I'd like to start by saying thank you for subscribing to this newsletter. My name is Woojin Cha and I've been working in the media industry for about 25 years in Korea. Wow, 25 years.

It's hard to compress 25 years into such a short time, but I'd like to tell you a little bit more about who I am. Why am I talking about the "tomorrow of the music industry" and what qualifies me to do so?

First of all, this newsletter was written with the help of an artificial intelligence translator(DeepL), so please excuse any awkward or stilted sentences. I love the advancement of technology more than my own learning abilities!

1999~2008

In 1999, the year Coldplay's first album 'Parachute' was released, I started writing articles for a Korean culture magazine introducing Korean indie music. That's where it all started.

After that, whatever job I had, I would write articles and write books under the subtitle 'music critic', and that pretty much determined the direction of my life. But the funny thing is that I never really thought of music criticism as a career. I always tried to build a career away from the music industry, so I often found myself in situations where it was hard to define exactly 'who I am'. But I think it's a good thing I did because if I hadn't wandered off then, I wouldn't have seen the intersection of music, media, technology and business the way I do now. I like who I am now.

In 2002, before Google's IPO, I worked as a news and book service planner at NAVER (NASDAQ-listed, webtoon), now a global tech company. My team was running Naver News, the world's first service to deliver articles from news media company to users through a search platform.

In 2006, the year the popular American series "Grey's Anatomy," "Prison Break," and "Dexter" were officially airing in Korea, I started working at CINE21, a prestigious Korean movie magazine. As a journalist specializing in TV and entertainment, I met many actors, directors, writers, and producers or artists. At the time, the cable TV market was just growing in Korea, and IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) was in its infancy. Many of the people I met that times are now leading the Korean entertainment industry.

2009~2019

In 2009, I started working as an independent journalist and contributing to various media outlets. I wrote more than five books on music and media, and contributed to news media and fashion magazines such as GQ Korea, Vogue Korea, Arena Homme, W Korea, Noblesse Magazine, The Korea Times, Hankyoreh, and JoongAng Ilbo.

At the same time, I was involved in the creation of several online music content and services, creating brand stories for music and writing storytelling for documentaries about global MMORPG games. I also wrote a book about Korean indie pop, K-pop, and idols, and I wrote a book on "how to work independently" - honestly, it was a time when I did whatever I could to make a living.

From 2009 to 2015, I participated in various music projects originating from Korea, worked as a contributor for a fashion magazine, curator of exhibitions, met various people from the cultural and artistic world, appeared on TV and radio programs, and wrote columns about K-pop, indie pop, and traditional music.

These experiences have given me a broad perspective on the entertainment business and industry. It was the busiest, most enjoyable, and challenging time of my life.

In 2015, I became the head of the DINGO MAGAZINE content business at MAKEUS, a Korean startup. Maybe if you have been heard DINGO MUSIC, that is most famous content of MAKEUS in YOUTUBE. (Not mine, my project is gone.)

It was my first opportunity to run a content business, but it failed. I left the company after a year and a half. After that, I took on content planning at a production company that made the mobile game "BTS World." 

At the time, BTS was a non-mainstream artist, but they were growing through Twitter and YouTube, and had just been nominated for a American Music Award. For reference, I had already met and interviewed the members and Bang Si Hyuk in 2013, shortly after BTS debuted, which I will share soon.

In 2018, I started producing K-pop fandom content for Space Oddity, a startup that creates a fandom platform called “Blip”. It's a well-known company in the K-pop industry. I spent a year and a half there, and in 2020, I finally rebooted my career to live a completely independent life.

2020~the present

From 2020 to the present, I publish TMI.FM, the first and only music industry newsletter in Korea. Alongside this, I advises companies in the music tech sector on business models and advises the South Korean government on music industry policy.

In 2023, I produced the eight-part documentary "K-Pop Generation" and authored "The Business of Hearts: Learning from Pinkfong" which analyzed the fandom business of Pinkfong Company, also well known as "Baby Shark". And has been interviewed by the New York Times, Bloomberg, Trapital, Billboard Magazine, Le Monde, Music Ally, and more.

Honestly, for the past 25 years, I've been trying to shed the title "music critic" because I don't think it accurately describes what I do. I didn't start out to just criticize music, I didn't want to work for a label.

I just want to do something for the fans who love music and artists, for the people who work in the music industry, and, if possible, to contribute to keeping the music ecosystem healthy.

Over the past 25 years, I've watched the Korean media industry navigate its way through disruption, and the music industry is no different now. It's a time of chaos, with people who make music, people who consume music, and people in the music business all looking anxiously at the "tomorrow of the music industry.

I believe that sooner or later, the lines between music, movies, games, and other forms of entertainment will blur, and the lines between industries as far apart as entertainment and retail will also blur. What I want to emphasize is that new lines will be drawn, and I call it the "tomorrow of music industry". Yes, we need to talk about tomorrow, not some vague future.

So, as the name of the newsletter "Tomorrow of Music Industry" suggests, we will talk about trends across entertainment: music, technology, gaming, IP, the creator economy, etc.

I know a lot of people are interested in K-pop. But it's not easy to get accurate information in English, and it's surprisingly hard to get information about the K-pop industry in Korea. The Korean entertainment industry is quite closed.

I've been working in the Korean music industry for 25 years, met a lot of people, worked on a lot of projects along the way, and even worked with the Korean government. I can't share all of those stories, but I'll at least try to be as accurate as possible about what's happening in Korea.

My newsletter will be organized into three main topics.

I plan to publish the newsletter at least once a week. I want to talk to as many people as possible, so I would really appreciate if you could introduce me to your acquaintances and share my social media links. Please follow me and get in touch.

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Instagram | woojin

LinkedIn | WooJin CHA

Thinker | Seoul-based music (especially K-pop) and media industry professional.