Entertainment

Hundreds of K-Pop songs by KakaoM removed from Spotify

Including songs from IU, LOONA, Dreamcatcher, GFRIEND, SEVENTEEN, MAMAMOO, and more

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Image by GadgetMatch

K-Pop has been making waves both in South Korea and outside their homeland. And with the recent launch of Spotify Korea, international fans are expecting it to be recognized by major Korean music shows as an additional attempt in making more underrated artists and groups succeed without totally relying on Korean streaming platforms and Korean fans alone. But the recent feud between KakaoM and Spotify put everything to a screeching halt.

What is KakaoM?

KakaoM is a large co-publisher of K-Pop albums by Korean artists. Other than being a music publishing house, they’re also a music and concert production house, events management agency, talent agency, and even a record label. This basically means they can handle everything from handling K-Pop trainees and talents, up to pre-production, production, and post-production phases of a single, EP, mini album, or even a full album.

Image by GadgetMatch

Other than KakaoM’s in-house artists like IU (under EDAM Entertainment), Apink, VICTON, and Weeekly (under PlayM Entertainment), as well as non-KakaoM talents such as LOONA, Dreamcatcher, MAMAMOO, GFRIEND, SEVENTEEN, HyunA, and (G)-IDLE, this long Twitter thread shows the full list of K-Pop groups, duos, and soloists that are handled and/or whose albums were published by KakaoM:

Explaining the fiasco

Image by GadgetMatch

In an article published by the Korean site NAVER, Spotify has informed that KakaoM was unable to extend the validity of the agreement. Thus, effectively ending the contract today, March 1, 2021. Spotify also reported that they’ve been keeping in touch with KakaoM for a year but to no avail. They even said that KakaoM never informed the artists nor their respective agencies prior to the cancellation.

KakaoM isn’t totally a stranger in such issues. This already happened in 2019 when KakaoM failed to mass produce LOONA’s “[X X]” albums despite the large volumes of album pre-orders. That hindered LOONA from getting their first win in a music show. It even came to a point where they failed to renew LOONA’s songs listed under them in Spotify.

This also has a massive effect among international K-Pop artists and fans in general. With the large number of groups and artists alone, Spotify not only helps them get on a larger scale outside Korea, but it also contributes records to music charts such as Billboard.

Streaming charts have always been a big deal among K-Pop fans. With Spotify’s recent entry in the Korean music industry, fans have speculated that this unsettled agreement between Spotify and KakaoM was due to the fact that they don’t want to lose Melon, which is Korea’s top and largest music streaming platform with 28 million subscribers.

Other than the reliance of chartings and rankings by music shows such as Mnet’s M Countdown, KBS’s Music Core, SBS’s Inkigayo, MBC’s Music Core, and more, the streaming platform is owned by none other than KakaoM. This is a speculation all along but the fact that Spotify has 345+ million subscribers in 170 markets dwarfs Melon alone.

Stan Twitter memes everywhere

Some fans were able to make humor out of this controversy.

With KakaoM’s Melon ownership, international fans have joked around that signing up to Melon will never happen.

The fury of the K-Pop international fanbase might have made KakaoM realize their wrong action.

Orbits aren’t late to the meme party

It seems like every K-Pop fan is transferring to YouTube Music (not even Apple Music)

KakaoM as Thanos, anyone?

Memes aside, Spotify has re-assured fans that this issue is temporary and can still be resolved once KakaoM reaches a new global deal. Fans (like me) are hoping that KakaoM will settle this as soon as possible or this might be a huge loss not just to them, but for fans, artists, and their respective agencies as well.

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WATCH: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie final trailer

In cinemas this April

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March 19, 2026

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Courtesy: Universal Studios

Universal Pictures has released the final trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which hits cinemas early next month.

Chris Pratt and Charlie Day return to play the iconic brothers Mario and Luigi, with the group getting bigger and more lovable with the addition of Donald Glover’s Yoshi.

Other actors returning to voice beloved characters from the franchise are:

  • Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach
  • Jack Black as Bowser
  • Keegan-Michael Key as Toad
  • Brie Larson as Rosalina

Worth noting, the Captain Marvel and The Marvels lead actress, Larson, fulfills her dream as a Super Mario fan as her character makes her big-screen debut.

Courtesy: Universal Studios

In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the plumber brothers are sent into space to save Rosalina from the clutches of Bowser Jr.

Coming along for the ride are Princess Peach, Toad, and Yoshi, their newest companion.

