JY Park Says People Power the Music in Asia not CDs

With the arrival of digital downloads in Asia, South Korean media mogul JY Park is turning to human talent to make up for the failing CD market. With megastars Rain, Joon Park, new pop sensations the Wonder Girls and more on the way, JY Park is paving the path for a new movement in the Asian music industry.

Park told AFP in an interview during the MIDEM music trade show:

“We don’t make music, we make stars.”

Park Jin-Young, the singer-songwriter and founder of JYP Entertainment, a major Korean pop label, believes that the CD format will disappear and that his company is profitable without selling records.

Park said that 50% of the company’s revenue came from advertisement endorsements and the other 50% came from films, TV and digital downloads. Park was inspired by Motown Records, which focused on nurturing talented artists over several years, and he said:

“It’s weird, because Motown is American, and American companies aren’t doing it.”

It isn’t a new approach, but it does seem to work.

Should labels focus on cultivating talent, instead of sales?

Photo via koreanculture.org
Source: AFP