Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Local music streaming services struggle against dominant YouTube Music
Logos for Melon and YouTube Music / Korea Times file
By Lee Gyu-lee
With YouTube Music continuing to dominate the music streaming market in Korea, local music streaming platforms like Melon and Genie Music are scrambling to close the gap, making efforts to shift strategies to offer experiences beyond simple playlists.
According to industry tracker Wiseapp’s retail analysis, YouTube Music saw the most monthly active users (MAU) last month, reaching about 9.53 million users. This is about a third higher than the second-highest platform Melon, which saw about 6.44 million users in the same month.
Global music platform Spotify came in third with 3.28 million, while Genie Music was fourth with 2.59 million MAU.
With YouTube Music firmly holding the lead, local streaming platforms are seeking ways to differentiate themselves to expand their share of the pie.
Melon has carved out a niche by targeting K-pop fans, providing users with exclusive, artist-focused experiences. The platform offers original content, such as interview videos and behind-the-scenes photos of artists. Key features include Fan Meetup events, where artists personally introduce new releases, video call sessions with fans, as well as Melon Music Wave, which is a live listening party session for fans and artists to enjoy music together while live chatting.
Screenshots of The Boyz's Music Wave event / Courtesy of Melon
Music Wave event has become one of the popular channels to promote new releases for K-pop stars like NCT WISH and NMIXX. Virtual K-pop group PLAVE surpassed 10,000 users simultaneously joining an event last August, whereas boy group BOYNEXTDOOR set a record with 15,000 simultaneous users in January this year.
Genie Music has focused its strategy around driving-friendly services, forming partnerships with companies like Hyundai Motor Company to deliver music experiences tailored for in-car use.
The partnership with Hyundai boosted the number of users for Genie Music in cars, with last year's average MAU rising by 59 percent from 2023.
The platform also launched the Music Hug service, targeting groups on road trips. Music Hug is a live music social service where anyone can become a DJ to select and share music. It has also been running promotions like offering a travel-themed playlist for travelers to listen to during the 43-minute ride on the Airport Railroad Express Train to and from Incheon Airport.
With YouTube seeking to roll out a new plan that separates its ad-free YouTube Premium subscription from YouTube Music, the local streaming market is expected to see even more fierce competition to capture users ending their Premium subscriptions that don't include its music services.