Melon () is a South Korean

online music A digital music store is a business that sells digital audio files of music recordings over the Internet. Customers gain ownership of a license to use the files, in contrast to a music streaming service, where they listen to recordings without ...

store and music streaming service introduced in November 2004, and developed by

SK Telecom SK Telecom Co., Ltd. ( or ) is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator and former film distributor and is part of the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebols. It leads the local market with 50.5 percent share as of 2008. S ...

. 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 KakaoMusic (Hangul: 카카오뮤직) was a music streaming service launched by Kakao. It lets users stream and buy music while also allowing them to share songs and connect with friends through KakaoTalk. In 2017, Kakao merged Kakao Music into Mel ...

into Melon to have one, unified music streaming service. 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. Melon users can stream and download music and music videos and create custom

ringtone A ringtone, ring tone or ring is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming call. Originally referring to and made by the electromechanical striking of bells, the term now refers to any sound on any device alerting of a new incoming ...

s. Melon is available on

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

. The name "Melon" is a portmanteau of the phrase "melody on".

History

Melon was founded on November 16, 2004, in South Korea by

, 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. In October 2008, SK Telecom transferred the majority of Melon's stock to its shareholder Loen Entertainment for approximately 24.3 billion KRW. 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. Later in January 2016,

Kakao Kakao ( ko, 카카오) is a South Korean internet company that was established in 2010. It formed as a result of a merger between Daum (web portal), Daum Communications and the original Kakao Inc. In 2014, the company was renamed Daum Kakao. Th ...

acquired a 76.4% stake in the company for 1.87 trillion won (approximately $1.64 billion). In 2018, Kakao M spun-off from Kakao, but Melon stayed. 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.

International operations

In 2010, Melon was launched by SK Telecom in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, in partnership with Telkom Indonesia. 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.

Promotions

Music programs on TV

Melon is the main sponsor of the following music-related shows: * ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who p ...

'' ( SBS, October 2010 – December 2016, re-sponsored since February 2017. Previously known as ''Popular Song'' and ''The Music Trend''.) * ''

Show! Music Core ''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. ...

'' ( MBC, August 2014 – March 2018) * ''

Show Champion ''Show Champion'' (Korean: 쇼 챔피언) is a South Korean music television program broadcast live by MBC M every Wednesday at Bitmaru Broadcasting Center in Ilsan. Hosts * Shindong (February 14, 2012 – December 25, 2012) * Hahm Eun-jung ...

'' (

MBC Music MBC M (formerly MBC Music) () is a South Korean specialty television channel owned by MBC Plus Media. The cable channel primarily broadcasts programming related to music. The channel opened on February 1, 2012, with a new music program ''Show ...

, January 2013 – May 2018) * ''

You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook ''You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook'' () is a South Korean talk show and live music television program airing from April 24 2009 until July 22nd 2022. It was hosted by You Hee-yeol, also known as his one-man band, Toy. The program has aired since April ...

'' ( KBS

2TV ''2TV'' was an Irish music programme broadcast on Sunday mornings on both Network 2 television and RTÉ 2fm radio from 1995 until at least 2001, even during the summer months. It was presented by Dave Fanning, with Bianca Luykx, although Ray ...

) * '' Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend'' (KBS 2TV) * '' K-pop Star'' (SBS, all six seasons from 2011 – 2017) * ''

Tribe of Hip Hop ''Tribe of Hip Hop'' () is a 2016 South Korean music show presented by Shin Dong-yup and San E. It airs on JTBC on Fridays at 21:40 (KST). Format It is a show where all 50 contestants must not be professional or underground rappers, or act as ...

'' (

JTBC JTBC (shortened from ''Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company'' (; stylized as jtbc) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on 1 December 2011. JTBC ...

) * ''

King of Mask Singer ''The King of Mask Singer'' () is a South Korean singing competition program presented by Kim Sung-joo, with introductions by voice actor . It airs on MBC on Sunday, starting from April 5, 2015 as a part of MBC's '' Sunday Night'' programming ...

