Small-agency K-pop group climbs Melon chart

A small-agency K-pop group has drawn attention in the K-pop market after its song 'Love Attack,' released 2 years ago, recently reached No. 1 on Melon, a major domestic music platform. The song had been in the nine-hundreds ranking range at the time of release before climbing the chart 2 years later.

The group said, 'It became No. 1 so suddenly. We did not expect it, and at that time.' With limited capital, the group chose live broadcasts as a no-cost promotional method and held around two hundred self-produced live sessions.

A video known as 'Geoje yaho' also drew popularity. In the clip, the group and Geoje City repeated the phrase 'Geoje yaho.'

The case is being described as rare at a time when major agencies' capital has become a measure of success. Average production costs at small and midsize agencies are at the level of 1/29 of major agencies, and among 14 teams that recorded sales of one million copies or more in the first week after release in the first half of this year, only 2 were from small and midsize agencies.

Kim Jin-woo, representative of RBW, said, 'Major companies now spend ten billion won on a single album, on one album. Then the probability rises that only artists from those major companies will survive.'

The group also faced a crisis over Ilbe-related speculation that drew in political circles, showing that small-agency idols are exposed to malicious rumors. Amid discussion of polarization in the K-pop market, the government is reviewing measures including a tax credit system for music production costs to support sustainable K-pop growth.