AKURAT.CO, South Korea’s premier music distributor, Kakao Entertainment Corp and global music streaming giant Spotify Technology SA have reached an agreement on global music licensing. Both companies failed to renew their existing deals last month, resulting in a partial K-pop blackout.
The new deal comes after the two have come under fire from global K-pop fans because Kakao’s music, which includes songs from popular artists like IU, is not available to Spotify’s more than 345 million users in 170 countries.
The two companies at the time shifted the blame to another, with Kakao saying the streaming giant was pursuing licensing deals for the South Korean and global markets simultaneously.
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Meanwhile Spotify says it has been trying to renew global deals for a year and a half. Kakao Entertainment’s music has been available to Spotify’s global market, excluding South Korea, since 2016.
“We are pleased that Kakao Entertainment Corp. content and artists are returning to Spotify,” read a statement from the Swedish company.
“We are happy that our Korean listeners can now also enjoy this local music with our more than 70 million songs and 4 billion + playlists,” the company added.
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