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| ▲ The logo of this year's Circle Chart Music Awards. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, March 26 (Yonhap) -- The "Circle Chart Music Awards," one of the representative mainstream music awards in South Korea, will be indefinitely postponed.
According to a statement released on the 26th by the Korea Music Content Association, the decision to indefinitely postpone the awards ceremony was explained as a reflection on the essence and direction of music awards with deep and sincere consideration.
Instead, the Korea Music Content Association will conduct research and announce contract documents and guidelines for award ceremony appearances within the first half of this year, aiming to protect K-pop artists and prevent disputes between related industries.
The association stated, "Through these contract documents and guidelines, we will present the requirements for music awards that contribute to the development of our mainstream music industry and encourage various award ceremonies to comply with them," further explaining, "We will seek ways to respect artists' autonomy."
The Circle Chart Music Awards began as the 'Gaon Chart K-pop Awards' in 2012 and have been held a total of 13 times until January of this year. Based on Circle Chart data, which aggregates domestic and international music data, album sales, and SNS data, the awards honor popular artists in major categories. At the event held in January of this year, popular groups such as NCT Dream, TXT, and Stray Kids received honors.
Regarding the decision to indefinitely postpone the awards ceremony, the association expressed concerns about the recent proliferation of K-pop award ceremonies, stating, "There is concern about the recent surge in the organization of K-pop award ceremonies," and pointed out, "According to the association's research, there are over 20 mainstream music award ceremonies held annually."
Furthermore, they emphasized, "In recent years, over five new award ceremonies have been established, and three to four are expected to be established this year," adding, "We are not opposed to holding award ceremonies per se. However, some K-pop award ceremonies have become a means to pursue profit and are increasingly losing fairness and objectivity."
The association pointed out problems in recent K-pop award ceremonies, including economic burdens and fatigue for K-pop fans, threats to artists' health, competition for appearances, unclear selection criteria, and damage to the image of the K-pop industry.
The association admitted, "The Circle Chart Music Awards, previously organized by our association, cannot completely avoid these criticisms. We deeply regret this," and added, "The association will continue to explore the direction of the music industry as a whole and strive for K-pop to expand globally."
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