- 1990s: the ‘start’ of K-pop
o American influences – rap, rock and techno incorporated
- 1995: founding of SM Entertainment – largest South Korean talent agency and record label
o Found by Lee Soo Man (Korean entrepreneur)
o Sightings of the first K-pop boy bands and girl groups
- Late 1990s: increase in entertainment companies – YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, DSP Entertainment
o Increase in debuting groups and artists
o YG Entertainment has now become the company with some of the biggest selling Korean artists such as BIGBANG, 2NE1, PSY, Se7en and Tablo. They have over 400 million views on their official YouTube page, this not does count for the views of the content they release as the same videos are occasionally re-uploaded and also uploaded to the artist’s official pages








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KOREAN MUSIC INDUSTRY
The 'YG Ent.' YouTube Channel then has links that direct people to their artists' separate YouTube channels, acting as another form of promotion >>>
- The development in technology can be considered as a major factor in the rising success of the Korean music industry, as the internet enables them to promote and publicise their music and artists, whilst technological advancements help to produce quality content such as interesting and entertaining music videos, captivating audiences and increasing their fan bases. Viral marketing through the means of adverts on social networking pages help to promote their artists. It is because of the technological facilities and the importance and impact that technology has on so many of our lives that the Korean music industry has managed to spread so far and wide in such short time.