by “K-pop is the result of the idol and the staff meeting, and the fandom multiplied. However, fans don’t just meet the idol. And they want to experience K-pop itself through cultural bonding. At some point, I had the same thought that I wanted to give my song to Korea’s top K-pop vocal trainer. Tune Jam started from this idea.”
Kim Min-Seok, CEO of K-Pop Factory, who has been leading the nation’s largest comprehensive entertainment academy for 15 years since establishing ‘Sand Factory Academy,’ started a new challenge with ‘Tune Jam,’ a K-pop-related IT service, in April 2020. CEO Kim Min-Seok first stepped into the market as a vocal trainer 15 years ago, and now he is renowned as the only vocal trainer who trained all four major agencies: YG, SM, JYP, and Hive. Then, I had time to listen to the pictures he drew in the K-pop market and his goals.
We aim for the K-pop market with our music evaluation system.
As CEO Kim, who started a one-pyeong company 15 years ago and is now leading a leading vocal training academy, is a natural result of entering the K-pop market. But why did you come to the market as an application? I asked for an explanation of his approach. CEO Kim said, “I took on a new challenge while operating the vocal academy because of Corona 19. Due to the coronavirus, the academy was ordered to ban gatherings, so I started doing business non-face-to-face, but it started with the influx of students from China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. I did,” he said.
He continued, “Overseas K-Pop fans did not just take classes for educational purposes, but also showed a passionate attitude, such as wanting to record and deliver songs to a vocal trainer and hear their evaluations and possibilities. So, we create a service to meet them. In April 2020, I decided to set up K-Pop Factory, opened the Tune Jam service in June last year, and started introducing the official service in November.” In this process, as well as encouraging cooperation between entertainment companies, Upbit CEO Seok-woo Lee is said to have helped a lot with business operation from the initial investment.
K-Pop Factory’s ‘Tune Jam,’ started because of this process, is a non-face-to-face vocal training service that connects overseas K-pop fans with a vocal trainer who can evaluate music qualitatively. When K-pop fans sign up for the Tune Jam service and record videos needed to assess music, famous vocal trainers with more than ten years of experience or incumbents directly evaluate the music and give feedback. The evaluation process is also based on the ‘FMSO voice type analysis method’ by CEO Kim himself.
FMSO is an evaluation method that calculates scores for each of six areas, such as voice, pitch, and rhythm, as well as expected levels, sound characteristics, and vocal habits as quantitative data. In particular, the focus is on the element of experience rather than experience, such as recommending idol singers with similar vocalizations and leveling up after undergoing corrections. Currently, vocal trainers directly evaluate it, and about 35,000 cases of data have been secured. As more data accumulates, the VOAI algorithm, which uses artificial intelligence to assess music skills, will expand the analysis speed and scope of use.
Analysis and training services, even preparing for auditions for B2B2C.
However, I still think that the process of non-face-to-face training between users and experts is still a red ocean. What is Tune Jam’s strategy to survive in this market? CEO Kim said, “It is the biggest competitiveness for vocal trainers representing Korea to evaluate and analyze songs directly. Another difference is the scope of the business to be expanded and the educational video service. The user has weak breathing power. Correct the vocalization like this. You can receive the same short form training video and a detailed report. Also, videos can be created and shared through augmented reality or filter effects, so fans can create and share them like TikTok.” This process was summarized as ‘just like entering an aquarium and enjoying it along the way, you can experience it while passing through the K-pop channel by subscribing to the Tune Jam service.’
In addition, an explanation of the audition service scheduled to open in the third quarter of this year was also added. The audition service is a method that provides a foothold for overseas K-pop fans to participate in auditions held by famous domestic entertainment such as YG, Brand New Music, and RBW and to advance into the entertainment industry. In fact, in January, he auditioned with AI graphic company PULSE9. He found a voice to be active in the virtual idol’ ETERNITY’, and in April, along with AI content producer Enter Arts, ‘Amy Moon,’ the official creator of Naver ZEPETO, ‘Amy Moon,’ ‘he held the ‘Amy Moon Vocal Audition’ for his debut as a singer-songwriter, and proved his potential by selecting real singers.
Eight months after the official service, we asked about Tune Jam’s achievements. CEO Kim said, “We are upgrading VOAI by securing about 35,000 evaluation data. VOAI technology has been recognized for its competitiveness by playing a leading role in selecting TIPS (private investment-led technology startup support) by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in June. Thanks to this, it has achieved 400,000 downloads in 8 months and secured 70,000 monthly users. Of these, 95% of users are overseas users from India, Southeast Asia, and South America so that you can feel the popularity of K-pop.”
Create a community where the K-pop fandom becomes one
As CEO Kim already has a deep understanding of the Korean entertainment industry, he was prepared for the question of how to lead Tune Jam in the future. CEO Kim said, “In addition to the audition service to be held in September of this year, we are also preparing to collaborate with foreign artists with the help of the entertainment industry and the entertainment industry. Based on 16 types of FMSO, he will create a 3D character that touches K content to raise users’ accessibility and enthusiasm for education. He will establish and implement a strategy to naturally lead to commoditization.”
The community he is talking about goes beyond Tune Jam’s evaluation and education process, transcending language barriers and creating a space where K-pop fans worldwide can communicate on the topic of K-pop. In particular, CEO Kim Min-Seok is leading Tune Jam based on his unique know-how and market understanding, unlike large IT platforms and companies approaching IP and goods without understanding the entertainment industry. That is why we are looking forward to how much his efforts to create a world united with K-pop will shine.
