 | |
Screenshot .PNG) Screenshot of Melon's new interface, launched in August 2016 | |
Type of site | OMS |
|---|---|
| Available in | Korean |
| Founded | November 16, 2004 |
| Owner | Kakao Entertainment |
| Created by | SK Telecom |
| URL | www.melon.com |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Required, for South Koreans only[1] |
| Users | 4~5 million (in South Korea alone, as of 2018) |
| Launched | November 16, 2004 |
Melon (Korean: 멜론; RR: Mellon) is a South Korean online music store and music streaming service introduced in November 2004, and developed by SK Telecom. LOEN Entertainment (became Kakao M and then Kakao Entertainment) became the company-in-charge of the service in 2009. In 2017, Kakao merged Kakao Music into Melon to have one, unified music streaming service.[2]
Melon is South Korea's largest music subscription service, with over 28 million users. Melon is the most popular music streaming service in South Korea. In fact, a survey of users of smartphones found that they were the most used applications by Koreans.[3] Melon users can stream and download music and music videos and create custom ringtones.[4] Melon is available on Android and iOS.[citation needed]
The name "Melon" is a portmanteau of the phrase "melody on".[5]
History
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (October 2024) |
Melon was founded on November 16, 2004, in South Korea by SK Telecom, South Korea's largest wireless carrier. It attracted more than 10,000 subscribers per day on average, surpassing 310,000 on its first few months.[6] In October 2008, SK Telecom transferred the majority of Melon's stock to its shareholder Loen Entertainment for approximately 24.3 billion KRW.[7] In July 2013, SK Planet, a subsidiary of SK Telecom, sold 52.56% of its stake in Loen Entertainment to Star Invest Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Affinity Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm.[8] Later in January 2016, Kakao acquired a 76.4% stake in the company for 1.87 trillion won (approximately $1.64 billion).[9][10] In 2018, Kakao M spun-off from Kakao, but Melon stayed.[citation needed]
In 2021, Melon merged with Kakao Entertainment and rebranded itself as "Melon M". This joint venue aimed to secure their leadership in the showbiz industry. Lee Jae-wook will lead the joint. At that time, the streaming platform boasted 33 million users and around 5 million paying users.[11]
International operations
In 2010, Melon was launched by SK Telecom in Indonesia, in partnership with Telkom Indonesia.[12] In 2016, Telkom Indonesia bought all the stake formerly owned by SK Telecom following the SK Telecom's divestment from all Melon businesses, thus making Melon Indonesia an Indonesian company.[13]
Promotions
Music programs on TV
.PNG)
Melon is the main sponsor of the following music-related shows:
- Inkigayo (SBS, October 2010 – December 2016, re-sponsored since February 2017 - December 2023. Previously known as Popular Song and The Music Trend.)
- Show! Music Core (MBC, August 2014 – March 2018)
- Show Champion (MBC Music, January 2013 – May 2018)
- You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook (KBS 2TV)
- Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend (KBS 2TV)(February 2012 - 2021)
- K-pop Star (SBS, all six seasons from 2011 to 2017)
- Tribe of Hip Hop (JTBC)
- King of Mask Singer (MBC, since June 2017)[a]
- MIXNINE (JTBC) (2017–2018)
- Music Bank (KBS 2TV, since January 2020)
Melon Music Awards
In 2009, LOEN Entertainment launched the Melon Music Awards (MMA), an award-giving body dedicated to calculating digital sales and online votes to judge the winners.[15]
Achievements
 |
Songs with the most weeks at number one
| Weeks | Artist | Song | Year released |
Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Aespa | "Supernova" | 2024 | [16] |
| Huntrix | "Golden" | 2025 | [17] | |
| 14 | NewJeans | "Ditto" | 2022 | [18] |
| 11 | G-Dragon | "Home Sweet Home" | 2024 | [citation needed] |
| BTS | "Dynamite" | 2020 | [19] | |
| 9 | AKMU | "Love Lee" | 2023 | [20] |
| 8 | Yoon Do-hyun | "I Guess I Loved You" | 2005 | [18] |
| BigBang | "Last Farewell" | 2007 | ||
| Girls' Generation | "Gee" | 2009 | ||
| Zico | "Any Song" | 2020 | ||
| Mirani, Munchman, Khundi Panda, Mushvenom feat. Justhis | "VVS" | |||
| Brave Girls | "Rollin'" | 2017 |
Longest charting songs on weekly chart
| Weeks | Artist | Song | Current position[21] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 446 | BTS | "Spring Day" | OUT | |
