Twenty Years of Indie Music: Current Status of Related Policies Status and Support for Advance Into Global Music Scene
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Global Hallyu Issue Magazine Hallyu Now 2017 – 7+8 vol.19 1 Global Hallyu Issue Magazine Hallyu Now 2017 – 7+8, vol.19 ● Published by: KOFICE ● Publisher: Youngjin Kwak (KOFICE Chairman) ● Editor in Chief : Deok Jung Kim (KOFICE Secretary General) ● Editor: Sang Hyun Nam, Ah Young Kim, Seol Li Ryu, and Mi Rae Seo (KOFICE Research Team) ● Inquiries to: KOFICE Research Team Tel. +82.(0)2.3153.1786 Email. [email protected] 2 Hallyu Montage Indie Contents in Depth Zoom 1 Twenty Years of Indie Music: Current Status of Related Policies Status and Support for Advance into Global Music Scene By Yang Seung-gyu, Gyeonggi Content Agency Senior Researcher - Movement of Indie Music Leading Changes in Music Culture - Cases of Korean Indie Music's Advance into Overseas Music Scenes Zoom 2 Overseas Advance of Korean Independent Films: Cases and Strategies By Kim Dong-hyeon Seoul Independent Film Festival Committee Head - Potential of Korean independent Films Demonstrated at International Film Festivals - Indie Film Distributors Pioneer Overseas Markets - Monumental Films from <The Murmuring> to <The King of Pigs> Zoom 3 Era of Indiepocalypse and Unique Identity of Indie Games By Lee Jeong-yeop Soon Chun Hyang University, Department of Korean Culture Contents 3 - Korean Indie Games Go Overseas - Aiming at Multiplatform: Turtle Cream's <6180 the Moon> - Matching between Game Theme and Platform: Somi’s <Replica> ① Twenty Years of Indie Music: Current Status of Related Policies Status and Support for Advance into Global Music Scene Yang Seung-gyu, Gyeonggi Content Agency Senior Researcher 1. Movement of Indie Music Leading Changes in Music Culture It has been twenty years since Korean indie music equipped itself with a creation and distribution system, and now, it is not anymore a cultural phenomenon limited to the Hongdae (Hongik University) area, which has been a stronghold of indie bands, and has far-extended influence and greater value. Korean indie music currently plays a complementary role in its relationship with mainstream music, in a harmonious coexistence. The prejudice that indie music hardly achieve commercial success has also long gone. The actual change in the music market, that is, an environment where music is generally consumed in the form of digital music rather than records, and through various new media, has positive effects on the activities of indie musicians. The small-scale performances that maintain an "analog" value in this consumer market based on digital music are recognized as a point of contact where Indie musicians and music consumers can meet and directly communicate with each other. In addition, the performances of indie musicians are increasing in quantity compared to the time when buying musical records was regarded as a decent way of consuming music. The popularity of indie music among the general public has been also maintained and expanded as the Korean indie scene has produced many star bands through appearances in various TV and radio programs. Indie musicians are also recognized for their values as they have fresh images that are differentiated from those of the idol bands made by 4 large entertainment management agencies or the musicians who have become known through audition programs. In addition, the base of indie musicians, which was once limited to the Hongdae area, is also expanding. Although the gentrification phenomenon1 has taken place, the hubs of indie musicians have been extended from the Hongdae and Sinchon area to Daehangno Street, Itaewon, and other areas in Seoul, as well as all cities of Korea including Gwangju, Busan and Daegu. Indie musicians active in these various regions have promoted their performances and music using new media including YouTube. Unlike past Korean musicians who have gone through various trials and errors for advance into the global music scene, the current media environment provides musicians with opportunities to make their music “a born-global content.” Furthermore, the growing popularity of indie music and expanded performance culture are creating complementary concepts such as "Korean Wave in non- idol category" or "K-Pop in terms of diversity," and producing many Korean indie musicians who turn up trumps in overseas music scenes, which proves the potential of Korean indie labels. The past 20 years demonstrate that Korean indie music and musicians have not set a fad, but a trend that has led changes in music creation and consumer cultures. ２. Cases of Korean Indie Music's Advance into Overseas Music Scenes The presence of Korean indie music in the global music scene began to remarkably increase starting from the mid-2000s. Of course, the Korean underground bands that were active in the 1980s, had also made various attempts to enter the overseas music scenes with experimental music and individual networks. However, the mid-2000s was a crucial period when the cornerstone was set for the establishment of the current Korean indie music system and its progress, in that