Monday, January 07, 2008

[The Chosun Ilbo, December 20 2007] New Trends in the Music Industry in 2007

SG Wannabe’s fourth album, which boasts the largest sales this year, sold only about 190,000 times. That is the clearest indication yet that music has moved from store-bought recording to cyberspace. When the form changes, content changes too. This year, Koreans have witnessed rapid changes in Korean pop music, because the preferences of a public who consume music in units of songs rather than albums demand a new approach. Here, the Chosum Ilbo assembles seven key words of Korean pop music based on a survey of 10 music producers and critics.

◆ Girl singers
◆ New idols
◆ Independent music
◆ Catchy tunes
◆ Concerts at small theaters
◆ Memories of the 1990s
◆ The power of video
At the center of Wonder Girls’ “Tell Me” syndrome lies power of netizens who uploaded videos that show them dancing to “Tell Me.” Music fans are no longer passive audiences: they reproduce and spread their thoughts on pop music and thus contribute to the success or failure of a song.

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