Debate renewed over pop ranking programs

There was a time when a new album was almost synonymous with a new million- seller for pop stars. Until the late `90s, the country`s top pop artists such as Kim Kun-mo, Shin Seung-hoon, Cho Sung-mo and Taeji Boys used to compete for the non-official but highly cherished status as "the best-selling musician of the year." A million-selling album was typically a minimum qualification.

Back then, another key criterion of a musician`s commercial success was major television and radio networks` music programs presenting a week`s top10 list of songs, which was calculated by combining various statistics from the week, based on public polls, how often each song was aired during the previous week, etc.

<**1>That type of program was abolished in 2001 as debate over the fairness of such criteria gathered momentum. A big part of the controversy involved the recognition that such popularity-based programs were biased too much in favor of the tastes of teenyboppers, and more seriously, regarding possible favoritism resulting from the access which artists` agents had to programmers.

With the pop music market always redefining the term "worst possible," regarding really poor sales, (there have been only two albums which have sold over 100,000 copies in the first half of this year), networks are considering resurrecting such programs as a way of revitalizing the local pop music scene, which, once again, is triggering a controversy.

Last month, Yoon Hyun-joon, producer of the Korea Broadcasting System`s popular music program "Music Bank," expressed his intention to readopt the rating system for his program. "I don`t think the programs have become diversified in repertoires they present, without the rating system, and the networks will in no way be influenced by agencies` lobbying efforts or threats," Yoon said in an interview.

His remarks, though, sparked an immediate reaction from a major civic organization called "Cultural Action," which blamed the producer for his attempt to counteract what they think are the positive changes that resulted from the newer system. Yoon and KBS consequently decided to withdraw his plan, but the controversy remains, with increasing numbers of singers and their fans, as well as other producers who have contrasting views on the matter.

"The depressed pop music market is related to the unpopular pop music programs," Kang Young-sun, producer of Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation`s "Show Music Center" said in an interview. "The rating system should be positively encouraged if it can help the market regain its old popularity," he continued.

Whatever angle you approach it from, the controversy boils down to a dispute over the fairness of the programs` criteria in deciding rankings. Although the previous programs had quite fair ways of gauging popularity, they also had one important criterion that was a major target of criticism, which is "how much a singer has made a contribution to the network." According to Yoon`s original plan, the contribution part is gone, and the public poll is to be directed at a wider range of age groups.

"Although the system cannot rejuvenate the ailing industry at once, it can at least raise interest again in the competition of the singers, which will be a great help to the industry, eventually," said Park Haeng-ryul, head of Dooristar, an entertainment agency, in an interview.

Pop stars are sharply divided on the issue, as well. Rocker Shin Hae-chul warned, on his personal webpage, that the revival of such programs would be catastrophic, since the seeds of the old problems are still out there. He referred to two top singers -- the late Kim Hyun-sik and the now-disbanded `80s rock band Delgukhwa -- as examples of top musicians who were seldom welcomed on the charts because the networks deemed their music unsuitable for their programs` format.

Young trot star Jang Yoon-jung, on the other hand, supports the idea of bringing back the old concept of the programs. "Competition is good for singers because it gives them a motivation to do their best all the time," Jang said in an interview.

By Lee Yong-sung

(danlee@heraldm.com)