YouTube Music Takes Top Spot, Eroding Trust in Charts as Music Industry undergoes Rapid Transformation

YouTube Music surpassed Melon, which had been the undisputed leader in South Korea’s music streaming market since 2023, to become the industry’s top platform. At the same time, it rapidly expanded its market share by attracting users from major domestic platforms such as Genie Music and FLO. The launch of “YouTube Premium Light” in South Korea in 2026 was a response to ongoing public pressure regarding bundled services and issues of fair competition.

This sudden shift in rankings caused significant shock not only among music consumers but also among industry professionals. Concerns arose over the collapse of South Korea’s music industry ecosystem, encroachment by global platforms, and unfair competition. However, YouTube Music’s growth cannot be attributed solely to bundled services, indicating that the underlying causes of this change are far more complex. Cracks in domestic music platforms had been emerging for a long time, resulting more from structural changes across music platforms, consumers, and the entire industry than from bundled service issues.

For a long period, the core content of domestic music platforms was the charts. The “TOP 100” and “real-time charts” held substantial cultural influence, with topping these lists signifying popular success. For artists, this meant industry benefits such as appearances on shows, advertisements, and events, while the title of “Melon No. 1” served as both an authority and a symbol. Charts quantified artists’ performance, provided market signals to record labels and investors, and acted as a guide for consumers when purchasing music.

In the late 2010s, suspicions of song pre-ordering, fairness controversies, and organized fan attacks severely undermined trust in charts. The gap between actual popularity and chart rankings sparked public skepticism, and charts were no longer viewed as authoritative or reliable objective indicators. In 2020, Melon eliminated its real-time charts and replaced them with a 24-hour cumulative tracking system called “24Hits,” but the already damaged trust was not easily restored. Consumers began to feel fatigued by the charts, and the habit of listening to music solely because it was ranked No. 1 gradually weakened. This shook the foundation of the chart-centered music platform model.

Global platforms like YouTube and Spotify promoted new ways of consuming music through algorithm-based recommendations that took into account an individual’s listening history, preferred genres, emotional state, time of day, and location. On YouTube, live clips, performance videos, cover versions, reaction content, and fan-edited videos offered expanded musical experiences unavailable on traditional streaming platforms. In the YouTube era, music was no longer just an auditory experience; it evolved into a complex form combining visual elements, fan participation, and algorithmic recommendations. YouTube Music naturally integrated into this ecosystem among consumers.

Although the launch of “YouTube Premium Light” may be a measure to address fairness concerns, it cannot reverse the rapidly changing ways in which the public consumes music. While domestic music platforms still operate around charts, consumers’ attention has already shifted to algorithmic recommendations and diverse content.