The vinyl market in South Korea died out long ago with the emergence of compact discs in the mid-1980s and digital music in the 1990s. Now, music listeners can simply download any song in 10 seconds for a dollar.
Still, avid LP record collectors can find jazz greats such as Us3, Herbie Hancock and The John Scofield Band with the phrases “Printed in Korea.” They are designed by a little-known local firm called Khiov Music, headed by an LP addict, Sur Bo-ik, 41.
“I felt sad that many good albums had not been produced on vinyl since the 1990s with CDs and digital music replacing LPs. So, I decided to produce them myself,” Sur said in an interview with The Korea Herald.
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| Sur Bo-ik, head of Khiov Music, holds one of the LPs he has designedat his company located in Seocho-gu in Seoul. (Kim Myung-sub/ The Korea Herald) |
As a music lover from his childhood, he collected around 10,000 LP records during his high school years. Vinyl was almost the only medium for listening to music he liked at the time.
Later on, compact discs and digital music offered clearer and more refined sound, but he continued to prefer the “natural” sound of LPs.
Feeling sad to see most local LP stores close, Sur, a graduate from Maryland Institute College of Art majoring in digital arts, decided to design LPs himself in 2007.
It was no easy task, however. For starters, he had to get licenses for the classics, mostly from the U.S.-based Universal Studios. He was rejected several times on the grounds that his firm’s technology and profitability were not proven.
“I needed some references so I first started out designing LP miniatures for CDs in partnership with Warner Bros. and Sony Music,” the LP designer said.
Five years later, his efforts finally paid off and he was able to get licenses from Universal Studio. The firm’s first LP series, called “Play 33 1/3,” was released in 2012. It includes jazz greats Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny’s “Beyond The Missouri Sky,” John Mclaughlin’s “The Promise” and Michael Brecker’s “Tales From The Hudson.”
Though its entry into the vinyl industry was not without obstacles, Khiov Music has solidified its position in the market, one of the analog-oriented niche in the era of digital music. It has sold around 10,000 records for the last two years mostly in the United States, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom and Japan.
Though the company still has a long way to go in South Korea, where digital music has become mainstream, he said he would continue to stick to his work mainly because he simply likes the sound of LPs.
Unlike digital sound delivered in signal of only 0 or 1, vinyl has a little noise.
“Indeed, there is no absolute silence. Even when you sit still in a silent room, there still exists sound. That makes LP sound more natural and realistic,” he said, comparing LP and digital music to the natural beauty and the surgically enhanced beauty.
Apart from the sound, he is fond of vinyl because he can have an all-round experience affecting many of the senses.
“When a single record is sold separately, it may cost around 10,000 won ($9). But the whole LP package would cost around 100,000 won because audio and artwork can create synergies,” he said.
He was also positive about the prospects of South Korea’s LP market.
Encouragingly, K-pop idol singers including G-Dragon and female singer-songwriter IU put out a vinyl version of their albums. G-Dragon released 8,888 LP records of his album “Coup D’Etat,” which sold out on the day of its release in October 2013. IU also dropped a remake album “A Flower Bookmark” of seven old Korean songs in June 2014.
“Many of today’s young people like to deviate from the mainstream by pursuing their own taste and style. In that sense, more young people are expected to seek LPs to get unique experiences,” he said.
By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)
