The world’s largest music streaming platform Spotify on Tuesday announced the official launch of its service in Korea. “We’re looking forward to working even closer with the entire Korean music industry to uncover more artists and connect them with fans in Korea and the world, while also continuously working on providing an ever-improving, unrivaled listening experience to Korean listeners,” Alex Norstrom, Spotify’s chief freemium business officer, said in a state

South Korean game maker NCSoft launched its K-pop entertainment platform Universe in 134 countries on Thursday. The all-in-one platform allows users to access exclusive content such as music videos, entertainment shows K-pop groups appear on and celebrity photos, while also allowing artists and fans to interact. Fans can also share their creations on the platform. One of the platform’s most noticeable features is a private messaging and call function powered by artificial intelligence

Kim plays on 1763 Guadagnini on a loan from Kumho art foundation

Big Hit Entertainment, the agency behind global star BTS, announced on Wednesday that it plans to invest 70 billion won ($63 million) in YG Entertainment, one of the biggest K-pop agencies in South Korea. Under the deal, Big Hit and its affiliate beNX will invest 30 billion won and 40 billion won, respectively, in YG affiliate YG Plus, the agency said in a press release following a board meeting. With the investment, Big Hit and beNX will 7.7 percent and 10.2 percent stakes, respectively, in

Pianist Cho Seong-jin is set to perform the world premiere of a previously unknown work by Mozart, 248 years after it was composed, in celebration of the great musician’s 265th birthday. Cho will perform Mozart’s Allegro in D major K626b/16 as part of the Digital Mozart Week organized by the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation on Wednesday, in Austria, according to German classical music record label Deutsche Grammophon. The performance will be streamed through the label’s streami

Big names in K-pop are launching new K-pop bands this year, promising a fresh crop of talented musicians.  Singers Psy and Park Jin-young will serve as judges in an upcoming SBS audition show “Loud,” selecting members for new K-pop bands which will be managed by their respective entertainment agencies. “I hope (the contenders) are like me when I was young and crazy about something -- even though it may not be music. This may be the start of the 21st century version of

Pianist Sunwook Kim makes official debut as conductor

Though the COVID-19 pandemic crisis is yet to be resolved, the classical music scene is filled with high hopes for 2021, waiting to welcome audiences back to concert halls.　 Pianist Kim Sun-wook kicked the year off with a solo recital Monday. Initially slated for March 2020, the recital had been postponed three times due to surges of COVID-19 cases. On Tuesday, Kim will go on the stage with the KBS Symphony Orchestra, making his conducting debut, followed by a recital with celebrated veteran

Korea’s top 10 most streamed artists on Spotify chalked up a total of 10.6 billion streams on the platform in 2020, the popular streaming service announced on Thursday in its yearly wrap up. 　 Boy band BTS was the most streamed Korean artist globally, followed by Blackpink, Twice, Stray Kids and Red Velvet, according to Spotify’s 2020 Wrapped data. BTS also took the top spot in the category of the most-streamed global group in 2020. 2020 Wrapped, which compiles data from Jan. 1 t

Kim is first wind instrumentalist named artist-in-residence at Kumho hall

Broadcasters vie to capture audience with trot music competitions

The world’s largest music streaming platform Spotify on Friday announced that it would officially launch its service in South Korea in the first half of 2021. “We are excited about our upcoming launch in South Korea, a market recognized as an epicenter for music, culture and tech innovation,” Alex Norstrom, chief freemium business officer of Spotify, said in a statement. According to Spotify, South Korea -- the sixth-largest music market globally -- is an important market

Though the COVID-19 pandemic limits us from going to New Year celebration concerts, local cinema franchise Megabox will screen the recordings of the New Year celebration concerts by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, according to its announcement Tuesday. The 90-minute recording of the Berlin Philarmonicker, one of the most prestigious orchestras in the world, holding its New Year’s Eve concert under the baton of chief conductor Kirill Petrenko, will be

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra releases season programs from January to April, coping with pandemic times

Kim, Chung Kyung-wha will go onstage in Seongnam on Dec. 20, leaving two-thirds of seats empty