Jungju Park is the head of the Spotify Korea music team./Courtesy of Lee Kyung-tak, Reporter

The global music streaming platform Spotify is shaking up the domestic music source market. After introducing an ad-supported free subscription plan last year, its monthly active users (MAUs) surged, pushing it ahead of GENIE MUSIC and FLO to become the third largest in Korea. The gap with Melon is also closing quickly, raising the possibility of a duopoly with YouTube Music. Spotify's strategy is not just to expand its market share but to change the very 'way music is listened to,' leveraging its platform identity and cultural influence.

Park Jeong-joo, head of the music team at Spotify Korea, noted during a press conference held on the 19th at Monaco Space in Seocho-gu, Seoul, that "Korea is not just a simple consumer market, but one of the most immersive markets in the world where emotions and preferences flow as data" and said, "The number of user-generated playlists ranks first globally, indicating a deep involvement and participation in music." It is explained that Spotify, which has 678 million users across 180 countries, is particularly focused on the 'participatory listening' culture of Korean users from the headquarters.

Spotify entered the Korean market in 2021 but prioritized a paid subscription model for the first three years and was not actively pursuing market share expansion. At that time, the Melon, GENIE MUSIC, and FLO triopoly was strong, and despite global brand recognition, Spotify's user base in Korea remained limited. Park stated, "We did not originally consider the short-term goal of suddenly rising up just by introducing a free subscription plan," adding that "securing user sensitivity and trust in the platform was the priority."

The landscape began to significantly change last October when the ad-supported free subscription plan was introduced. According to Wise App, as of last month, Spotify's MAUs surged to 3.59 million, surpassing GENIE MUSIC (2.63 million), FLO (1.75 million), SoundCloud (1.18 million), and Naver Vibe (840,000). It is assessed that the gap with second-place Melon (6.54 million) and first-place YouTube Music (9.82 million) is also closing rapidly. Internal analyses show a clear upward trend in average playtime per user, repeat listening rates, and more.

The differentiation emphasized by Spotify is 'a structure beyond streaming.' Park stated, "We aim to be a cultural hub that connects emotions and artists in real-time, rather than just a platform for consuming music." In practice, Spotify provides a personalized curation system based on listener emotions and preferences, alongside a creator-specific tool known as 'Spotify for Artists.' Through this platform, artists can establish arrangements and release strategies based on detailed data such as region, age, gender, and repeat listening rates.

Hip-hop artist Lil Moshpit, who attended the conference, said, "Thanks to the listener analysis tools, I was able to gauge responses from the European market, which led to a concert in France," adding that "Spotify is a platform where creation and strategy intersect, going beyond simple streaming." Spotify also operates programs like 'RADAR' to nurture global emerging artists and the 'Spotify Singles' project in collaboration with local hip-hop artists. Artists involved in RADAR see an increase of about 40% in monthly listeners and about 30% in streaming numbers within an average of six months.

Over the past year, the number of times Korean artists' songs were streamed on Spotify exceeded 2 billion, with more than 4,100 artists incorporated into global playlists. In the same year, royalties from Korean-language tracks increased more than threefold compared to 2018. Total listening time surpassed 9.7 million hours, with the main listening countries being the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, the Philippines, and Mexico. Korean is one of the most streamed non-English languages on Spotify.

The possibility of a partnership between Spotify and Naver is also drawing attention. Recently, Naver linked its membership with Netflix and is reportedly working on a connection with Spotify as well. This is interpreted as part of Naver's 'content subscription bundle strategy' to enhance the competitiveness of its membership, aiming to strengthen user lock-in effects by integrating both Netflix and Spotify. For Spotify, it presents an opportunity to secure a touchpoint for increasing the domestic paid conversion rate. Regarding this, Park noted, "It's not yet at the stage where we can make an official announcement, but we agree that local partnerships are essential to becoming a cultural hub in Korea," adding that "we are discussing various collaboration methods."