Entertainment
Hundreds of K-Pop songs by KakaoM removed from Spotify
Including songs from IU, LOONA, Dreamcatcher, GFRIEND, SEVENTEEN, MAMAMOO, and more
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:
artists that had their stuff on spotify deleted, a thread
wei
kim wooseok
the boyz
d1ce
bibi
minseo
iu
victon
pink fantasy
epik high
cherry bullet
oneus
e’last
cravity
giriboy
june
kim sunggyu
bae173
moonbyul
dpr live
wh3n
woo!ah!
hyolyn
code kunst
drippin
jannabi
jukjae— ً (@lemonphobic) February 28, 2021
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.
FIRST YOU RUIN LOONA’S SALES AND THEIR CHANCE FOR A FIRST WIN IN 2019, NOW YOU REMOVE HALF OF THE SONGS I LISTEN TO ON SPOTIFY……THIS IS IT…….YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE END OF ME KAKAO M I WANT YOU GONE FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!
— nina! (@jeonsbits) February 28, 2021
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.
kakao m: removes their artist’ songs from spotify
kpop stans: lets boycott spotify
spotify: pic.twitter.com/029yZmZVBU
— ً (@jjkpremacist) March 1, 2021
With KakaoM’s Melon ownership, international fans have joked around that signing up to Melon will never happen.
Lmao Kakao M thought people gonna go to Melon after they remove their content from Spotify but instead we all went to YouTube music and apple music pic.twitter.com/lAQe330xgt
— ☁⁷ ¦ SEOKJIN’S VOCALS ARE HEAVEN ITSELF (@millkygyuu) March 1, 2021
The fury of the K-Pop international fanbase might have made KakaoM realize their wrong action.
Kakao M after realizing removing songs on spotify is a stupid move: pic.twitter.com/6oT9zDWXbu
— minwon ; \⁷ D-2 (@Meaniethepooh) March 1, 2021
Orbits aren’t late to the meme party
Orbits KakaoM
thinking removing
this week 2 #LOONA
is albums from
finally over: Spotify: pic.twitter.com/iKCZRadiQ1— TEAMLOONA (@loonateams) March 1, 2021
It seems like every K-Pop fan is transferring to YouTube Music (not even Apple Music)
Spotify and Kakao m issue
~
Meanwhile youtube music: pic.twitter.com/QEtPv0D9EL— JunHoshi 1+🐯 (@YeyHuihuiii) March 1, 2021
KakaoM as Thanos, anyone?
Kakao M, which holds the streaming rights to many South Korean artists (and owns Melon), have pulled out of their license agreement with Spotify causing many Korean songs and artists to be unavailable on Spotify worldwide.
When you can’t handle the competition … pic.twitter.com/no13lEpUb6
— Nuice Media (@nuicemedia) March 1, 2021
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.
Entertainment
The new LG OLED evo AI G6 is trusted by Hollywood professionals
New TV features 12-bit processing, peak brightness, anti-reflective screen
LG Electronics recently hosted an exclusive industry showcase at Los Angeles-based post-production company Picture Shop, giving Hollywood’s top technical minds a first look at the new LG OLED evo AI G6.
The event gathered esteemed cinematic experts, including veteran color scientist Joshua Pines (Blade Runner, The Revenant). He was joined by cinematographer and Johanna Coelho and colorist Tony D’Amore from the award-winning series The Pitt.
Together, the esteemed guests evaluated the consumer display to check whether it truly respects a filmmaker’s original creative intent.
The LG OLED evo AI G6 introduces Hyper Radiant Color Technology, paired with Brightness Booster Ultra.
Together, the features push screen brightness pushing screen brightness up to 3.9 times higher than conventional models.
Additionally, driven by the new α (Alpha) 11 AI Processor Gen3, the television balances these piercing highlights while preserving true blacks and micro-details within deep shadows.
A major talking point for the panel of experts was the G6’s upgraded 12-bit internal video processing pipeline, a significant jump from traditional 10-bit systems.
This architectural upgrade completely eliminates color banding and digital noise across subtle gradations, achieving an image quality profile that reliably mirrors high-end studio reference monitors.
Furthermore, the screen halves ambient light reflection compared to previous generations, earning it an official “Reflection-Free Premium” certification from a global validation body.
When Superman premiered last year, it was carrying over a decade’s worth of baggage from the ultra-gritty Snyderverse. It held the promise of a fresh superhero world that emphasizes fun. Now, Supergirl is no different. Whereas Superman was tasked with restarting a dying cinematic universe, Supergirl wants to prove that the former wasn’t just a one-hit wonder, and it does exactly that amid a few struggles.
Though David Corenswet’s Superman does make quite a few cameos in the film, Supergirl is about Clark Kent’s titular cousin. It’s also based on the award-winning book, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, written by Tom King.
