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]
History
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 operations
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]
Promotions
Music programs on TV
A screenshot of Red Velvet performing Russian Roulette on the SBS program Inkigayo on September 11, 2016, showing the introduction ticker for the song. The ticker shows the highlighting of Melon as a main sponsor for the said program. (from the official SBS Inkigayo YouTube account[14])
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]
Song with most unique listeners: BTS – "Spring Day" (8.6M ULs)
Longest-running No 1 song on realtime chart: NewJeans – "Ditto" (2344 hours)[38]
Longest-running No 1 song on daily chart: NewJeans – "Ditto", Aespa – "Supernova" (99 days)[39]
Longest-running No 1 song on weekly chart: Aespa – "Supernova" (15 weeks)[16]
Longest-running No 1 song on monthly chart: BTS – "Dynamite",[40]Brave Girls — "Rollin'",[40] NewJeans – "Ditto",[41] Aespa – "Supernova"[16] (3 months)
Longest-running Top 10 song on weekly chart: NewJeans – "Hype Boy"[42] (49 weeks)
Longest-running Top 10 song on yearly chart: Paul Kim – "Every Day, Every Moment",[43] BTS (feat. Halsey) – "Boy with Luv"[44] (2 years)
Longest-running Top 100 song on daily chart: BTS – "Spring Day"[37]
Longest-running Top 100 song on weekly chart: BTS – "Spring Day" (402 weeks)
Longest-running Top 100 song on yearly chart: BTS – "Spring Day" (7 years)[37]
Most roof-hit song: Zico – "Any Song" (51 roof-hits)[45]
Most unique listeners for a song in 1st 24 hours: IU – "Bbibbi" (1,462,625 ULs)[46]
Accolades
Melon, a leading music streaming service in South Korea, has achieved significant recognition over the years for its impact on the music industry and its innovative features. In 2011, it was honored as one of "Korea's Best 25 Apps" at the App Awards Korea, highlighting its popularity and user-friendly design.[47]
Melon was recognized at the 2012 Trusted Brand Awards.[48]
Melon won the "Grand Prize for Digital Contents" in the 2012 Korean Digital Management Innovation Awards.[49]
Melon was recognized in the 2012 Korea Brand Power Index.[50]
Ilgan Sports ranked Melon as the 3rd most influential entity in the K-pop industry in a November 2013 poll in celebration of its 44th anniversary.[51]
^박, 현익 (April 23, 2021). 국내 음악은 '멜론'이 부동의 1등…'스포티파이' 초반 성적표는 7등. ChosunBiz (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.
^ a b cSeon, Mi-kyung (September 2, 2024). 에스파, 이젠 '차트 종결자' [Aespa, now 'Chart Terminator']. OSEN [ko] (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
^ a bAhn, Byeong-gil (August 29, 2023). 뉴진스, 멜론퀸···7주연속 1위 [New Jeans, Melon Queen... No. 1 for 7 consecutive weeks]. Sports Kyunghyang. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
^Lee, Su-hyeon (February 28, 2023). 또 한 번 붙은 최초-최다 수식어…뉴진스 '디토', 10주 연속 1위 [Another First-Most Adjective… New Jeans' 'Ditto', 1st Place for 10 Consecutive Weeks]. Top Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
^Koh, Seung-hee (January 9, 2024). 또 한 번 붙은 최초-최다 수식어…뉴진스 '디토', 10주 연속 1위 [New Jeans, Ive, (G)I-dle… It was the golden age of girl groups]. Herald Economy (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
^멜론차트>주간>장르종합 [Melon Chart > Week > Genre Comprehensive] (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^ a b방탄소년단 [BTS]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^악뮤 [AKMU]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^ a b아이유 [IU]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^폴킴 [Paul Kim]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^잔나비 [Jannabi]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^"Anne-Marie". Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^ a b방탄소년단 [BTS]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^임영웅 [Lim Young-woong]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^"Exo". Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^아이유 [IU]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^세븐틴 [Seventeen]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^김호중 [Kim Ho-joong]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^볼빨간 사춘기 [Bolbbalgan4]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^빅뱅 [BigBang]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^태연 [Taeyeon]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^다비치 [Davichi]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
^ a b cLee, Jae-hoon (August 13, 2024). 방탄소년단 '봄날', 멜론 첫 10억 스트리밍↑ [BTS "Spring Day," Melon's first 1 billion streams ↑]. Newsis (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 13, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
^Melon TOP 100 순위 추이 (in Korean). Retrieved April 3, 2023.
^정, 병근 (September 9, 2024). 에스파, 99일 1위 'Supernova' 리믹스 공개. The Fact. Archived from the original on October 25, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
^ a bMelon 주간 차트 추이 [Melon Weekly Chart Trends] (in Korean). Retrieved April 3, 2023.
^Melon 주간 차트 추이 [Melon Weekly Chart Trends] (in Korean). Retrieved April 3, 2023.
^Melon 월간 차트 추이 [Melon Monthly Chart Trends] (in Korean). Retrieved July 17, 2023.
^Melon 연간 차트 추이 [Melon Annual Chart Trends] (in Korean). Retrieved April 3, 2023.
^Melon 연간 차트 추이 [Melon Annual Chart Trends] (in Korean). Retrieved April 3, 2023.
^Melon 지붕킥 횟수 랭킹 (in Korean). Retrieved February 3, 2021.
^Melon 24시간 이용자수 / October 11, 2018 (목) 18시 (in Korean). Retrieved February 8, 2021.
^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.
