AI-generated music enters South Korea's Melon charts amid copyright debate

Music created with generative artificial intelligence is making its way onto South Korea's major music charts, including one long considered a tough ceiling for K-pop groups.

A song by YouTube channel "Joseon Hiphop" became the first AI-generated track to enter Melon's Top 100 on Sept. 6. "Forest of the Heart," released in May, later fell off the chart on Sept. 8.

Other songs by the channel, which has more than 175,000 subscribers, are still on Melon's charts.

As of Sunday, three songs by Joseon HipHop, including "As I Lived...," "A Well Called Heart" and "Just Do It," have ranked on Melon's Hot 100. The chart tracks music released within the past 30 to 100 days based on hourly usage.

According to Melon, people in their 40s accounted for 38 percent of its listeners, followed by 30s at 33 percent and 20s at 11 percent, showing the age group's distinct response to K-pop music.

The songs were created using the AI music generator "Suno" for both its composition and vocals.

"I think people enjoy the lyrics, because rather than telling them what to do, the lyrics tell them it's okay to rest after all they've been through," the music creator told a local media outlet. "I heard that breaking the 100th and 110th place range on Melon is the toughest to move up to, so I'm happy that the song entered the chart."

Joseon Hiphop added that a remake project is underway, with a human singer set to sing its "Forest of the Heart."

Despite the growing popularity of AI-generated music, Joseon Hiphop does not receive copyright royalties from the songs.

South Korea currently does not grant copyright to music created with AI. Instead, creators receive neighboring rights fees when the songs are used or streamed.

The Korea Music Copyright Association announced a new guideline on Aug. 3, stating that if a human creator took an active role in writing lyrics, composing music, or arranging music using AI, the human-created part could be registered in trust.

The guideline never took effect, however, after objections from the cultural sector. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the policy would require broader public discussion before adoption.