ASIAN PIRACY PROBLEMS

Yes, it’s another piracy story, but this one’s a little different. For one thing the artists concerned are Korean. These artists have been benefiting from a “Korean Wave”, during which Korean music has become popular in neighbouring Asian countries. However, with this comes a downside – widespread piracy, particularly in China and Taiwan. Their record houses acknowledge that since the governments of those two countries can’t do anything about piracy, they stand little chance of solving the problem themselves. As a result, Korean bands such as Shinhwa are tailoring their music to Japanese audiences and will be touring there rather than China and Taiwan.

Shinhwa. Merpel says "Miaow!"

The IPKat is disturbed by the idea of artists modifying their creative output in order to counter piracy but he wonders what they gain by cutting their links with China and Taiwan. Wouldn’t it be better to make what legitimate sales that they can in those two areas?

More on Korean culture here, here and here