Spotify Also Sets Its Sights on K-POP... Beneficiaries Highlighted in [Weekend Money]

"K-pop Is Well-Suited to a Superfan-Centric Strategy"
Potential for a Complementary Effect with Korean Entertainment Companies

As Spotify, the world's largest music streaming platform, pursues a strategy aimed at expanding fan engagement, analysts in the securities industry expect to see a synergy effect with K-pop.

Doyoung Lim, a researcher at Daol Investment & Securities, recently stated in “Growing Use of K-POP by Global Platforms,” that “the expansion of fandom businesses by global platforms is likely to be more complementary than competitive with domestic entertainment companies such as HYBE, JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and SM Entertainment.”

According to Lim, Spotify is expanding opportunities for additional monetization centered around “superfans,” users with a high level of engagement and willingness to pay. The company has increased activities such as early previews of music videos (MVs), video podcasts, and offline fan events. It has also launched a service that provides a select group of premium users with priority access to concert ticket reservations.

Summary of Daol Investment & Securities Report. Reprocessed with Gemini AI.

While superfans account for just 2% of an artist's monthly listeners, they account for over 18% of total streams and 50% of ticket sales generated within Spotify. When it comes to video content, more than two-thirds of premium users watch MVs on the platform, and there is a noticeable increase in consumption of the relevant artist’s music right afterwards. Lim noted, “K-pop is particularly well-suited to these strategies since the share of superfans is high and non-music content like MVs, performances, and intra-member relationships play a crucial role in forming fandoms in addition to the music itself.” In fact, Spotify is already highlighting numerous K-pop artists in the early stages of its new strategy.

Lim further commented that the expansion of fandom businesses by global platforms such as Spotify could also create synergy with domestic fan platforms. Whereas global platforms leverage their vast user bases to focus on converting users into superfans, domestic fan platforms are competitive in expanding the usage frequency and consumption domains of already established fandoms by facilitating direct communication and community-building between artists and fans.

Thus, the broadening use of K-pop by global platforms can serve as a new channel for attracting fans who may not be familiar with K-pop, thereby creating broader points of contact. Lim added, “Domestic platforms can direct this expanded fan contact toward their own fan platforms, deepening direct relationships with artists and thereby driving expanded consumption through concerts, merchandise, and memberships.” He forecast, “The global platform strategies are not likely to infringe upon the role of domestic fan platforms; rather, they will expand the upper tier of the K-pop fandom, increasing both its size and monetization opportunities.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.