Now Available: K-pop on iTunes

How relevant is iTunes to Kpop? Does it boost popularity? Does it help with promotions? How does it benefit the international fans?

Here's how I see it; the answer is yes to every single question.

iTunes is relevant because it's on the internet and the internet makes most things, if not all things accessible to the public no matter where you live. As long as you have internet (illegally or not, it's cool, we're all human), then you will be able to find a way to get a hold of the hottest tracks of Kpop.

Now, how does iTunes help K-pop in terms of recognitions. 2PM, Tablo, Xia Junsu-- these are only some of the names of the Kpop artists who have ranked number one in iTunes charts in a number of countries. iTunes provides for an international audience and it is through the diversity of the sales that K-pop can gauge the diversity of their fans. And though this said diversity has been proven many a time, it's still gratifying to keep track of the progress each year.

Despite K-pop's growing popularity, this doesn't mean that their albums are sold in every store where a fan exists. There are still cities that either sell the albums too late, or don't at all. It is for these reasons why iTunes is such a blessing because it allows for these countries and places to purchase the album still without having to wrack and attack every music store because the albums aren't on the shelves yet. 

And the fact that iTunes rankings are mentioned when announcing an artists' albums' accolades, this should be enough proof that iTunes is relevant and is a staple for international listeners.   

In a recent case, Kim Hyun Joong is rumored to be struggling on the charts in Korea, barely at 95 then out of the ranks altogether with the album title song "Your Story", but his album already made and broke 8 iTunes charts at presstime.  One, this proves that Kim Hyun Joong is the Hallyu prince, and has a bigger international following than at home.

If anything, iTunes and iTunes rankings reveal opportunity for K-pop where in pre-iTunes era people would have abandoned possibilities, just because sales in Korea is not quite cutting it.   Also, iTunes makes K-pop available sooner for international fans.  While in now bygone eras, international fans may need to wait four to five weeks to receive an album, iTunes now makes the same thing accessible almost on-demand. 

For the most part iTunes is good for K-pop. Because of the immediacy of availability and ease of access, there could be implications in terms of the length of album promotion cycles, or even spacing between album releases. There will be greater demand, with expectations set high for instant access.  Wait until K-pop also becomes readily available on Google Play, the possibilities will be endless.

Tags
xia junsu
Tablo
2PM
Join the Discussion

Latest Photo Gallery

Real Time Analytics