Is Kpop a genre or an industry, if so why?

[Polaris_Tae]

^

discuss

 

I've been sitting on this topic for a while, considering writing about this for my journalism class. 

[lighterxx]

its both heh

[YuMing]

both I think

 

like it's a part of the music industry so yes it's an industry

 

but there are certain kpop characteristics like the "typical kpop sound", the emphasis on performances and choreos, etc

 

also since pop music is a genre, kpop is a type of pop music so yeah, it's a genre

[Zaiku]

Korean = Language

Pop = Genre

 

Kpop = Industry

 

 

Can't really say "I want to make an English Kpop Song"

[freya]

Industry.

 

Genre makes no sense when music isn't all it is about and kpop is built on whatever trends in actual genres worldwide. The fashion also takes from whatever is going on in fashion at that moment. It builds its owm "kpop character" by how it is packaged: the sum of the parts make it interesting.

 

The packaging of all its elements and the way it all comes together and is promoted. That's kpop. An industry

[swiftswitchsurf]

Kpop is an industry.

 

Folks like to conflate it with a genre. When it realistically is not.

 

Davichi is Kpop

 

So is Twice

 

Neither even remotely make the same kind of music.

 

 

Much like BigBang and Say Vixx

[loy]

I consider it a genre,i think it is rooted from a Traditional folk song/dance of harvest with upbeat tempo

[Polaris_Tae]

I myself am of the view that it is an industry as there is more to KPop than just the music. A definition of the industry could be:

 

KPop is usually summed up as a hybrid genre, that often mixes/blends various elements of western influenced music together with intricate choreography, fashion and overall style into one succinct genre, (usually created by a company often with music exportation in mind).

 

 

I see them as more of an industry than genre, as the sounds from KPop groups tend to vary depending on the artist (e.g. an Infinite song sounds nothing like a song by twice) and there are whole companies that recruit and train children as young as eight (sometimes even younger) to eventually debut in the idol industry, also there has been some talk by Korean and American journalists explaining that KPop was a western description/ generalization of Korean music and that the proper term for KPop is actually 'Idol music', as this blanket term can cover anything from Psy to BTS to IU and even some ballad and indie singers.

 

Edit: Also with the whole use of audition programs in recent years and groups like ioi and Wannaone entering and exiting the industry in a matter of years, I would consider that the industry will possibly overtake the label of KPop in the future

 

An example of someone who I would not consider KPop that is (according to her wiki) is Lyn

 

[HoneyPopCupcake]

both I think

 

like it's a part of the music industry so yes it's an industry

 

but there are certain kpop characteristics like the "typical kpop sound", the emphasis on performances and choreos, etc

 

also since pop music is a genre, kpop is a type of pop music so yeah, it's a genre

[swiftswitchsurf]

I feel this conflation of Idols with Kpop as a whole

 

Not all Soloists do the idol song and dance, they're still kpop.

 

BBG4, Akmu, Lee Hi, 15& and Heize are very much kpop acts.

 

They don't do idol things.

[Slowpoke X]

2 common definitions of kpop are popular music from South Korea, and for may kpop is only music sung by Korean idols.

 

Also in Japan, amy song sung by kpop singers is called kpop even if it's in Korean.

[BBIIBBII]

it's a sub-genre of pop

[Digiwon]

Industry: companies, trainees, concepts, etc.

Its basically pop with a different system than the standard one. And a lot of the songs in kpop have multiple genres.

[brume]

Kpop is an industry

 

In Kpop songs, lot of genres are used such pop, hip hop, house, etc.