By Kwon Mee-yoo
The government said Tuesday that it had ordered the Korea Music Content Industry Association (KMCIA) to come up with measures to root out the manipulation of music charts.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) sent out an official notice to the KMCIA, demanding it establish steps to prevent bulk purchasing, adjustments of the time of release and chart-counting system.
Currently, Korean music providers update their charts once an hour and as long as a song tops the charts for even an hour, it can be promoted as a no.1 song.
So record companies prefer releasing new songs at midnight and trying to clinch the top position upon release in the morning when competition is relatively low.
For instance, Psy's new album "Chiljib PSY-Da," EXO's winter special album "Sing for You" and G.O.D's single "A Funny But Sad Day" were released online at midnight.
Though there are no set rules, most new music in Korea is released online at either midnight or noon. Topping the charts on the day of release is a make-or-break goal for the success of a song or album.
Those released at midnight are more likely to climb up to the top of the real-time charts as there are fewer people using the music service compared to daytime and it is harder to detect dubious buying sprees at night.
Upon the ministry's request, major online music distributors such as Melon, Bugs Music, Soribada and Mnet discussed the issue and suggested stopping the release of new music at midnight.
KMCIA director Choi Kwang-ho said the organization will make efforts to eradicate chart manipulation.
"It is impossible to shut off chart-rigging attempts technically, but we will work out political and systematic measures to root out bad practices," Choi said.
The government said Tuesday that it had ordered the Korea Music Content Industry Association (KMCIA) to come up with measures to root out the manipulation of music charts.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) sent out an official notice to the KMCIA, demanding it establish steps to prevent bulk purchasing, adjustments of the time of release and chart-counting system.
Currently, Korean music providers update their charts once an hour and as long as a song tops the charts for even an hour, it can be promoted as a no.1 song.
So record companies prefer releasing new songs at midnight and trying to clinch the top position upon release in the morning when competition is relatively low.
For instance, Psy's new album "Chiljib PSY-Da," EXO's winter special album "Sing for You" and G.O.D's single "A Funny But Sad Day" were released online at midnight.
Though there are no set rules, most new music in Korea is released online at either midnight or noon. Topping the charts on the day of release is a make-or-break goal for the success of a song or album.
Those released at midnight are more likely to climb up to the top of the real-time charts as there are fewer people using the music service compared to daytime and it is harder to detect dubious buying sprees at night.
Upon the ministry's request, major online music distributors such as Melon, Bugs Music, Soribada and Mnet discussed the issue and suggested stopping the release of new music at midnight.
KMCIA director Choi Kwang-ho said the organization will make efforts to eradicate chart manipulation.
"It is impossible to shut off chart-rigging attempts technically, but we will work out political and systematic measures to root out bad practices," Choi said.
