Youtube Launches Official Korean Pop Channel

Youtube is launching its first official K-pop channel that will provide more comprehensive K-pop content.

Sep 29, 2013 11:31 AM BST

TAGㆍHenry Lauㆍ YouTube

Youtube, the largest video-sharing website owned by Google, has recently launched the beta-version of its official Korean pop channel. It's a one stop channel for your daily K-pop fix

Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman for Google, met with South Korea President Lee Myung-bak in Cheong Wa Dae last Monday. Schmidt explained that Youtube is exploring several avenues to further promote Korean culture, the exclusive K-pop channel is one these.

The company's executive chairman also announced that Google is devising a plan to utilize Youtube's live streaming capabilities to broadcast Korean Wave shows in real time. They are also planning to create a film production studio that will cater to small to mid-sized Korean content developers.

There are currently 5 million K-pop videos already uploaded by fans and music companies on YouTube. However, searching for "K-pop" content would only reveal lesser search results since videos are uploaded in different channels and by different people.

It is the aim of the official K-pop channel to provide more consolidated results. Artists' names will be put into categories to makes searches easier and more comprehensive.

According to a representative at the Cheong Wa Dae meeting, "Youtube played a huge role in attracting fans to this musical genre from around the world." And thus having a K-pop channel will further its audience and influence.

Management companies are open to this move, especially mid-sized agencies. According to a staffer at a mid-sized agency, it will be a big help in their promotional efforts since they cannot easily send their artists abroad and they're more likely to be overshadowed by bigger artists from bigger companies such as Girls' Generation, Big Bang, and 2NE1.

Youtube and other networking sites serve as very important PR tools for management companies. SM Entertainment has a special team that oversee their online materials. JYP Entertainment also has teams of 3-4 members that handle Youtube content for each of their talents.

In a statement by Noh Seung-wook of JYP, uploading on Youtube is more cost-efficient. It saves the company from spending as much as 1 billion Won on advertising alone.

The Korean Pop Channel's beta version already features six categories: K-pop Music Videos Chart Top 20, New Music Videos, Recommended Music Videos, On-Stage, Off-Stage, and K-pop Trend.

To celebrate the channel's launch, they enlisted the help of Super Junior M's Henry Lau, who gave a special congratulatory message. Youtube will also hold a special event and give out autographed copies of Henry's "Trap" album.

TagㆍHenry Lauㆍ YouTube