Spotify committed to exporting K-culture, says APAC executive

Korea has become a cultural force for many movements today, and Spotify is committed to exporting K-culture globally, an executive from the music streaming platform said.

Gautam Talwar, the general manager for Asia-Pacific (APAC) at Spotify, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency in Seoul on Wednesday.

"Korea is a home base for creative expression. It's a cultural force," the executive said during the interview. "We are seeing it in entertainment, in esports or webtoon ... Korea is punching above its weight."

The ex-Disney executive said K-pop holds a special place in the music streaming platform's history, noting it was an early investor in the genre. In 2014, Spotify unveiled the first-of-its-kind playlist that eventually became home to the K-pop genre on the platform.

Now K-pop has opened the door to the discovery of new artists and genres, he explained, as the platform is witnessing a breakout of music movements in genres like indie, rock and electronic music.

According to Spotify, K-rock streaming on the platform was up 58 percent on-year in 2025, while K-indie streaming rose 68 percent from a year earlier.

Listeners around the world discovered Korean artists' music for the first time more than 2 billion times. Royalties generated by Korean-language music grew 25 percent on-year, with 92 percent coming from outside of Korea, the executive elaborated.

When asked about Spotify's focus for its Korean operations next year, the executive pointed to creating "physical opportunities" that bring artists and their fans closer together.

"We are living in a very interesting time when users are spending more time than ever in the digital world," he said. "It's somewhat lonely, and fans are craving human connection. They are craving shared experiences, and that is what our mission is, helping create these physical opportunities."

One such opportunity is the Spotify House, a pop-up venue in Seoul featuring live performances, content and activities from Thursday to Sunday.

The Swedish music streaming service will also continue to find ways to grow businesses in the local music industry, as well as to help them invest in raising the profile of Korean music, the executive said.

As part of such efforts, the company has forged "culture-forward" partnerships with local companies. Spotify last year joined hands with Naver Corp., integrating music and podcasts streamed on the platform into the everyday digital ecosystem of the Korean portal giant.

Since entering Korea in 2021, Spotify has grown to become the second most-used music streaming app in the country as of June, with 6.22 million users, trailing only behind YouTube Music, which recorded 9.49 million users.

As of last year, Spotify recorded 777 million monthly active users and 300 million subscribers on its platform.