Korean Streaming Platform FLO Under Fire after Songs by Artists Including BTS and IU were Excluded from the Chart
FLO is currently receiving backlash from fans as some of the songs released by artists, including BTS and IU, were removed from their music chart.
What is FLO?
FLO is one of the main music streaming platforms in South Korea that was launched back in 2018 by South Korean Telecom. The service was created with big partners such as SM Entertainment, Big Hit Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment.
Unlike other Korean streaming platforms that update their chart every hour, FLO reflects the streaming data after 24 hours to avoid unusual streaming patterns.
The FLO chart is one of the rankings where artists need to reach No. 1 to achieve a certified all-kill or perfect all-kill.
FLO Criticized after Songs by Several Artists Like BTS and IU Were Not Included on Their Chart
FLO recently changed the way they rank the songs on their music chart, and releases by some artists, including BTS and IU, cannot be found, thus, sparking controversy.
In an online community, a user made a post claiming that FLO's counting method seemed to have changed and shared a picture of the Korean music chart.
In the post, users noticed that some popular songs were missing, and these include SG Wannabe "Partner for Life" and "As I Live"; IU "Hold My Hand," "Coin," and "Blueming"; Oh My Girl "Nonstop," and BTS "Life Goes On."
These tracks can be found on other Korean music charts such as Bugs and MelOn, and so users questioned whether there was an error on the chart.
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In response to this, FLO said that the new counting logic of the FLO chart was implemented at 11 a.m. KST on June 28 so that more diverse songs and artists can enter the rankings.
However, users pointed out that only the songs by some artists were excluded from the chart, and the standards in changing the counting logic were not disclosed.
Hence, the Korean streaming service received complaints from the users. Some see the change as manipulation since only songs by certain singers, especially those who are popular, were excluded.
On July 1, an official from FLO told Xports News that they discovered a conflict in the process of distributing the logic to improve diversity and fairness, but it was already resolved after receiving users' feedback.
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The FLO official further stated that logic using AI (artificial intelligence) technology was applied to maintain fairness on the music chart. However, the up-to-date method caused some side effects.
Currently, FLO is restoring the former logic of its 24-hour chart. But, users are still suspicious as they changed the counting logic without notice and return to their previous one after protests continued.
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Meanwhile, the songs mentioned above continuously chart on the MelOn chart.
BTS "Life Goes On" is currently charting at No. 53 on MelOn 24Hits, while IU's "Coin" and "Blueming" are sitting at Nos. 36 and 37, respectively.
Moreover, IU "Hold My Hand" secured the No. 23 spot, while Oh My Girl's "Nonstop" claimed the No. 62 spot on the MelOn chart.
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Written by Mhaliya Scott