| 388 | Paul Kim | "Every Day, Every Moment" | 49 | |
| 273 | AKMU | "How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You're the One I Love" | 31 | |
| 271 | Lim Young-woong | "Trust in Me" | OUT | |
| 237 | BTS | "Dynamite" | OUT | |
| 226 | Sung Si-kyung | "Every Moment Of You" | 48 | |
| 224 | GyeongseoYeji & Jun Gun-ho | "If You Lovingly Call My Name" | 57 | |
| 209 | Jannabi | "For lovers who hesitate" | 46 | |
| 208 | Lim Young-Wong | "Love always runs away" | ||
| 197 | Kim Min-Seok | "Drunken Confession" | 96 | |
| As of October 31, 2025 | ||||
Most liked songs of all time
| Likes | Artist | Song | Year released |
Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 512,625 | BTS | "Spring Day" | 2017 | [22] |
| 488,691 | AKMU | "How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You're the One I Love" | 2019 | [23] |
| 469,462 | BTS | "Dynamite" | 2020 | [22] |
| 457,726 | IU | "Through the Night" | 2017 | [24] |
| 449,929 | Jannabi | "For Lovers Who Hesitate" | 2019 | [25] |
| 438,238 | Paul Kim | "Every Day, Every Moment" | 2018 | [26] |
| 421,311 | BTS ft. Halsey | "Boy With Luv" | 2019 | [22] |
| 416,275 | Anne-Marie | "2002" | 2018 | [27] |
| 401,236 | IU ft. Suga | "Eight" | 2020 | [24] |
| 376,231 | DAY6 | "You Were Beautiful" | 2017 | [28] |
| As of October 26, 2025 | ||||
Most streamed artists of all time
| Streams (billions) |
Artist | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13.46 | BTS | [29] | |
| 12.28 | Lim Young-woong | [30] | |
| 9.63 | IU | [31] | |
| 8.54 | Exo | [32] | |
| 5.03 | Seventeen | [33] | |
| 4.47 | Kim Ho-joong | [34] | |
| 3.81 | Bolbbalgan4 | [35] | |
| 3.59 | BigBang | [36] | |
| 3.33 | Taeyeon | [37] | |
| 3.26 | Davichi | [38] | |
| As of September 5, 2025 | |||
All-time records
- Most streamed artist: BTS (13.23B streams)[29]
- Most streamed song: Lim Young-woong – "Trust in Me" (1.06B streams)
- Song with most unique listeners: BTS – "Spring Day" (8.6M ULs)
- Longest-running No 1 song on realtime chart: Huntrix, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami - "Golden (2398 hours)
- Longest-running No 1 song on daily chart: Huntrix, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami - " Golden" (102 days)
- Longest-running No 1 song on weekly chart: Aespa – "Supernova,[16] Huntrix, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami - Golden (15 weeks)
- Longest-running No 1 song on monthly chart: Huntrix, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami - "Golden" (4 months)
- Longest-running Top 10 song on weekly chart: WOODZ – "Drowning" (51 weeks and counting)
- Longest-running Top 10 song on yearly chart: Paul Kim – "Every Day, Every Moment",[39] BTS (feat. Halsey) – "Boy with Luv"[40] (2 years)
- Longest-running Top 100 song on daily chart: BTS – "Spring Day [41]
- Longest-running Top 100 song on weekly chart: BTS – "Spring Day" (446 weeks)
- Longest-running Top 100 song on yearly chart: BTS – "Spring Day" (7 years)[41]
- Most roof-hit song: Zico – "Any Song" (51 roof-hits)[42]
- Most unique listeners for a song in 1st 24 hours: IU – "Bbibbi" (1,462,625 ULs)[43]
Accolades
Melon, a leading music streaming service in South Korea, has achieved significant recognition over the years for its impact on the music industry and its innovative features. In 2011, it was honored as one of "Korea's Best 25 Apps" at the App Awards Korea, highlighting its popularity and user-friendly design.[44]
Melon was recognized at the 2012 Trusted Brand Awards.[45]
Melon won the "Grand Prize for Digital Contents" in the 2012 Korean Digital Management Innovation Awards.[46]
Melon was recognized in the 2012 Korea Brand Power Index.[47]
Ilgan Sports ranked Melon as the 3rd most influential entity in the K-pop industry in a November 2013 poll in celebration of its 44th anniversary.[48]
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "Terms: GENERAL". MelOn. LOEN Entertainment, Inc.
- ^ 카카오 뮤직→멜론, 통합 '확정'·시기 '미정'.
- ^ 박, 현익 (April 23, 2021). 국내 음악은 '멜론'이 부동의 1등…'스포티파이' 초반 성적표는 7등. ChosunBiz (in Korean). Retrieved May 1, 2021.
- ^ "South Korea's Biggest Music Subscription Service Acquired by Mobile Messaging Company". Billboard. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ Seung Si-yeon, Park Jong-geun (December 3, 2011). "Shin Won-soo, representing Korea's largest OMS, "MelOn"". JoongAng Ilbo. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
- ^ Yang, Hyung-wook (December 14, 2004). "SK·LG텔 MP3음악포털 '대박'조짐" [Signs of SK·LG Tel MP3 music portal 'big hit']. Financial News (in Korean). Retrieved March 19, 2023 – via Naver.
