As some popular western artists are known throughout the world like lady Gaga, and Britney Spears, so too will asian artists. In particular, the ones rising to international acclaim the fastest are the Koreans. This topic caught my interest from Sally’s marketing blog where she talks about how Koreans artists are making their move towards world recognition and fame.
I agree emphatically with Sally’s point of view and would like to share my own opinions on kpop’s growth internationally. Some of the artists that I feel have done this extremely well are Big Bang/Tae Yang, SNSD/Girls Generation, and FT Island. In contrast to more western singers, a person usually gets their shot at stardom is through an agency where they can audition to become a member of a new group or debut by themselves. The agencies invest massive amounts of time and money to get their stars ready to become a so called “quadruple threat” where one excels at not only singing, but dancing, acting, and foreign appeal (other languages and cultures) all on the basis of a potentially high return on investment. This differs from western companies where singers start out by themselves and then may be picked up by a label who will mostly leave it up to them whether they succeed or fail on the basis of their natural talents.
Wedding dress English version by Tae Yang
However, what I see as the main marketing ploy that kpop artists employ, is their focus on “international appeal” for their artists. First, the internet has enabled them to secure distribution to all parts of the world, as opposed to when Korean music was only available in Korea, now one can even purchase it in the Itunes store. Second, artists make the effort to learn different languages and integrate themselves into other cultures to further increase their followings.
Awesome take on the concept of international expansion – but this time instead of a company, with a celebrity!