(image: Pexels)
SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — YouTube and its music streaming service are gaining dominance in the South Korean music streaming market, a survey showed Sunday.
The Korea Creative Content Agency conducted a nationwide survey of 3,500 people between 10-69 years of age, which revealed that local music streaming giant Melon, operated by Kakao Corp., was the most popular platform with 32.8 percent of the respondents subscribing.
Melon’s usage, however, has decreased for three consecutive years, dropping from 36.4 percent in 2020 to 34.6 percent in 2021.
In contrast, YouTube usage jumped from 26 percent in 2020 to 28.7 percent last year. Combined with YouTube Music, usage surged to 38.5 percent, surpassing Melon.
The combined usage of YouTube and YouTube Music already surpassed Melon in 2021 (35.5 percent). Last year, the gap widened to 5.7 percent.
Some industry experts argue that YouTube and YouTube Music’s pricing policy is unfair.
The monthly subscription fee for major South Korean music streaming platforms ranges between 7,000-8,000 won (US$5.70-6.52).
YouTube, however, offers the YouTube Premium subscription plan, which allows video and music streaming without advertisements for just 10,000 won per month.
“South Korean music streaming platforms have already been struggling with the new commission policy implemented by Google for its in-app purchases. Now, they also face the risk of losing subscribers to Youtube Premium subscription plans,” an industry source said.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