'' (MBC, since June 2017) * '' MIXNINE'' (JTBC) (2017–2018) * '' Music Bank'' (KBS 2TV, since January 2020)

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.

Achievements

Songs with the most weeks at number one

Artists with most number one songs

Artists with most weeks at number one

Artists with most months at number one

Longest charting songs on weekly chart

Most liked songs of all time

Most streamed artists of all time

All-time records

* Most streamed artist:

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...

(12.93B streams) * Most streamed song: BTS – "

Spring Day Spring day is a holiday marking the coming of the spring season, which takes place in different countries, on varying dates. Northern Hemisphere Albania Albania celebrates the lunar Spring Day, the so-called ''Summer Day'' (), on 14 March, and ...

" * Song with most unique listeners: Busker Busker – "

Cherry Blossom Ending "Cherry Blossom Ending" () is a song by South Korean indie band Busker Busker, from their debut studio album ''Busker Busker 1st Album''. The song was written by band member and was released on March 29, 2012 by CJ E&M Music. The song is well kn ...

", BTS – "Spring Day" (8.3M ULs) * Longest-running No 1 song on hourly chart: NewJeans – " Ditto" (2344 hours) * Longest-running No 1 song on daily chart: NewJeans – "Ditto" (99 days) * Longest-running No 1 song on weekly chart: NewJeans – "Ditto" (14 weeks) * Longest-running No 1 song on monthly chart: BTS – "Dynamite", Brave Girls — " Rollin'", NewJeans – "Ditto" (3 months) * Longest-running Top 10 song on weekly chart: NewJeans – "

Hype Boy "Hype Boy" is a Korean-language song and the second single recorded by South Korean girl group NewJeans from their debut extended play (EP), '' New Jeans''. It was released by ADOR on July 23, 2022, as one of the EP's lead singles. Background and ...

" (49 weeks) * Longest-running Top 10 song on yearly chart: Paul Kim – "Every Day, Every Moment", BTS (feat. Halsey) – " Boy with Luv" (2 years) * Longest-running Top 100 song on daily chart: BTS – "Spring Day" * Longest-running Top 100 song on weekly chart: BTS – "Spring Day" (360 weeks) * Longest-running Top 100 song on yearly chart: BTS – "Spring Day" (7 years) * Most roof-hit song: Zico – "

Any Song "Any Song" (Korean: 아무노래; RR: ''Amu norae''; stylized in sentence case) is a song recorded by South Korean rapper Zico for his third extended play, ''Random Box'' (2020). The song was written and produced by Zico, with additional prod ...

" (51 roof-hits) * Most unique listeners for a song in 1st 24 hours: IU – "

Bbibbi "Bbibbi" () is a song recorded by South Korean singer-songwriter IU, released digitally on October 10, 2018, through Kakao M. The self-written song was produced by Son Myung-gab. It subsequently debuted at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart. T ...

" (1,462,625 ULs)

Accolades

Melon became one of "Korea's Best 25 Apps" in the 2011 App Awards Korea. Melon was recognized at the 2012 Trusted Brand Awards. Melon won the "Grand Prize for Digital Contents" in the 2012 Korean Digital Management Innovation Awards. Melon was recognized in the 2012 Korea Brand Power Index. ''

Ilgan Sports ''Ilgan Sports'' ( ko, 일간스포츠; ''The Daily Sports'' or ''1S'' for short) is a South Korean daily sports and entertainment newspaper founded in 1969. Formerly under ''Hankook Ilbo'', it is now owned by the ''JoongAng Ilbo, JoongAng Media ...

'' ranked Melon as the 3rd most influential entity in the

K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...

industry in a November 2013 poll in celebration of its 44th anniversary.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Music digital distribution platforms Kakao M Music streaming services IOS software Android (operating system) software Online music stores of South Korea Internet properties established in 2004