Korean Music Charts Say No to Midnight Release?

The release of K-pop music during midnight has always been the standard broadcast for K-pop comebacks. However, news about the changes of K-pop music releases surfaced and has set the internet in buzz.

As disclosed by Soompi, Korean Music Charts will undergo changes and would alter the usual midnight release of K-pop music. Major and renowned Korean music sites such as Melon, Bugs, Genie, Mnet, Soribada, Naver Music and Monkey3 carried out changes with regards to controlling their music charts. In particular, music videos which are released at midnight will no longer enter the music charts and would, therefore, count the next afternoon at 1 PM KST.

In other words, the new standard for releasing K-pop music is between 12 PM and 6 PM. By then, the newly released songs will make it to the music charts, otherwise, it will be counted in the next afternoon.

Midnight release in Korea has always been the usual time for artists to release their song. This is because, during this witching hour, fewer users are wired. Thus, when fans flock together, it's as easy as pie for the artist to hit their target and can even pull off an all-kill in music charts.

The issue about the unjust release of K-pop music has always been a persistent discussion in the entertainment industry. However, as soon as the news about these changes emerged, netizens exclaimed. As reported by sbs.com, fans expressed their disapproval regarding the reform in music charts and fostered the hashtag #MusicChart_ReformProtest in Korea.

On the contrary, through the reports published by Soompi, the Ministry of culture has undertaken a course of actions to maintain unbiased judgment in the music industry. They even addressed a message for everyone which says that they are hoping for everyone's cooperation for a wholesome industry. The changes will take place possibly at the end of this month.