Could Genie Music Be the First Winner From YouTube Music Unbundling?

KT has launched a telecom bundle plan that includes YouTube Premium Lite, drawing attention from Korea’s music streaming industry to whether Genie Music will benefit. If Genie Music gains traction through the plan, it could give other domestic music platforms a stronger case for expanding partnerships or diversifying their services.

/ Gemini-generated image

According to industry sources, KT has become the first Korean telecom company to introduce a bundle plan built around YouTube Premium Lite. YouTube Premium Lite is a lower-priced version of YouTube Premium that excludes access to YouTube Music. KT’s new plan offers YouTube Premium Lite together with either a Genie Music or Millie’s Library subscription.

The industry is watching Genie Music because the plan could serve as an early test of user demand. Korean music platforms have long argued that YouTube pulled users away from domestic services by bundling YouTube Music with YouTube Premium.

The target users are those who want an ad-free YouTube experience but do not necessarily use YouTube Music. The key question is whether those users will choose Genie Music instead. Genie Music is the only major domestic music streaming platform backed by a telecom operator, making it the first test case for measuring the impact of a YouTube Premium Lite bundle.

YouTube Music is the largest music streaming platform in Korea. According to Embrain Deep Data’s analysis of music streaming app usage, YouTube Music had 7.21 million app users in January this year, followed by Melon with 4.76 million, Genie Music with 2.4 million, Spotify with 2.28 million and FLO with 1.57 million. WiseApp·Retail’s survey of average annual users of domestic music streaming apps last year also placed YouTube Music at No. 1 with 9.8 million users.

Trend in music streaming app users. / Embrain Deep Data

Figures vary by market research firm, but YouTube Music is generally estimated to have about 1.5 times as many users as Melon. Industry officials believe the gap widened because Google had offered YouTube Premium with YouTube Music included, while Premium Lite had not been available in Korea.

Against that backdrop, KT’s new plan has become the first test of demand for domestic music platforms in a setting where YouTube Music is not bundled. It could show whether demand for ad-free YouTube and demand for local music streaming services are actually separate. If Genie Music confirms such demand, other domestic platforms including Melon, FLO, Bugs and VIBE could gain a stronger rationale for pursuing bundle products or separate partnerships with SK Telecom, LG Uplus and other telecom operators.

If Genie Music sees no meaningful change in usage or subscriber metrics, however, it could suggest that recovery for Korea’s domestic music streaming ecosystem will remain difficult. That would mean demand for domestic platforms may not be as large as expected, even when YouTube Music is not included in the plan.

The first indicator will be which benefit users choose within KT’s plan. The current plan allows users to select either Genie Music or Millie’s Library. Industry officials say the share of users choosing Genie Music must be higher than Millie’s Library to properly gauge demand for domestic music platforms. Since users are unlikely to switch plans immediately after a new product launch, the industry expects it will need to monitor the trend for at least three months.

Several music platform officials said, “We support Genie Music’s latest move,” adding, “Although we cannot immediately launch bundle products because we do not have telecom parent companies, we are reviewing various partnership options.”