The Future of K-pop: Not Too Dark?

If you have been paying attention to the latest music scene, I am sure you have heard of “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction (if you haven’t, you can listen to the song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJO3ROT-A4E).  One Direction is a British-Irish boy band that has recently topped the iTunes chart with their debut album “Up All Night.” According to New York Times, the group sold 176,000 copies of their debut album in its first week of release, and the members of the band, whose ages range from 17 to 20, have generated a massive fan base. Also, the new Disney TV show “Shake it Up” just recently released a music video of their sound track “Something to Dance for/TTYLXOX” performed by two Disney stars Zendaya and Bella Thorne (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy7o_jNeoEw). The music video is currently #2 on iTunes Music Video chart.

With One Direction’s success, some music critics claimed that boy bands are the new big thing. Also, the “Shake it Up” music video is very similar to K-pop as they have the 90s dance music and synchronized dance routines. Wait, are boy bands coming back? Does that mean K-pop actually has a chance to be popular in the U.S. this time? My prediction is, with the right strategies and talent, I think the future of K-pop is very bright in the U.S.

Even in the past 6 months, what the Korean top three agencies have achieved in the U.S. is very impressive. On January 31, 2012, SM Entertainment’s Girls Generation made its American TV debut on David Letterman Show. Furthermore, YG Entertainment’s 2NE1 recently signed a contract with Will.I.Am., who is the front man of Black Eyed Peas, to produce their album in English. In February, Alicia Keys’ husband and a famous hip-hop producer Swizz Beats also singed a contract with a Korean agency, promising to bring K-pop to America. 

Girls Generation on Letterman Show

It is certainly astonishing what the Korean producers and agencies have achieved; however, I think it is time for them to take one step further by thinking about the following ideas:

1. Collaborate with local agencies, stylists, and songwriters: It is imperative to collaborate with local producers who fully understand the market. When you look at K-pop groups outfits, you might think the outfits are too “weird” or “out of fashion.” The smart move will be working with American stylists to dress K-pop artists in a way that would be more appealing to the American audience. 

2. Understand American pop culture through American fashion and film: When JYP’s Wonder Girls appeared in a Teen Nickelodeon movie, and when RAIN had a Hollywood lead role in the film “Ninja Assassin,” both Wonder Girls and RAIN gained exposure and popularity from the mainstream audience.

3. Not just learn the language but be familiar with the culture: Even though Wonder Girls and RAIN spent a lot of time and effort to be fluent in English, they failed to understand the American culture. Their interviews on American TV shows were extremely dull. When they were being interviewed by American reporters, they were being very humble, which is the right thing to do in Asian culture, but they rather seemed timid and unconfident on American TV. They also did not follow any of American jokes, which made them look even more boring. Wouldn’t Americans want to see someone funny and confident? It is important to learn the language and have a sense of American humor and confidence.

With the right game plans, the future of K-pop in the U.S. is bright. Also, the Korean Big 3s have learned their lesson: simply translating the Korean lyrics of a K-pop song to English won’t make the song “American.” Furthermore, with the re-gained popularity of boy bands and dance music in America, K-pop is finally in synch with the right trend. The Korean producers must take this opportunity as their final chance to understand the American music market and appeal to the mainstream audience with the right type of music.

There have been many interactions and collaborations between the European music industry and American music industry. As a matter of fact, many American pop songs are produced by European producers and DJs. Why can’t we build the same bridge across the Pacific Ocean, between the U.S. and Asia? One day, I hope to see the same level of collaboration between the American artists and Korean artists. 

Why K-Pop Can’t Dominate the U.S. Market

Ask your friends who claim themselves as “avid music lovers” and see if they can name any K-pop boy band or girl group. Assuming that most of my readers live in the U.S., I am confident that your friends can’t name any K-pop group. Despite the fact that K-pop is the symbol of Korean cultural imperialism in Asia, K-pop has no place in the American music market.

K-pop Industry Giant: JYP

As I mentioned in the previous blog, K-pop is a genre that has dominated the Asian market. The unique electro-dance genre has been extremely popular in Japan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand; however, what is the next step for K-pop? The ultimate dream of Korean music producers is putting K-pop stars on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and, maybe, winning the Grammys. For decades, the K-pop industry moguls, such as JYP, YG, and SM attempted to make Korean pop-stars famous in North America.  Even though the Korean producers have provided massive funding and put in a lot of time and effort, the result has been always the same in the U.S. market: failure.

More specifically, yes, some K-pop groups did gain some popularity among Asian Americans; however, they failed to attract the mainstream audience. Although the top three Korean talent agencies made some progress in the past 5 years in the U.S. market, why can’t they appeal to a larger crowd? The answer is simple: their product is extremely outdated.

Trying to take over the Billboard Chart with a K-pop boy band is the same as trying to compete against the Apple iOS 5 Macbook Pro with a Windows 97 Dell laptop. The U.S. music market simply have had no demand for boy bands – at least not in the past 2 years and at this very moment. Do you remember the days when Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Hanson, and New Kids on the Block took over the music chart? Well, the music market has evolved with different styles, and people’s taste in music has changed since the 90s as well. The current U.S. music industry is filled with only solo artists, such as Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swfit, Drake, and Nikki Minaj. The style has changed too. Instead of having the 90s sound that K-pop follows, the U.S. market is dominated by progressive and innovative electronic sounds that many young DJs have developed in the past 2 years. Yet, the Korean producers who are trying to sell their music in the American market simply do not understand that the trend and style have changed. Let’s face it, the boy band phenomenon ended with Jonas Brothers in 2009. According to Morgan Carey, a music consultant based in Los Angeles, “bringing recycled American producers and guest artists into the mix long after their relevance in this market” will only push the K-pop groups to the bottom. 

