It has been reported that new music might not be released during midnight anymore due to the issue of ‘sajaegi.’
Sajaegi, also known as the act of chart manipulation, has become a big issue in Korea’s music industry.
In light to this issue, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism have met with music distribution companies such as LOEN Entertainment, KTMusic, CJ E&M, Bugs, Soribada and more last November 20. It has been reported that they have discussed policies, common sajaegi patterns as well as the countermeasures in order to prevent chart manipulation from happening.
According to representatives, chart manipulation usually occurs at the middle of the night. As new music are usually released at noon or at midnight, the representatives are considering the possibility of eradicating midnight releases.
It has been said that sajaegi is more likely to happen at midnight as there are less users who are online at that time and if it is done at the middle of the night, it would be more difficult for the staff members of music site companies to solve the issues compared to daytime releases.
Midnight releases were stopped temporarily back then, however, it started once again due to the fierce competition at the music industry. Moreover, when large agencies decide to release their music from their top artists during midnight, the music sites have no choice but to agree with their decision.
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