How blockchain could let fans own piece of favorite K-pop songs

Intellectual property (IP) has become one of the most powerful economic engines of the digital age — especially in entertainment, where content can fuel entire industries. Korea's global success in exporting K-pop, webtoons and dramas offers a vivid example. Yet despite an estimated $60 trillion in value, the global IP market remains largely illiquid and opaque. Most transactions occur behind closed doors, brokered through private contracts or corporate licensing deals. This lack of transparency has left the market underleveraged, industry officials say. A report from the Korea Institute of Intellectual Property found that securitizing and making domestic music copyrights tradable could create a market worth up to 22 trillion won ($14.9 billion). That’s nearly 10 times the value of Korea's music industry exports in 2024, which totaled around 2 trillion won. One blockchain startup is betting it can change that. Aria Protocol, established this January, is building a tokenized IP platform that allows such rights to be fractionalized, traded and monetized on blockchain. The company's foundWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times