Melon (online music service)

South Korean online music service

"MelOn" redirects here. For other uses, see Melon (disambiguation).

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|

Melon

Screenshot

Screenshot of Melon's new interface, launched in August 2016

Type of site

| OMS
Available in| Korean
Owner| Kakao Entertainment
Created by| SK Telecom
URL| www.melon.com
Commercial| Yes
Registration| Required, for South Koreans only[1]
Users| 4~5 million (in South Korea alone, as of 2018)
Launched| November 16, 2004; 19 years ago (2004-11-16)

Melon (Korean: 멜론; RR: Mellon) is a South Korean online music store and music streaming service introduced in November 2004, and developed by SK Telecom. LOEN Entertainment (became Kakao M and then Kakao Entertainment) became the company-in-charge of the service in 2009. In 2017, Kakao merged Kakao Music into Melon to have one, unified music streaming service.[2]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

### Music programs on TV

[edit]

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.)
* Show! Music Core (MBC, August 2014 – March 2018)
* Show Champion (MBC Music, January 2013 – May 2018)
* You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook (KBS 2TV)
* Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend (KBS 2TV)
* K-pop Star (SBS, all six seasons from 2011 – 2017)
* Tribe of Hip Hop (JTBC)
* King of Mask Singer (MBC, since June 2017)[a]
* MIXNINE (JTBC) (2017–2018)
* Music Bank (KBS 2TV, since January 2020)

### Melon Music Awards

[edit]

Main article: Melon Music Awards

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]

## Achievements

[edit]

### Songs with the most weeks at number one

[edit]

Weeks  | Artist  | Song  | Year
released  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

15  | Aespa | "Supernova"  | 2024  | [16]
14  | NewJeans | "Ditto"  | 2022  | [17]
11  | BTS | "Dynamite"  | 2020  | [18]
9  | AKMU | "Love Lee"  | 2023  | [19]
8  | Yoon Do-hyun | "I Guess I Loved You"  | 2005  | [17]
BigBang | "Last Farewell"  | 2007
Girls' Generation | "Gee"  | 2009
Zico | "Any Song"  | 2020
Mirani, Munchman, Khundi Panda, Mushvenom feat. Justhis | "VVS"
Brave Girls | "Rollin'"  | 2017

### Longest charting songs on weekly chart

[edit]

Weeks  | Artist  | Song  | Current
position[20]

|
|
|

396  | BTS | "Spring Day"  | 78
333  | Paul Kim | "Every Day, Every Moment"  | 55
232  | Lim Young-woong | "Trust in Me"  | 85
219  | AKMU | "How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You're the One I Love"  | 53
213  | BTS  | "Dynamite"  | 74
171  | Sung Si-kyung | "Every Moment Of You"  | 36
169  | GyeongseoYeji  | "If You Lovingly Call My Name"  | 38
161  | BTS ft. Halsey | "Boy With Luv"  | OUT
151  | BTS  | "Butter"
149  | Maktub ft. Raon Lee  | "To You My Light"
As of September 16, 2024

### Most liked songs of all time

[edit]

Likes  | Artist  | Song  | Year
released  | Ref

|
|
|
|

523,039  | BTS | "Spring Day"  | 2017  | [21]
466,495  | "Dynamite"  | 2020
458,129  | IU | "Through the Night"  | 2017  | [22]
446,307  | AKMU | "How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You're the One I Love"  | 2019  | [23]
437,210  | BTS ft. Halsey | "Boy With Luv"  | 2019  | [21]
433,500  | Paul Kim | "Every Day, Every Moment"  | 2018  | [24]
428,361  | Jannabi | "For Lovers Who Hesitate"  | 2019  | [25]
416,809  | Anne-Marie | "2002"  | 2018  | [26]
401,987  | IU ft. Suga | "Eight"  | 2020  | [22]
368,610  | IU  | "Blueming"  | 2019
As of September 16, 2024

### Most streamed artists of all time

[edit]

Streams
(billions)  | Artist  | Ref

|
|

13.17  | BTS | [27]
10.57  | Lim Young-woong | [28]
8.47  | Exo | [29]
8.37  | IU | [30]
4.58  | Seventeen | [31]
3.88  | Kim Ho-joong | [32]
3.68  | Bolbbalgan4 | [33]
3.36  | BigBang | [34]
3.14  | Davichi | [35]
3.13  | Taeyeon | [36]
As of September 16, 2024

### All-time records

[edit]

* Most streamed artist: BTS (13.17B streams)[27]
* Most streamed song: BTS – "Spring Day"[37]
* 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" (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" (396 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

