As K-pop becomes globally popular, the revenue generated by these artists is also becoming a point of interest.
The revenue earned from music, known as music copyright fees, is one of the most important sources of income for artists, alongside concert sales.
So, what is the total sales and corresponding copyright fee level for a song that ranks first on the music chart in a month?
For example, let's look at the case of 'Golden', the OST from the Netflix animated film that is sweeping various music charts in South Korea, including Melon. As of August 13, the Melon chart shows that the song has approximately 390,000 listeners per day. It is generally analyzed that these listeners stream the song more than three times a day, resulting in about 1.2 million streams per day.
When including the streaming results from music sites and adding up other income sources related to the song (such as albums, karaoke, ringtones, publishing, movies, and advertisements), the total monthly sales are estimated to be close to 1 billion won. According to an industry insider closely related to copyright income for top domestic artists, the monthly sales for a song that ranks first on major charts typically range from 500 million to 1 billion won. The sales difference is significant depending on whether it is limited to the domestic market or if it is a global hit.
The 'KOMCA (Korea Music Copyright Association)' copyright award announces the top copyright fees in each field every year. The music producer and singer-songwriter who won the award in the lyric and composition category in 2023 made history last year by winning the award in all three categories of lyrics, composition, and arrangement in the popular field for the first time ever.
He has worked on many representative songs of artists under Pledis Entertainment, including the group Seventeen and Tours.
Recently, many artists aim to enter the top 100 music charts with their album releases. According to industry analysis, it is known that entering the top 100, top 50, and top 10 typically generates sales of 30 million won, 60 to 70 million won, and over 200 million won, respectively. Considering that popular songs of a certain level tend to stay on the charts for at least a year once they enter, these figures have been confirmed.
Amidst this, concerns about plagiarism and reproduction of creative works have arisen with the advancement of AI technology.
A representative from the music copyright association stated, "AI technology develops based on vast learning data, but this data is ultimately created by human creators," emphasizing that "fair compensation and protection of rights for creators are essential for the continuous production of quality data."
He further predicted, "By strengthening creator protection and improving the system in line with the changing environment, the music culture and copyright market of South Korea, as well as AI technology, can grow together."
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
