For the first time ever, Korean hip-hop label Amoeba Culture sold more music domestically than one of the Big Three K-pop agencies.
Earlier this week, Korea's Gaon Chart revealed that Amoeba Culture sold the third most music locally, following after YG Entertainment and SM Entertainment. The hip-hop label surpassed JYP Entertainment, the country's third leading label, largely in part to multiple popular releases from soloist Zion. T.
Zion.T had three songs appear in the top 20 songs on Gaon's 2015 chart, including "Eat, "Yanghwa BRDG," and the collaborative song "Just" with lablemate Crush.
Amoeba Culture was the third music label regarding sales, but the fourth largest overall, reports the K-Pop Herald. Korean conglomerate CJ placed third regarding local sales on Gaon's list, in large part due to profits from songs released as part of CJ-produced television shows such as "Show Me The Money" and "Unpretty Rapstar."
YG and SM took home 12.7% and 8.9% of the sales respectively, while Amoeba Culture took in 6%, according to Korea's Kyunghyang Sinmun.
Amoeba Culture was founded in 2006 by Dynamic Duo and CEO Go Kyung Min. The label currently represents Primary, Zion.T, Crush, Yankie, Rhythm Power, and Planet Shiver along with Dynamic Duo.
The success comes at a time when hip hop artists are finding growing popularity in South Korea.
Amoeba Culture outplaced JYP Entertainment, the home of popular K-pop acts like Wonder Girls, 2PM, GOT7, and more, and rising agency FNC Entertainment, which currently houses FTISLAND, CNBLUE, AOA and numerous other entertainers.
"Last year marked the 10th anniversary of the label's foundation, and all the artists released an album to celebrate" said Go Kyung Min of Amoeba Culture. "I think that's the reason behind it [the success]."
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Tamar Herman is a multi-media journalist and the co-founder of KultScene. She is a freelance writer and copy editor, and has written for MTV Iggy, Noisey, and Paste Magazine.