- ^ Chae, Su-woong (October 24, 2008). "SK텔레콤, 음악사업 멜론 로엔으로 양도" [SK Telecom transfers music business to Melon Loen]. Digital Daily (in Korean). Retrieved March 19, 2023 – via Naver.
- ^ Kim, Min-ki (July 18, 2013). "SK플래닛, 로엔 지분 52% '2659억'에 매각" [SK Planet sells 52% stake in Loen for '265.9 billion']. Newsis (in Korean). Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ Min, Sang-sik (January 12, 2016). [슈퍼리치]음악 플랫폼에 1조9000억 베팅한 '김범수' 의도는. Herald Pop (in Korean). Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ Lee, Min-hyung (August 14, 2017). "Kakao angers music streaming fans – The Korea Times". The Korea Times. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ Jun-hee, Park (July 15, 2021). "Kakao Entertainment to merge with music streaming platform Melon". The Korea Herald. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
- ^ "Melon Indonesia". Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
- ^ eck. "MelOn kini 100% Merah Putih – Indotelko".
- ^ "Sbskpop X Inkigayo" 스브스케이팝 / SBS KPOP. YouTube.
- ^ Nam, An-woo (November 9, 2009). 멜론, 연말 음악 시상식 개최…"공정성 담보될 것". My Daily. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023 – via Naver.
- ^ a b Seon, Mi-kyung (September 2, 2024). 에스파, 이젠 '차트 종결자' [Aespa, now 'Chart Terminator']. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
- ^ 올해 K팝 신은 이 매거진으로 정리 가능. 😎 2025년을 빛낸 곡들의 Data! [This year's K-pop scene can be summarized in this magazine. 😎 Data on the songs that shone in 2025!].
- ^ a b Ahn, Byeong-gil (August 29, 2023). 뉴진스, 멜론퀸···7주연속 1위 [New Jeans, Melon Queen... No. 1 for 7 consecutive weeks]. Sports Kyunghyang. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
- ^ Lee, Su-hyeon (February 28, 2023). 또 한 번 붙은 최초-최다 수식어…뉴진스 '디토', 10주 연속 1위 [Another First-Most Adjective… New Jeans' 'Ditto', 1st Place for 10 Consecutive Weeks]. Top Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Koh, Seung-hee (January 9, 2024). 또 한 번 붙은 최초-최다 수식어…뉴진스 '디토', 10주 연속 1위 [New Jeans, Ive, (G)I-dle… It was the golden age of girl groups]. Herald Economy (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
- ^ 멜론차트>주간>장르종합 [Melon Chart > Week > Genre Comprehensive] (in Korean). Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^ a b c 방탄소년단 [BTS]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved December 9, 2024.
- ^ 악뮤 [AKMU]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved December 9, 2024.
- ^ a b 아이유 [IU]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved December 9, 2024.
- ^ 잔나비 [Jannabi]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved December 9, 2024.
- ^ 폴킴 [Paul Kim]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved December 9, 2024.
- ^ "Anne-Marie". Melon (in Korean). Retrieved December 9, 2024.
- ^ "DAY6 (데이식스)". Melon (in Korean). Retrieved October 26, 2025.
- ^ a b 방탄소년단 [BTS]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^ 임영웅 [Lim Young-woong]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^ 아이유 [IU]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^ "Exo". Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^ 세븐틴 [Seventeen]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^ 김호중 [Kim Ho-joong]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^ 볼빨간 사춘기 [Bolbbalgan4]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^ 빅뱅 [BigBang]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^ 태연 [Taeyeon]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^ 다비치 [Davichi]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^ Melon 연간 차트 추이 [Melon Annual Chart Trends] (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ Melon 연간 차트 추이 [Melon Annual Chart Trends] (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ a b Lee, Jae-hoon (August 13, 2024). 방탄소년단 '봄날', 멜론 첫 10억 스트리밍↑ [BTS "Spring Day," Melon's first 1 billion streams ↑]. Newsis (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 13, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ Melon 지붕킥 횟수 랭킹 (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- ^ Melon 24시간 이용자수 / October 11, 2018 (목) 18시 (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
- ^ "2011 App Awards Korea". Melon. LOEN Entertainment, Inc.
- ^ "2012 Trusted Brand Awards". Melon. LOEN Entertainment, Inc.
- ^ "2012 Korean Digital Management Innovation Awards". Melon. LOEN Entertainment, Inc.
- ^ "2012 Korea Brand Power Index". Melon. LOEN Entertainment, Inc.
- ^ Eom, Dong-jin; Kim, Jin-seok (September 26, 2013). [창간특집] 가요계 파워랭킹 1위, 브랜드 SM·가수 GD [[Introductory Feature] No. 1 in the power ranking in the music industry, brand SM and singer GD]. Ilgan Sports (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 1, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
External links
- Official website (in Korean)
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