Spotify’s Korean hip-hop playlist rebranded as ‘KrOWN’

Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming platform, has rebranded its flagship Korean hip-hop playlist “K-Hip-Hop+82” to “KrOWN,” the company said Wednesday.

K-Hip-Hop +82 was first launched in April 2017 as Spotify’s first-ever editorial playlist focusing on South Korea’s East-meets-West music. The playlist on the platform presents the latest and most famous Korean hip-hop tracks on the playlist.

The word is a coined term combining “Korea,” “crown” and “own.” The first two letters, KR, stand for Korea, and “own” stems from crown and own, which refer to the crowned kings and queens in the Korean hip-hop scene, according to the company. Following the overhaul, the music streaming platform aims to garner more global listeners to Korean hip-hop.

The playlist is currently followed by more than 430,000 listeners and recorded more than 20 million streams last year alone, which is a 56 percent increase since it was launched. In July, more than 520,000 music fans enjoyed new Korea-based hip-hop tracks through the mix matcher.

“We are happy to introduce Spotify’s ‘KrOWN’ to the world. We’re open to connecting a wider audience of Korean music genres and artists with fans and listeners worldwide,” a Spotify spokesperson said via a press release.

“Spotify will position KrOWN as the ultimate destination for global Korean hip-hop listeners and hope that it would serve as a brand that can symbolize South Korea’s hip-hop scene.”

By Park Jun-hee (junheee@heraldcorp.com)