K-Pop Fans Cancel Spotify Membership Because Many Songs Are Missing

KOMPAS.com – A number of fans K-pop and musicians South Korea made angry because of the streaming giant music Spotify deleted many of their favorite songs on Sunday (28/2/2021).

Several songs belonging to K-pop musicians such as Mamamoo, HyunA, Monsta X, as well as other South Korean hip-hop and R&B musicians were withdrawn due to a dispute between Spotify and Kakao M.

As is well known, Kakao M has distributed songs from many South Korean musicians and also runs the country’s largest streaming platform, Melon.

Meanwhile, Spotify just launched in South Korea on February 1 which is highly anticipated in the competitive streaming market, where Melon dominates music streaming apps.

“Spotify can confirm that starting March 1, 2021, Kakao M’s platform will no longer be available to our listeners around the world as its license has expired,” said a Spotify spokesperson.

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Tablo, one of the frontmen of the South Korean hip-hop trio Epik High, also felt affected by the dispute between the two music streaming services.

He expressed his disappointment about the dispute on his Twitter account on Monday.

“Apparently the disagreement between distributor Kakao M and Spotify has made our new album” Epik High Is Here “unavailable globally and is totally against our will,” he wrote.

“Regardless of who is wrong, why is it that artists and their fans always suffer when business prioritizes greed over art,” he continued.

The deletion has hurt both musicians and consumers alike. In fact, listeners in South Korea don’t generally use Spotify.

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