[edit]

Melon became one of "Korea's Best 25 Apps" in the 2011 App Awards Korea.[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]

## See also

[edit]

* Naver VIBE
* SK Telecom
* Kakao M
* Apple Music
* Tidal
* iTunes
* Kakao Music
* Melon Music Awards

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Formerly sponsored by rival music service Bugs

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Terms: GENERAL". MelOn. LOEN Entertainment, Inc.
2. ^ "카카오 뮤직→멜론, 통합 '확정'·시기 '미정'".
3. ^ 박, 현익 (April 23, 2021). "국내 음악은 '멜론'이 부동의 1등…'스포티파이' 초반 성적표는 7등". biz.chosun.com (in Korean). Retrieved May 1, 2021.
4. ^ "South Korea's Biggest Music Subscription Service Acquired by Mobile Messaging Company". Billboard. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
5. ^ 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.
6. ^ 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.
7. ^ 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.
8. ^ 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.
9. ^ Min, Sang-sik (January 12, 2016). "[슈퍼리치]음악 플랫폼에 1조9000억 베팅한 '김범수' 의도는". Herald POP (in Korean). Retrieved March 19, 2023.
10. ^ Lee, Min-hyung (August 14, 2017). "Kakao angers music streaming fans – The Korea Times". The Korea Times. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
11. ^ Jun-hee, Park (July 15, 2021). "Kakao Entertainment to merge with music streaming platform Melon". The Korea Herald. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
12. ^ "Melon Indonesia". Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
13. ^ eck. "MelOn kini 100% Merah Putih – Indotelko".
14. ^ "스브스케이팝 / SBS KPOP". YouTube.
15. ^ 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.
16. ^ a b c Seon, Mi-kyung (September 2, 2024). 에스파, 이젠 '차트 종결자' [Aespa, now 'Chart Terminator']. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
17. ^ a b Ahn, 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.
18. ^ 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.
19. ^ 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.
20. ^ 멜론차트>주간>장르종합 [Melon Chart > Week > Genre Comprehensive] (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
21. ^ a b 방탄소년단 [BTS]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
22. ^ a b 아이유 [IU]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
23. ^ 악뮤 [AKMU]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
24. ^ 폴킴 [Paul Kim]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
25. ^ 잔나비 [Jannabi]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
26. ^ "Anne-Marie". Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
27. ^ a b 방탄소년단 [BTS]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
28. ^ 임영웅 [Lim Young-woong]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
29. ^ "Exo". Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
30. ^ 아이유 [IU]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
31. ^ 세븐틴 [Seventeen]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
32. ^ 김호중 [Kim Ho-joong]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
33. ^ 볼빨간 사춘기 [Bolbbalgan4]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
34. ^ 빅뱅 [BigBang]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
35. ^ 다비치 [Davichi]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
36. ^ 태연 [Taeyeon]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
37. ^ a b c Lee, 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.
38. ^ Melon TOP 100 순위 추이 (in Korean). Retrieved April 3, 2023.
39. ^ Melon 일간 차트 추이 (in Korean). Retrieved April 3, 2023.
40. ^ a b Melon 주간 차트 추이 [Melon Weekly Chart Trends] (in Korean). Retrieved April 3, 2023.
41. ^ Melon 주간 차트 추이 [Melon Weekly Chart Trends] (in Korean). Retrieved April 3, 2023.
42. ^ Melon 월간 차트 추이 [Melon Monthly Chart Trends] (in Korean). Retrieved July 17, 2023.
43. ^ Melon 연간 차트 추이 [Melon Annual Chart Trends] (in Korean). Retrieved April 3, 2023.
44. ^ Melon 연간 차트 추이 [Melon Annual Chart Trends] (in Korean). Retrieved April 3, 2023.
45. ^ Melon 지붕킥 횟수 랭킹 (in Korean). Retrieved February 3, 2021.
46. ^ Melon 24시간 이용자수 / October 11, 2018 (목) 18시 (in Korean). Retrieved February 8, 2021.
47. ^ "2011 App Awards Korea". MelOn. LOEN Entertainment, Inc.
48. ^ "2012 Trusted Brand Awards". MelOn. LOEN Entertainment, Inc.
49. ^ "2012 Korean Digital Management Innovation Awards". MelOn. LOEN Entertainment, Inc.
50. ^ "2012 Korea Brand Power Index". MelOn. LOEN Entertainment, Inc.
51. ^ 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.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website (in Korean)

