This article is by Shin Ha-nee and read by an artificial voice.

While K-pop acts such as BTS and Blackpink still dominate global perceptions of Korean music, the country's indie scene is steadily carving out its own place in the international spotlight.
"Beyond the mainstream, Korea's indie and alternative scenes are thriving," noted Marty Ro, the vice chair of Record Label Industry Association of Korea (LIAK), during the Asia-Pacific Music Summit on Tuesday.
"The indie market has grown about 13 percent annually since 2020," Ro said, adding that indie bands such as Hyukoh, Se So Neon and Wave To Earth "redefined what Korean music can sound like internationally."
The Asia-Pacific Music Summit, co-hosted by Independent Music Coalition Japan (IMCJ) and LIAK, took place in western Seoul on Tuesday and featured music industry executives and experts - from Korea, Japan, China, India, Australia and New Zealand - who discussed the evolving landscape of the regional music market.
Ro, who also serves as the CEO of music distributor Sound Republica, highlighted that Korea's music industry is expected to outpace most of its global peers in growth through 2030, driven by cross-border collaboration, fandom economy and immersive live experiences, both physical and virtual.
However, challenges remain, including royalty distribution, low streaming value and the rapid rise of AI-generated content.
"Technology is inseparable from music creation," said Ro. "The challenge is balancing innovation with ethics, ensuring the artists' rights and creativity remain respected."
Panelists for the Tuesday event also included Brendan Gaffney, the global marketing secretariat at IMCJ; Tinko Georgiev, the vice president of Kanjian Music from China; Sridhar Swaminathan, the secretary of South India Music Companies Association; and Dylan Pellett, the general manager at Independent Music New Zealand.
Georgiev described China's music market as "notoriously difficult to understand," stressing the importance of partnering with local players to navigate it effectively.
Georgiev cited the "silver economy," or the growing elderly demographic of music consumers, and AI-generated music as two key trends shaping China's music future.
"One of the main reasons we have these kinds of associations and collaborations like the APAC Music Summit is that independent music artists and labels have difficulties finding proper partners in other countries," said Ro of LIAK. "So through these kinds of events and also using trade associations such as IMCJ and LIAK […] we can easily find proper partners over there."

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