Celebrating her 23rd birthday, Kara Zor-El travels to planets with a red sun, the only places where she can get drunk as a Kryptonian. In one planet, she meets Ruthye Marye Knoll, who, after seeing Supergirl’s resilience, asks Kara to hunt Krem, the leader of the Brigands who killed her whole family. Kara initially refuses, but when Krem poisons Krypto, her dog, she goes off on her own to find the Brigand.
A classic tale of revenge
As with the original book, Supergirl is a tale of reluctant revenge instigated by a child desperate for it and a more mature mentor who knows better. Despite Kara’s nihilistic tendencies, she believes that revenge isn’t the right path for Ruthye.
It’s your standard fare of a revenge tale, somewhat bordering on a classic Western. In essence, it follows much of the structure of the original book. There are, however, some interesting changes, which may or may not be helpful to the story.
By switching to a more traditional plot structure, Supergirl trades away the book’s fleshed out relationship between Kara and Ruthye. Though Kara still cares for her young protégé, Ruthye has unfortunately been reduced to a fiery platitude, telling people who she is and how much she wants to kill Krem. At one point, Kara even makes fun of her little speech.
Krem, on the other hand, feels much more ferocious. Though the book’s Krem was evil in his own right, he was more of a mundane type of evil, just-an-average-Joe evil. The movie’s Krem is the type you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. He looks like he took a few too many steroids.
On the one hand, these changes make for a smoother film. Though the movie starts off slow, it eventually rolls towards a superhero-level fight at the end. On the other, it loses the message of the original story about the complexities of revenge.
On James Gunn’s universe
Normally, it’s a compliment to have a movie comparable to a James Gunn movie. There is another side to the coin, though.
Despite being tagged as fundamentally different from the tone of Superman, it’s clear that Supergirl was influenced by Gunn’s vision. There are jokes, random aliens, and a liberal use of older songs. On a micro level, it just doesn’t hit as hard as a Gunn flick, though.
For one, in a Gunn movie, each unnamed alien has so much character that you’d hardly believe that they’re just extras. In Supergirl, background characters, even those with speaking roles, don’t lift up from the screen. They just blend into the background. Likewise, the Brigands, despite how much eviler their actions are, don’t look like anything beyond generic sci-fi villains.
On a larger scale, keeping up with Gunn’s vision makes sense. Supergirl’s take on Kara’s story complements Superman’s story so well. Kara’s origin, explored in the film, contrasts with Clark’s. Ultimately, it helps turn Clark and Kara into fully fleshed out characters, rather than the tired stereotypes of Mr. Goody Two Shoes and his apathetic sidekick.
It also helps that Lobo, played by Jason Momoa, adds an interestingly cosmic element to the universe’s growing cast of characters. Finally spreading his wings away from Aquaman, Momoa has finally found a role perfect for him. He steals all the scenes that he’s in.
Should you watch Supergirl?
Supergirl is not on the same level as Superman. While the latter is Gunn at his absolute best, the former is a Gunn-esque film that drops the original story’s message in favor of a plot friendlier to the big screen.
That doesn’t mean that it’s a bad movie. In fact, it does well to expand the lore started by the first film. Supergirl is still a worthy, albeit smaller, addition to the growing DCU oeuvre.
Global K-pop sensation LE SSERAFIM is returning to BlizzCon.
Blizzard Entertainment has announced that the five-member girl group will perform as the closing musical act at BlizzCon 2026. LE SSERAFIM will take the Main Stage on Sunday, September 13 (PT), bringing fans another live performance after its BlizzCon debut in 2023.
The appearance also comes ahead of the group’s upcoming U.S. tour. Blizzard teased that the performance will make it a “Perfect Night” for fans attending the convention at the Anaheim Convention Center.
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LE SSERAFIM returns to Blizzard
LE SSERAFIM debuted in 2022 under SOURCE MUSIC, a label of HYBE. The group is composed of Sakura Miyawaki, Kim Chaewon, Huh Yunjin, Kazuha Nakamura, and Hong Eunchae.
The group’s name is an anagram of “I’m Fearless,” reflecting the confidence that has defined its music since debut.
This won’t be LE SSERAFIM’s first crossover with Blizzard. The group previously collaborated with Overwatch 2, bringing themed cosmetics and a special event to the hero shooter.
BlizzCon 2026 is sold out
BlizzCon is Blizzard Entertainment’s annual community celebration. It brings together fans of World of Warcraft, Diablo IV, Overwatch 2, and other Blizzard franchises for game announcements, developer panels, esports, cosplay, and hands-on experiences.
Passes for BlizzCon 2026 have already sold out. However, Blizzard says tickets may still become available through the Tixr public resale marketplace.
Fans can learn more about LE SSERAFIM’s appearance on Blizzard’s official blog.
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