In addition to the lack of up-to-date style and understanding of the U.S. market, K-pop failed to appeal to the mainstream audience as the genre lacks 3 important elements of music.

1. Creativity: K-pop awkwardly borrowed the 1990s sound of American dance music and kept the same sound for over a decade. The Korean producers neglected developing a unique sound while the American pop music scene was drastically changing in the past 10 years. The dance routines are predictable and the lyrics always talk about the same typical love story. As a result, the lack of creativity inevitably shaped K-pop to look extremely outdated in the U.S. market.

2. Diversity: People may have wondered why all the K-pop songs sound the same. K-pop lacks diversity. I believe it is possible to develop different styles even under the same genre; however, the Korean producers only focus on one style. If there were more diverse styles of K-pop, K-pop would have had more chance of appealing to a wider range of audience.

3. Continuity (Sustainability): The average lifespan of a K-pop boy band or girl group is only 2-3 years. The Korean agencies expect their K-pop groups to make it big in such a short period of time. If they fail, the agencies simply replace the old groups with the younger groups. It is a waste of time and resources to abandon a group after harshly training them for 8 to 10 years. The Korean producers need to be more patient and consistent. The U.S. music market is the most competitive market in the world, and it takes years of endless effort to become successful in the American music industry.

So you may be thinking, will K-pop ever gain popularity in North America? My prediction is positive. The attempt to popularize K-pop in the U.S. failed miserably in the past, but the future is not too dark. The top three agencies are learning from their mistakes in the past and developing stronger strategies to compete in the U.S. In my next blog, I will write about my thoughts on the future of K-pop in the U.S. market. 

K-Pop: Korean Cultural Imperialism in Asia

2PM

The term “hallyu,” or the Korean wave, symbolizes the widespread of Korean pop music and soap operas in Asian countries. The first-generation Korean wave started with Korean soap operas and TV shows in the late 90s, and now Korean pop music, or so-called K-pop, is leading the new generation of “hallyu.”  K-pop is a unique genre of music that is performed by boy bands or girl groups, and is also characterized by synthesized beats, synchronized dance routines, and fashionable outfits (you can watch this video of Wonder Girls’ performing “No Body” to get a better understanding of K-pop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFjP-OJ7Bh4). K-pop groups, such as Girls Generation, 2PM, Wonder Girls, and Super Junior, attracted millions of teenagers in Asia. According to Korean Creative Industry Research Institute, K-pop accounts for “more than half of imported music sales in Thailand,” and other Southeast Asian countries pay a lot more to import Korean music than they do for other foreign music. Also, a research provided by Asian Pulse magazine reveals that “the combined net income of South Korea’s three major music agencies grew more than eight-fold from a year earlier to US$28.6 million in 2010.” The three industry giants – SM Entertainment Co., JYP Entertainment Corp., and YG Entertainment Co. now have a large economic and cultural impact in Asia, generating positive publicity across Asia. I call this new phenomenon “Korean Cultural Imperialism”.

Girls Generation

When I was growing up in Korea in the 90s, K-pop had just started to develop its style and had only a limited number of audience groups as the Asian music market was largely dominated by Japanese singers and rock bands. Honestly, I don’t think any music critics had predicted that K-pop would dominate the music market in Asia and create a sense of Korean cultural imperialism across Asia. Some critics may say that describing the popularity of K-pop as “cultural imperialism” might be an overstatement. However, it is only appropriate to use the term “imperialism” for the following reasons:

1.Fuels exports of music-related products: With the thriving technology and social media sites, K-pop bands were able to reach a wider audience. The official Girls Generation’s Facebook page has more than 2 million fans, and there are thousands of YouTube videos of teenagers following famous K-pop dance routines step by step. In addition, iTunes and social media sites made it easier for K-pop fans to purchase songs digitally, generating more popularity and revenues in digital sales. Furthermore, the top three agencies have created a new revenue stream through tours and events. For example, SM Entertainment Co. organizes an annual tour called “SM Summer Town.” This sold-out tour is extremely popular in Asia and fans sometimes perform a flash mob to demand tickets and more concert dates. With the successful digital sales and tours, some companies in Korea also export other music-related products, such as karaoke machines, apparels, and ring tones to generate more revenues. 

2. Boosts the country’s image abroad:  As K-pop culture thrives in Asia, other Asian countries are becoming more familiar with Korean culture, food, and language. According to Asia Pulse, more students are learning Korean as their second language in school. Furthermore, some conservative towns or countries in Asia that were reluctant to accept foreign cultures, they are now more accepting of other cultures. The perception of Korea has changed and its positive image affects other industries as well. The positive image of Korea could improve the diplomatic relationship between Korea and other Asian countries as K-pop acts as a cultural ambassador. 

3.  Improves more positive image to other Korean brands and products: K-pop also popularized other non-music-related products. When fans see K-pop stars using Korean products, they want to buy the same products as well. Also, the popularity of K-pop created a national image that Korea only manufactures good-quality products. From Samsung’s home appliances to Etude’s cosmetic products, Korean brands and products gained more popularity and exposure through K-pop.

K-pop not only boosts the Korean entertainment industry, but also acts as an economic growth engine and diplomatic ambassador for Korea. Now, investors and companies wish to jump on the K-pop bandwagon to seize golden opportunities in Asian market. K-pop indeed created a sense of cultural imperialism in Asia. However, why isn’t K-pop popular in the U.S. even though it is extremely popular in Asia? I will be discussing my thoughts on that topic in my next blog.