Kakao Entertainment and Spotify have finally reached an official agreement and settled their licensing issue, making Kakao Entertainment’s music content available again on Spotify’s audio streaming platform. Both entertainment providers announced they had resolved the licensing dispute, confirming the Kakao Entertainment-provided music’s return to Spotify.
Earlier this March, Spotify pulled out hundreds of K-pop tracks from its service due to a Kakao Entertainment contract lapse. Some of the most notable affected K-pop artists include IU, (G)I-DLE, APink, Seventeen, Monsta X, Loona, CNBLUE, and Epik High.
Spotify’s Move
In a statement, Spotify announced it had restored music from Kakao Entertainment’s artists to its platform. The global audio streaming provider also stated that its main goal is to connect fans and artists through world music. In line with its mission to deliver music diversity, Spotify provides its Korean listeners access to over 70 million songs. The company aims to positively influence South Korea’s music streaming industry through the recent Kakao Entertainment agreement.
Returning Kakao Entertainment’s Content
Although the two companies previously failed to establish a licensing agreement, they promptly solved the matter. Following the agreement, Spotify’s over 345 million worldwide listeners can access and enjoy the South Korean entertainment firm’s content. Furthermore, South Korean Spotify users can listen to Kakao Entertainment’s music for the first time. This is due to Spotify removing Kakao Entertainment’s content since it launched in South Korea last month.
“Kakao Entertainment Corp. has entered into an agreement with Spotify and will sequentially provide its music content to Spotify for service in and beyond Korea,” said a Kakao Entertainment representative. “Through diverse partnerships around the world, including Spotify, Kakao Entertainment hopes that music lovers around the world can easily access its artists’ and music content to enjoy K-pop.”
Kakao Entertainment also voiced its dedication to the Korean music streaming industry’s growth, continuously upholding creators’ and labels’ rights. Moreover, Kakao Entertainment is the global entertainment platform created through Kakao M and Kakao Page’s merging.
Recently, the two Kakao subsidiaries combined their portfolio and capabilities to launch Kakao Entertainment, which offers a diverse K-entertainment content. Besides providing a music-streaming platform, the newly launched company also supports web novels publication, multimedia-streaming services, sound recording, and more.
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