BIllboard CEO Denied Claims of Trying to Keep K-pop’s Growth in Check
The CEO of Billboard, Mike Van, mentioned the establishment of the K-pop chart and denied accusations of keeping K-pop in check.
On April 15, the press conference regarding the launch of Billboard Korea was held in Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea.
Here, CEO Mike Van of Billboard USA said, “We provide about 150 charts including basic charts like ‘Hot 100’ or ‘Billboard 200’. Not only the Kpop chart, but also Latin, Jazz charts, so the operation of the K-pop chart is no different from other charts.”
He also emphasized, “We have experience and understand how it works. The K-pop chart is set up to include all the nuances of music.”
It was known that when a separate K-pop chart was established by Billboard last year, there were concerns that it would be a way to keep the growth of K-pop in check. The change in the scoring method for the main chart “Hot 100”, in particular, roused accusations that this was aimed at controlling K-pop.
Regarding this issue, Mike Van said, “We may have partnerships with several partners, but we want to make it clear that this is not true at all.”
On the other hand, Billboard will officially launch “Billboard Korea” in Korea, starting from issue 1, which will be published in June.
Source: Daum