More beloved characters will make their first big-screen appearances, including Pikmin, R.O.B., Birdo, and more.

The trailer also highlights some of the wonderful worlds the protagonists will visit, from the Preshistoric Falls to the Honeyhive Galaxy.

The film will show in theaters on April 1 in the United States and April 4 in the Philippines.

Watch the final trailer here:

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Spider-Man: Brand New Day first trailer hits hard — and gets weird

What’s happening to Peter?

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March 18, 2026

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Spider-Man Brand New Day first trailer
All images are screenshots from the trailer

Spider-Man is back — and this time, it doesn’t feel safe.

The first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day just dropped, and it’s equal parts heartbreaking, chaotic, and… a little unsettling. The kind of trailer that makes you pause halfway through and go, “Wait, what is happening to Peter?”

Because this isn’t just about swinging through New York anymore.

This is about what happens after Peter Parker chooses to disappear.

A lonelier Spider-Man

The trailer opens with Peter hanging upside down high above the city, quietly watching MJ and Ned Leeds celebrate their first day at MIT.

They’ve moved on. They’re happy. And Peter… doesn’t exist to them anymore.

That idea lingers through the next few scenes. He rehearses introductions like a stranger trying to fit in and washes his bloodied suit in a laundromat. He carries on as Spider-Man, even receiving a Key to the City — while Peter Parker fades into the background.

Things get violent, fast

Then the trailer flips.

We see a little moment between Frrank Castle (The Punisher) and Spidey. The exchange was lighthearted but also brutal. Spidey ends up immobilizing Frank and tells him to “Go home.” Could be a quick nod to Tom Holland’s “Home” trilogy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

And in the middle of it all, Scorpion finally emerges as a major threat, alongside a brute with mechanical gauntlets and a swarm of red-clad ninjas.

This isn’t your usual friendly neighborhood lineup.

Something is wrong with Peter

And then there’s the part that really sticks.

Peter starts deteriorating. He looks sick. Sweaty. Unstable. At one point, he collapses completely.

Then comes the reveal: Peter trapped inside a massive web cocoon — before violently breaking out of it.

He seeks out Bruce Banner, who seems to confirm what we’re all thinking — something is very wrong with Peter’s DNA. His warning? Mutation at this level is dangerous.

Paired with the narration about a spider’s life cycle and Banner’s warning, it really feels like the film is setting up a Man-Spider arc. A version of Peter where the mutation goes too far. Where the line between hero and something else starts to blur.

If that’s where this is headed, Brand New Day might be the most unsettling Spider-Man story we’ve seen on screen.

And still… MJ

The trailer closes things out with a quiet moment.

Peter shows up at MJ’s door with flowers, trying to reconnect in the simplest way he can.

She smiles. Introduces herself. Like they’ve never met. And Peter, of course, plays along. Just a friendly neighbor from across the hall.

It’s soft. It’s painful. And it lands harder than any punch in the trailer.

I’m all in

Between Frank Castle’s brutality, Bruce Banner’s warning, the arrival of Scorpion, and the possibility of a full-on Man-Spider transformation…

Yeah. This one feels different.

Can’t wait. I’m so hyped.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is coming to theaters on July 31. In the Philippines, the movie will start showing on July 29.

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Entertainment

NCAA March Madness to stream on Disney+

Disney+ expands sports offerings anew

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March 17, 2026

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Disney+ has significantly expanded its sports offerings on the streaming platform with the addition of the 2026 March Madness.

Both the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments — one of the most anticipated events in American collegiate sports — will be streamed live on Disney+. This marks the expansion of ESPN’s global NCAA rights agreement onto the platform.

Both tournaments feature high-stakes, single-elimination formats with 68 squads each, building suspense from the opening rounds to the iconic Final Four.

Entering the 2026 tournament, the University of Florida Gators and University of Connecticut Huskies return as defending men’s and women’s champions, respectively.

The March Madness integration leverages ESPN’s long-standing NCAA rights portfolio, which includes more than 40 championship events.

ESPN has been the exclusive broadcaster for Women’s March Madness for over three decades now, and the development marks a strategic shift to bring live collegiate sports to Disney+ audiences across several regions.

The development also comes after the recent global rebranding of Star to Hulu, as well as the integration of live NBA games.

With a unified interface, there’s even more sports content for subscribers to browse, ranging from live broadcasts to acclaimed sports documentaries.

There’s the 30 for 30 series, Bad Boys, D. Wade: Life Unexpected, Dream On, and even The Last Dance featuring Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ 1997-98 run.

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