Music Manufactured

Music Manufactured
By Daniel Tahyun Lee

Flame throwers on the stage roar fiercely as the music in the amps blast with a heavy beat. Figures dressed in shiny black nylon tights and leather boots start dancing. Sugary melodies flow out from their mouths, a bit too perfectly. Every move strikes to a certain rhythm, calculated. The millions of fans roar with applause. The K- Pop industry declares victory in this concert hall. Little does the crowd see that the spectacle in front of their eyes is a product of heavy industrialism and bloody competition. Following the recent international breakthrough of K- Pop, the Korean music industry is now identified through the pop sensation itself. Yet the genre saturating the industry is not a healthy signal.

In order for an artist to partake as a musician, two parts are incorporated in the process: production and distribution. In an ideal record making process, production is executed by mainly artists themselves. The artist is in responsibility of the general creative direction of a record. Apart from the production process, the distribution is a phase that is usually carried out by record labels. Thus, the conventional idea of making music was the musician making music and the record label selling it. Though artists such as or Arctic Monkey have shown their own spins on this process (being much more hands on in the distribution process), they succeeded in sustaining the quality of their music. The problem arises when the distribution engulfs the intent of the production.

In its nature, music that falls into the category of K-Pop always involves a giant entertainment corporation behind the curtain. As entertainment mogul Park Jin Young proudly said: “We don’t consider ourselves confined to the music we make. We believe that were showcasing the person as the product.” With all the young boys and girls, and fancy dance moves, it is no doubt that K-Pop is about marketing the person. The question is whether the music they put out actually has anything to do with that person. In most occasions, the answer is no. 

As a matter of fact, the majority stars of K Pop all follow a certain process of manufacturing. It all starts with a large corporation’s board, planning a new product. When the theme and marketing strategy of the group is decided, the recruitment begins. The corporation selects from a pool of “trainees”, or candidates that have gone through boot camps and facial modifications. Once the team is put together, songs are bought from major song writers and the dance routines are choreographed. After months of practice, the first “mini album” is released, and an artist is shown to the world.

Notice how the artist is nothing more than a portrayal of the music they are given. The focus indeed shifts from the music to the person. All of this happens, while a majority of artists have no contact with creative input whatsoever. Music is no longer “music” but a decomposition of song writers, dancers, stylists and artists. Fundamentally, it is music designed to treat the comprehensive need of the mass.
Let’s take a look at an equally competitive but fundamentally different place: the American music industry. With the exception of similarly produced “idol stars”, the American way of succeeding as an artist is individual struggle. An artist starts alone at first, sometimes independent or signed to a smaller indie. The artist begins to expand upon a local fanbase. After being singled out by a music authority, the artist will be able to play as an opening act for other, popular bands. In time, the artist achieves independence and receives a record deal to play his or her music. One of the most prominent criticisms that come after these deals is that the artist has become a “sell out”:. Yet in K-Pop, the production begins with being a sell-out. The ripple effect begins when this sort of music begins to choke other genres of less industrial music with its superior marketing and capitol. K-Pop has gradually become the very definition of Korean contemporary music. The spotlights of each genre of rock, electronic, alternative, hip-hop and jazz turn off as K-Pop thrones in mainstream music.

The next step K Pop is to strive toward is becoming a genre of music in which artists actually contribute creative input in the process of production. The artist’s creativity, not the corporation’s business plans, should be the main dish. The sole purpose of K-Pop is not to sell, but to set a certain ideal in music. Hopefully, artists will learn to differentiate their music and learn to not be confined by the industrial boundaries of K-Pop. It starts with the first step: adopting a critical approach to the music we hear. It starts with ordinary listeners understanding that most of the music on the charts, are not there because of the music.