* v
* t
* e

Kakao M

Artists|

| Solo|

* IU
* Zia

|

Group|

* Apink
* Victon
* The Boyz
* Weeekly
* Just B
* ATBO

Labels|

* IST Entertainment
* EDAM Entertainment
* BLUEDOT Entertainment

Defunct|

* E&T Story Entertainment

Partners|

* AB Entertainment
* AOMG
* Brand New Music
* Brave Entertainment
* C-JeS Entertainment
* Core Contents Media
* Cube Entertainment
* DI Entertainment
* DSP Media
* Eru Entertainment
* Happy Face Entertainment
* iHQ
* Jin-ah Entertainment
* Jungle Entertainment
* Leessang Company
* Music&New
* Music Farm
* Mystic89
* NH Media
* Nega Network
* Pledis Entertainment
* Soul Shop Entertainment
* SS Entertainment
* Star Empire Entertainment
* Stardom Entertainment
* TOP Media
* TS Entertainment
* WA Entertainment
* Woollim Entertainment

Filmography|

| TV series|

* Business Proposal
* Military Prosecutor Doberman
* Forecasting Love and Weather
* Behind Every Star
* The First Responders
* Not Others
* Diva of the Deserted Island

|

Web series|

* Amanza
* Love Revolution
* No, Thank You
* Lovestruck in the City
* A Love So Beautiful
* How to Be Thirty
* The Great Shaman Ga Doo-shim
* Welcome to Wedding Hell
* Once Upon a Small Town
* Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area
* Narco-Saints
* Song of the Bandits
* The Worst of Evil
* Gyeongseong Creature

Reality shows|

* Wannabe Ryan
* Learn Way
* The Origin – A, B, Or What?
* Girls Reverse
* Gomak Boys

Film|

* Broker
* Hunt
* Remember
* Concrete Utopia
* Hopeless

Related companies|

* Affinity Equity Partners
* Kakao Corp.
* SK Group
* Starship Entertainment
* Mun Hwa In
* Mega Monster

Related articles|

* KakaoTV
* 1theK Originals
* MelOn
* MelOn Music Awards

* Kakao M

* v
* t
* e

Kakao

Web assets|

* Daum
* KakaoBank
* KakaoGroup
* KakaoMusic
* KakaoPage
* KakaoStory
* KakaoStyle
* KakaoTalk
* KakaoPay
* Kakao T
* KakaoTV
* Kakao Webtoon
* MelOn
* Piccoma
* Tistory
* tvPot

Subsidiaries|

* Kakao Entertainment
* Kakao Games
* Kakao Japan

People|

* Brian Kim

Other|

* Kakao Friends
* PotPlayer
* Global World Encyclopedia
* Path (social network)

* v
* t
* e

Music digital distribution platforms

* Digital library
* Music streaming service
* Digital music store
* Music download

Active|

* 7digital
* 8tracks.com
* Amazon Music
* Amuse
* Anghami
* Audacy
* Bandcamp
* Beatport
* Bleep.com
* Boomplay Music
* CD Baby
* Classical Archives
* Digitally Imported
* DistroKid
* Ditto Music
* Djshop
* EmuBands
* eMusic
* HDtracks
* Hoopla
* Icecast
* iHeartRadio
* iTunes Store
* Jamendo
* Juno Records
* LANDR
* Line Music
* Live365
* LiveOne (Live X Live / Slacker)
* Magnatune
* Melon
* Mixcloud
* MOOV
* mora
* Music Glue
* Napster
* ONErpm
* Pandora
* Patari
* Qobuz
* RockMyRun
* ROXi
* Spinlet
* Spotify
* SoundCloud
* Tidal
* TuneCore
* UnitedMasters
* Yandex Music

Discontinued|

* AOL Radio/Radio@AOL
* AllOfMP3
* Amie Street
* Aupeo
* Bandit.fm
* BlackBerry World
* BuyMusic
* Electric Jukebox
* GhostTunes
* GoMusicNow
* Google Play Music
* Grooveshark
* Internet Underground Music Archive
* imeem
* iMesh
* Kazaa
* Mixcrate
* Mog
* MP3.com
* MSN Music
* Murfie
* Music Unlimited
* Nokia Store
* MixRadio
* MusicStation
* Nimbit
* NoiseTrade
* Play.com
* PlayNow Arena
* Pono
* PressPlay
* Puretracks
* Radical.fm
* Radionomy
* rara
* Simfy
* Sony Connect
* Spinner
* SpiralFrog
* Stardock Central
* Streamwaves
* Style Jukebox
* Taazi
* TuneTribe
* WiMP
* Wowloud
* Yahoo! Music Radio / LAUNCHcast
* Yahoo! Music Unlimited
* Zune Marketplace

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