The Last <strong>Word</strong> ComingupinmETRopoLiS FEATURE: wE pREviEw ThE Upcoming bAllET & conTEmpoRARy DAncE sEAson boDy & soUl: Tokyo giRls collEcTion & FAshion wEEk spEciAl: gET ThE gooDs on gETTing iT DElivERED Want to have The Last <strong>Word</strong>? Send your article to: editor@metropolis.co.jp The Korean InvasIon Will it K-pop in <strong>the</strong> US or not? By Rob Schwartz Supporters of Korean pop music have been trumpeting <strong>the</strong> arrival of hallyu, or <strong>the</strong> “Korean wave” of music, as a major world force for a number of years. There is no doubt that, with number-one singles and hot albums from superstars like Girls’ Generation, Kara and 2NE1, <strong>the</strong> global K-pop phenomenon is very present in Japan. But will K-pop break in <strong>the</strong> mainstream US, as writer Charles Ayres suggested in this column a few months ago [“The Last <strong>Word</strong>,” Feb 17, http://meturl.com/ lw934]—<strong>the</strong> biggest and most influential music market in <strong>the</strong> world? It's not for lack of trying. Korean music management giant SM Entertainment produced “SM Town” at Madison Square Garden in October 2011 with an array of acts from its roster, including Girls’ Generation. This was a very rare showcase for K-pop at such a famous venue, and <strong>the</strong> company claimed <strong>the</strong> show was sold out. But despite it being a one-night-only special event, music insiders were aware of ticket giveaways. US-based Nicole Lent, who writes about Asian music, attended and said she saw, “a fair amount of empty seats.” Simply put, <strong>the</strong> show didn’t sell out despite <strong>the</strong> all-star line-up of <strong>the</strong> most powerful music company in Korea. LA-based K-pop expert Alice Han, previously a consultant for SM in <strong>the</strong> US, notes that major US media and sponsors don’t have confidence in <strong>the</strong> genre. “The majority of press outlets focus on what’s trending here in <strong>the</strong> US, so it’s a bit of a challenge for Korean acts unless <strong>the</strong>y are directly tied in with a popular US act. And, <strong>the</strong> majority of mainstream sponsors still believe K-pop falls under a niche market, <strong>the</strong>refore, <strong>the</strong>y're hesitant to bring a multi-million dollar budget.” Never<strong>the</strong>less, <strong>the</strong>re is no doubt that K-pop is making some progress in <strong>the</strong> States. For example, Jay Park (born Park Jae Beom) has found success with his 2012 New Breed album, which peaked at #4 on <strong>the</strong> Billboard World Albums chart. In addition, Girls’ Generation maxi-single “Boys” held an impressive #5 spot on <strong>the</strong> Heatseekers chart. But in reality, sales for <strong>the</strong>se two releases are meager. It’s possible to estimate New Breed’s total sales (digital and physical) at less than 4,000 units, and that of “Boys” as less than 9,000. Absurdly low considering <strong>the</strong>se are <strong>the</strong> cream of <strong>the</strong> K-crop in <strong>the</strong> US so far this year. The figure for Girls’ Generation is even more shock ing when you realize <strong>the</strong>y accompanied <strong>the</strong> song’s release with a performance on The Late Show with David Letterman. W hen you look at cold, hard sales figures, <strong>the</strong> claim of success for K-pop in <strong>the</strong> US does not stand up in <strong>the</strong> least. And remember, in <strong>the</strong> music industry, more than in o<strong>the</strong>r businesses, “money talks and bullshit walks.” Ano<strong>the</strong>r overhyped point is that Korean artists are outclassing Japanese artists in <strong>the</strong> US. While it is clearly true that K-pop has received more at tent ion in t he US t ha n J-pop recently, <strong>the</strong> situation of <strong>the</strong> two industries is so wildly different it makes <strong>the</strong> comparison moot. According to <strong>the</strong> International Federation of <strong>the</strong> Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Japan is <strong>the</strong> second biggest music industry in <strong>the</strong> world, narrowly behind <strong>the</strong> US. In 2011 it did about $3 billion in physical (mainly CD) sales. That’s basically on par with <strong>the</strong> US. The intensely lucrative nature of <strong>the</strong> Japanese market—and <strong>the</strong> fact 84 percent of it is domestic (according <strong>the</strong> latest figures from <strong>the</strong> Record Industry Association of Japan)—make it almost ridiculous for a popular Japanese star to drop everything to try and break through in <strong>the</strong> US. The situation is <strong>the</strong> opposite in Korea. Bernie Cho, president of DFSB The views expressed in The Last <strong>Word</strong> are those of <strong>the</strong> authors alone and do not necessarily reflect <strong>the</strong> position or opinions of <strong>Metropolis</strong> K.K. or its partners and sponsors 46 • download our podcast at • podcast.metropolis.co.jp Kohji ShiiKi Kollective, a Seoul-based musicmarketing agency that was one of <strong>the</strong> first to make K-pop available internationally, notes, “Korean artists have no choice but to break out overseas, it’s not just a creative necessity, it’s a financial necessity because <strong>the</strong> Korean market is so small.” Clearly, it’s absurd to compare <strong>the</strong> exports of Japanese and Korean music when one has a tremendous incentive to stay at home while <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r has a tremendous incentive to go abroad. In addition to this, <strong>the</strong> numbers are not actually in Korean artists’ favor when compared to (basically) <strong>the</strong> only Japanese artist who has seriously tried to break in <strong>the</strong> US in<strong>the</strong> last few years. Hikaru Utada made her second attempt at US success with her album This Is The One in 2009. Though many considered it a failure, it did grab <strong>the</strong> top position on <strong>the</strong> Heatseekers chart in May and rose to #71 on <strong>the</strong> overall Billboard albums chart (<strong>the</strong> Heatseekers chart is just for new artists). Billboard reported <strong>the</strong> album sold about 56,000 copies. Not very good, but better than any K-pop artist has done this year. The upshot is, despite <strong>the</strong> hype for K-pop (and a lot of YouTube hits), <strong>the</strong> idea that it’s any kind of market force at all in <strong>the</strong> US is fallacious. If and when K-pop does break through to challenge <strong>the</strong> likes of Lady Gaga, R ihanna, Nick y Minaj or Bruce Springsteen, <strong>the</strong>re will indeed be a seismic cultural shift—but it hasn’t happened yet. whEn yoU look AT colD, hARD sAlEs FigUREs, ThE clAim oF sUccEss FoR k-pop in ThE Us DoEs noT sTAnD Up in ThE lEAsT” ■ Rob Schwartz is Tokyo Bureau Chief of Billboard magazine check us out www.metropolis.co.jp gET yoUR nExT pRinTED copy FRiDAy, sEp 14
Don't miss first round of gridiron action Sep 3-20 at Tokyo Dome and QVC MARINE FIELD