Melon is South Korea's largest music subscription service, with over 28 million users. Melon is the most popular music streaming service in South Korea. In fact, a survey of users of smartphones found that they were the most used applications by Koreans.[3] Melon users can stream and download music and music videos and create custom ringtones.[4] Melon is available on Android and iOS.[citation needed]
The name "Melon" is a portmanteau of the phrase "melody on".[5]
Historyedit
Melon was founded on November 16, 2004, in South Korea by SK Telecom, South Korea's largest wireless carrier. It attracted more than 10,000 subscribers per day on average, surpassing 310,000 on its first few months.[6] In October 2008, SK Telecom transferred the majority of Melon's stock to its shareholder Loen Entertainment for approximately 24.3 billion KRW.[7] In July 2013, SK Planet, a subsidiary of SK Telecom, sold 52.56% of its stake in Loen Entertainment to Star Invest Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Affinity Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm.[8] Later in January 2016, Kakao acquired a 76.4% stake in the company for 1.87 trillion won (approximately $1.64 billion).[9][10] In 2018, Kakao M spun-off from Kakao, but Melon stayed.[citation needed]
In 2021, Melon merged with Kakao Entertainment and rebranded itself as "Melon M". This joint venue aimed to secure their leadership in the showbiz industry. Lee Jae-wook will lead the joint. At that time, the streaming platform boasted 33 million users and around 5 million paying users.[11]
International operationsedit
In 2010, Melon was launched by SK Telecom in Indonesia, in partnership with Telkom Indonesia.[12] In 2016, Telkom Indonesia bought all the stake formerly owned by SK Telecom following the SK Telecom's divestment from all Melon businesses, thus making Melon Indonesia an Indonesian company.[13]
Promotionsedit
Music programs on TVedit
Melon is the main sponsor of the following music-related shows:
Inkigayo (SBS, October 2010 – December 2016, re-sponsored since February 2017. Previously known as Popular Song and The Music Trend.)
In 2009, LOEN Entertainment launched the Melon Music Awards (MMA), an award-giving body dedicated to calculating digital sales and online votes to judge the winners.[15]
^박, 현익 (April 23, 2021). "국내 음악은 '멜론'이 부동의 1등…'스포티파이' 초반 성적표는 7등". biz.chosun.com (in Korean). Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^"South Korea's Biggest Music Subscription Service Acquired by Mobile Messaging Company". Billboard. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
^Seung Si-yeon, Park Jong-geun (December 3, 2011). "Shin Won-soo, representing Korea's largest OMS, "MelOn"". JoongAng Ilbo. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
^Yang, Hyung-wook (December 14, 2004). "SK·LG텔 MP3음악포털 '대박'조짐" [Signs of SK·LG Tel MP3 music portal 'big hit']. Financial News (in Korean). Retrieved March 19, 2023 – via Naver.
^Chae, Su-woong (October 24, 2008). "SK텔레콤, 음악사업 멜론 로엔으로 양도" [SK Telecom transfers music business to Melon Loen]. Digital Daily (in Korean). Retrieved March 19, 2023 – via Naver.
^Kim, Min-ki (July 18, 2013). "SK플래닛, 로엔 지분 52% '2659억'에 매각" [SK Planet sells 52% stake in Loen for '265.9 billion']. Newsis (in Korean). Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^Min, Sang-sik (January 12, 2016). "[슈퍼리치]음악 플랫폼에 1조9000억 베팅한 '김범수' 의도는". Herald POP (in Korean). Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^Lee, Min-hyung (August 14, 2017). "Kakao angers music streaming fans – The Korea Times". The Korea Times. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^Jun-hee, Park (July 15, 2021). "Kakao Entertainment to merge with music streaming platform Melon". The Korea Herald. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
^"Melon Indonesia". Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
^Nam, An-woo (November 9, 2009). 멜론, 연말 음악 시상식 개최…"공정성 담보될 것". My Daily. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023 – via Naver.
^"V.O.S 박지헌, 8주 1위 빅뱅에 제동". Chosun Entertainment. January 26, 2008.
^"'보이그룹 통계'② 최장·최다 음원 1위 빅뱅, 견줄 그룹 없다". MBN Daily. May 7, 2014.
^Eom, Dong-jin; Kim, Jin-seok (September 26, 2013). [창간특집] 가요계 파워랭킹 1위, 브랜드 SM·가수 GD [[Introductory Feature] No. 1 in the power ranking in the music industry, brand SM and singer GD]. Ilgan Sports (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 1, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2023.