during this period, the advance of Korean indie music to foreign markets was pushed forward not through the conventional entertainment management system, but through an independent and autonomous indie music system, and promotional marketing was also carried out within non-institutional circles. In this process, Korean indie musicians took lessons from the failures of the heavy metal bands that had sought to enter 1 This is a phenomenon in which a depressed old urban center is revitalized and the inflow of the middle class or higher class replaces the existing low income residents. The process of gentrification is related to the suburbanization of large cities. As a city develops, the suburbanization process in which the resident population spreads from the central city area to the surrounding areas progresses. In this process, the suburbs are developed with the concentration of capital, while the areas close to the urban areas turn into depressed areas where low-income residents who cannot afford to move to the suburbs live. Governments and local governments may lead redevelopment projects to revitalize these areas or in some cases, development companies interested in low rent may develop the areas in cooperation with landowners. There are also cases that these areas are revitalized as artists who have gathered in the areas in search of affordable working space develop various activities. (Source: Doosan Encyclopedia) 5 overseas music scenes in the late 1980s. These heavy metal bands active from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s focused on releasing licensed records in the local markets. Sinawe's fourth full album and Black Syndrome's second full album were released through a Japanese record label Toy’s Factory, but their commercial achievements were not great. Black Syndrome and Blackhole sought to release their albums in Europe, but their plans foundered due to failed negotiation with local partners. The major reasons why their attempts ended up in failure are as follows: First, the bands enjoyed only short-lived golden days (due to military enlistment, disagreement among members, economic difficulties, etc.). Also, emphasis laid only on album releases in the local markets caused the lack of the systematic planning and implementation of local promotional activities centering on the performances of the bands. The cover arts of Sahara and Jeremy’s full albums. The two bands gained popularity in Japan and Taiwan in the early 2000s. In the early 2000s, the music of the bands like Sahara and Jeremy resonated with rock fans in Japan and Taiwan. They engaged in album promotional activities as well as performances and concerts and this led to the expansion of their overseas fan clubs. Since then, the marketing method of carrying out regular album activities overseas has become common. The period when various genres based on rock music went abroad was also in early 2000. Crying Nut and No Brain were included in the lineup of the Fuji Rock Festival in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Although their participation was a one-off thing, it was enough to draw attention to the advance of Korean indie music into the global music scene. In 2003, Gum-X entered into a contract with Toy's Factory, and started actively engaging in promotional 6 activities including album releases and performances based on glocalization. The case of this band provided a good model for indie musicians and planners of Korean labels who had struggled to grow bands' influence and make inroads to overseas music scenes in the non-idol music category. Since 2005, the global marketing environment has greatly expanded, and the way in which indie musicians have solidified their presence in the global music scene has also dramatically changed. They began to utilize music service platforms such as Apple Music, including online-based domestic sound service platforms, and release their albums and promote their performances and concerts through social media platforms. This saved them the cost of operating communities for overseas fans. In this born- global business environment, the GMC Record became the first Korean label to establish an online digital music distribution system through iTunes in 2008. Also, in the same year, with the founding of the Seokyo Music Labels Association (SMLA), a group of indie labels based in the Hondae area, the activities of indie musicians entered a new phase. Indeed, from this period onwards, the indie musicians focusing on the release of digital music rather than albums and small-scale performances started to emerge, which led to the expansion of the Korean indie scene and the revitalization of indie music. Clockwise from left to right are Galaxy Express, Kiha and the Faces, Bolbbalgan4, and Guckkasten. 7 Since 2010, policies related to Korean indie music have included born-global projects to support indie musicians in securing genre-wide diversity and overcoming marketing limitations in the narrow domestic market. With the expansion of the indie scene, various genres including modern rock, instrumental, emo-core, reggae, and hip-hop have drawn good responses at home and abroad.