Kakao Entertainment, the content arm of Kakao Corp (035720.KS, KOSPI), said on Tuesday that Melon, its music streaming service, will launch the "Global-K Chart" in June 2026 with China's Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE: TME) and Japan's LINE Music. The ranking will pool K-pop streaming and engagement data from the three companies' platforms across Korea, China and Japan (Chosun Biz; Maeil Business).
The chart formalizes a memorandum of understanding the three companies signed on December 23, 2025 (Kakao Entertainment newsroom). On the Tencent side, the partnership spans QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music and JOOX, the four online-music apps Tencent Music operates. On the Japan side, LINE Music sits inside the LINE messenger ecosystem, which Kakao Entertainment puts at roughly 99 million Japanese users (Music Business Worldwide).
Is this actually a revenue event for Kakao?
On the disclosures so far, no. None of the three companies announced revenue sharing, equity exchange or content licensing terms; the partnership covers data aggregation and chart governance only (Kakao Entertainment newsroom; Music Business Worldwide).
That matters because Melon is the largest single piece of Kakao's music business and sits inside the company's Content segment, which contributed 39% of consolidated Q1 2026 revenue of ₩1,942.1 billion ($1.42 billion, at ≈1,370 KRW/USD) (Kakao IR). The chart, by itself, does not change segment economics in the current quarter. It is a marketing and data asset, not a streaming joint venture.
Why Melon needs a pan-Asian story
Melon is no longer Korea's clear streaming leader. According to WiseApp data cited by Music Business Worldwide, Melon counted about 6.01 million monthly active users in 2025, second to YouTube Music (MBW). Spotify's Korean MAUs grew 168% year-on-year to 4.24 million in 2025, overtaking local rivals Genie and Flo to claim third place (Music Ally). With domestic share under pressure, Melon's differentiator increasingly has to come from K-pop access and cross-border discovery rails — assets YouTube Music and Spotify cannot replicate without partner platforms in China and Japan.
The partners bring serious audience. Tencent Music Entertainment's online-music services ended 2025 with 528 million monthly active users and 127.4 million paying subscribers (Music Ally, March 2026). Combined with Melon's Korean base and LINE Music's tie to a 99 million-user Japanese messenger, the chart sits atop a streaming footprint no Korean-only platform can match.
What changes day one, what doesn't
Joseph Chang, Kakao Entertainment's co-CEO, said in the December MOU release that it is "very meaningful to introduce a global-standard chart for K-pop"; LINE Music CEO Jun Masuda was quoted alongside him (Kakao Entertainment newsroom). What that translates into in June is a single ranking, hosted on Melon, that reflects three-country engagement. What it does not yet include: cross-platform content swaps, joint marketing budgets disclosed in dollar terms, or a global subscription bundle.
The five-month gap between the December 2025 MOU and the Tuesday update is itself useful information: the partners have moved from non-binding intent to a fixed launch month, which is more progress than several previous pan-Asian K-pop alliances achieved at the same stage.
What to watch
The first hard data point arrives with the June launch — Kakao Entertainment said it plans surrounding events with artists including NCT's Taeyong and LE SSERAFIM (Chosun Biz). The metric that matters for Kakao Corp shareholders after that is whether the chart drives a measurable lift in Melon's paid subscribers or in Content-segment revenue. That figure first becomes visible in Kakao's Q2 2026 earnings release.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. All figures and quotations are drawn from the cited public sources at the time of publication.
Sources
- ChosunBiz — Melon to launch Global-K Chart with Tencent Music and LINE Music in June, May 26, 2026
- Maeil Business — Melon to create new 'Global K Chart', May 26, 2026
- Music Business Worldwide — Tri-party unified K-pop chart pools data across Korea, China and Japan, May 2026
- Kakao Entertainment Newsroom — December 23, 2025 MOU signing with Tencent Music and LINE Music
- Kakao Corp IR — Q1 2026 consolidated revenue ₩1,942.1B, Content segment 39% share
- Music Ally — Spotify Korean MAUs 4.24M (+168% YoY) overtake Genie and Flo, September 2025
- Music Ally — Tencent Music 528M MAUs and 127.4M paying subscribers at end-2025, March 2026
