Do you consider K-Pop mainstream in the US?

For Kpop to be truly mainstream in the US, the "K" will have to be further diluted using phraseology from Hitman Bang.

A big factor in Kpop's success to date is the lack of local competition (bg's and gg's). But the dependent nature of relationships with major labels have both helped and limited the expansion efforts of the Big 4. Plus, they have to cater to the domestic market as well.

As the major labels see the demand and want in on the action, the next step is a test of the localization strategy in the US that Kpop companies have used in Japan and China. This is already well underway with JYP's x Republic's A2K and HYBE x Geffen's global gg joint ventures.

It remains to be seen if Xpop can become mainstream - whether the breakout group will be a Korean based global group like NewJeans or XG or a homegrown one if technology is shared and the tech transfer is attempted and completed. Once technology is open sourced, crazy things happen.

Quote from oneinamiyeon

For Kpop to be truly mainstream in the US, the "K" will have to be further diluted using phraseology from Hitman Bang.

A big factor in Kpop's success to date is the lack of local competition (bg's and gg's). But the dependent nature of relationships with major labels have both helped and limited the expansion efforts of the Big 4. Plus, they have to cater to the domestic market as well.

As the major labels see the demand and want in on the action, the next step is a test of the localization strategy in the US that Kpop companies have used in Japan and China. This is already well underway with JYP's x Republic's A2K and HYBE x Geffen's global gg joint ventures.

It remains to be seen if Xpop can become mainstream - whether the breakout group will be a Korean based global group like NewJeans or XG or a homegrown one if technology is shared and the tech transfer is attempted and completed. Once technology is open sourced, crazy things happen.

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do you have doubts? i don't have any doubts about it. kpop doesn't stand a chance against xpop in america. these are in house built groups and massive marketing will be underway for them more than bts ever got in their career. what remains to be seen whether they can recreate the company rivalry of kpop with umg, sony and warner.

Quote from kirishiki

I don't think anime is niche. Pokemon go was the biggest game in the world during release and gaming market is bigger than music and movie market combined.

Sure thing, but sometimes things break its niche market and reach mainstream audience

Quote from chilltime

do you have doubts? i don't have any doubts about it. kpop doesn't stand a chance against xpop in america. these are in house built groups and massive marketing will be underway for them more than bts ever got in their career. what remains to be seen whether they can recreate the company rivalry of kpop with umg, sony and warner.

Yes the major labels will for sure push hard as they have skin in the game. And an important part of "Kpop technology" is indeed fandom culture which is part of the transfer (even if its not fully transferabie).

But a good analogy is chip manufacturing which, like bg's and gg's, the US pioneered and outgrew. Though the US gov't has given some incentives to TSMC to move some of its operations to the US, there have been many challenges:

- The shallow pool of STEM graduates and engineering talent in the US (is there a culture where the most talented/good looking aspire to be idols?)

- Conflicts from cultural differences in terms of work ethic/worker's rights/labor cost (are trainees willing to undergo years of the intense training required to be competitive will little pay and no guarantee of debut)

- Well established and integrated supply chain (will there be music programs and variety shows that homegrown idol groups can use for marketing)

Who knows really, at the end of the day it'll ultimately depend on the quality of the artists themselves. Fun to speculate though.

KPop would have become mainstream if it were given 2 more years but it will just remain a strong genre.

I don’t consider it mainstream yet..even though I saw NJeans’ “Super Shy” MV play in Target.

No it's not and let's keep it that way. I've never met one person who listens to kpop but plenty who listen to rap and country.

It’s weird. Because mainstream is very hard, especially in terms of music. The US music industry is so big, that several genres or niches can do really well, without it being “mainstream”.

EDM i think is a very good example. It’s not mainstream in terms of radio or i’d be hard pressed to find anyone i work with who listens to it, but it has a crazy large following and EDM festivals are majorly popular.

Kpop is no where close to that (edm) but i think that’s the route kpop is heading. It might never be a staple of US culture like pop, country, hip-hop/rap, but it’ll continue to grow exponentially

Quote from Kouss

It’s weird. Because mainstream is very hard, especially in terms of music. The US music industry is so big, that several genres or niches can do really well, without it being “mainstream”.

EDM i think is a very good example. It’s not mainstream in terms of radio or i’d be hard pressed to find anyone i work with who listens to it, but it has a crazy large following and EDM festivals are majorly popular.

Kpop is no where close to that (edm) but i think that’s the route kpop is heading. It might never be a staple of US culture like pop, country, hip-hop/rap, but it’ll continue to grow exponentially

nail on the head

closest analogy is EDM. when an EDM fest rolls into a town, most casuals might recognise the top 2 names at best, but they sell out, have a community, have their own charts, dramas, success stories and the occasional crossover moment

and then their are some things that are so fundamental to the genre that will hinder full US mainstream appeal

- EDM: lots of 'instrumentals', repetitive nature

- Kpop: korean language (that's really it tbqh)

Quote from itiswhatitisss

It's Korea's version of Anime, a huge niche but casual fans are only likely to know Naruto/Pokemon or BTS/BP

NewJeans are the Demon Slayer of KPOP

this tracks

i don't know anime well but i know demon slayer

Kpop has probably grown to such a degree that people won't look at you like you have two heads if you mention it. Doees that make it mainstream? No, not at all. The vast majority of Americans still don't listen to it and wouldn't be able to name a single Kpop act (no, not even BTS.)

Quote from kirishiki

I don't think anime is niche. Pokemon go was the biggest game in the world during release and gaming market is bigger than music and movie market combined.

Except Pokemon isn't an anime that was given a mobile game, it's a game series that was given an anime. Anime is very much still seen as a niche "weeb" thing, at least among the adult generations, although Pokemon is a special case. It's mainstream enough that most people would just call the animated series a "cartoon" despite its Japanese origins.

No, BTS is mainstream in that a sizeable percentage of people know of them even if they don’t listen to or care about them. Other then them, nope, still very much a niche thing

not sure

no

Nope, BTS and Blackpink are known by "some" and even to them they are a novelty (outside of Kpop fans and the outliers for other asian centered entertainment). Here in the US, there is something for everyone. The pie is enormous and sliced a million ways... it would take South Korea changing its official language and the language in all it's songs for it to become truly mainstream here. We're not like SEA, our entertainment industry is already leaps and bounds larger and more diverse.