"Industry executives, government officials, pundits, critics, fans. K-pop acts had tried to break into international markets before 2012 with some regional success in Asia, but they had failed to make a mark in huge and lucrative Western markets such as the United States.Īnd then came Psy, who did not fit the profile of polished K-pop idols. 'Authentic, original, unique' - 'Gangnam Style' shook South Korea too, becoming the country's biggest cultural export and a source of national pride overnight.
"My one good job, helping K-pop, was changing the rules of Billboard," Psy told AFP during an interview in May, pointing to the popularity of Korean acts on YouTube. Such was the online buzz for 'Gangnam Style' and viral phenomena such as 'Harlem Shake' that Billboard in 2013 changed how it compiles charts, adding streams on YouTube and other platforms to then-mainstream metrics such as radio and sales. It held that spot for more than three years.Īs of July 12 this year, it had close to 4.5 billion views. Within months of its release, 'Gangnam Style' was the most-viewed video on YouTube. And it really has more to do with the way that it enabled people to imagine the possibilities of the platform." goes far beyond the content of the video. 'Gangnam Style' is "an example of the power that a platform like YouTube could have to create interest in a particular video from a lot of different places in the world," said Michelle Cho, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto who studies Korean pop culture. 'Imagine the possibilities' - A decade later, streaming is the main source of revenue in the global music industry - 65 percent in 2021, IFPI reported - with content available online via subscription-based services, YouTube, and short-form video apps such as TikTok.
But the stunning success of 'Gangnam Style' - as well as viral videos from performers such as Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen - showed a new way for acts from anywhere in the world to not only release music but also tap into online ad revenue, find sponsors and get booked for concerts, analysts say.
0 kommentar(er)
