For a while now the Korean and Chinese music industries have been engaging and synergizing with one another to further their growth. To contribute to that, Korea Herald has reported that major Chinese entertainment companies are now spending large sums of money to scout hit Korean composers.
Some of the composers pursued include Duble Sidekick (who worked on songs like B.A.P's "Stop It," Girl's Day "Something," and MBLAQ's "This is War," among many others) and AB Entertainment owner Shinsadong Tiger (BEAST's "Shock," "Fiction," T-ara's "Bo Peep Bo Peep").
According to reports, both composers received 10 billion Korean won (roughly $8.2 million USD) for recent deals in China, roughly double the amount that many Hallyu entertainers get to star in a drama or film. This price tag covers not only the work done by the composers, but also the copyright ownership for any music they may create.
Chinese companies have already aimed to recruit Korean variety show producers and celebrities, resulting in Chinese versions of hit Korean programs like Running Man. As for music, head of Ready Entertainment's China branch Bae Kyung Ryeol explained that China is now "going beyond importing K-pop content" and "trying to make its own."
"China has yet to develop professional composers who make pop music," Bae revealed as to why companies are seeking out such well known producers. Moreover, music has been proven as a better export because it surpasses the language barriers that limits the spread of Korean television programs. "For this reason, Chinese companies have good enough reason to spend 12 billion, sometimes 15 billion won, on scouting composers," Bae concluded.
For Asian pop music fans, 2016 is sure to be an interesting year as we watch how the crossover trend continues to impact both the Chinese and Korean music industries.
