important agencies.
Established in 2002, Limelight has been at the forefront of consulting and producing commercial music for broadcasting media, such as TV, cable TV, radio, film, and online services in Korea. With an outstanding local reputation, the company now holds a 35 per cent market share in the Korean commercial music production industry.
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