Spotify expands K-pop's global reach though its 'offline to online' initiative
Published: 21 May. 2026, 17:49
SHIN HA-NEE
[email protected]
John Han, the head of music at Spotify Korea, speaks during a media session in southern Seoul on May 21, ahead of the “Spotify X Le Sserafim: Pure Flowers Live″ event that same day. [SPOTIFY KOREA]
Spotify has long leaned into the explosive growth of K-pop, helping turn the genre’s listening experience into something tangible through pop-up events and live performances.
Now, the streaming giant is bringing those offline moments back online by transforming intimate fan experiences into digital content for global audiences.
Girl group Le Sserafim’s collaborative live stage event — titled “Spotify X Le Sserafim: Pure Flowers Live” — on Thursday is the latest example of that strategy, according to John Han, the head of music at the company’s Korea branch.
“[The event] is a celebration of Le Sserafim’s new album. A moment for the group to connect with Fearnots,” he said, referring to the group’s fans, during a media session at Spotify Korea’s office in southern Seoul on Thursday, ahead of the live performance later that day.
“And in many ways, it also represents a journey that has been building for more than a decade,” he continued.
“Tonight’s performances will travel far beyond Seoul through Spotify. [To] around the world. And that’s what, really, Spotify is about — helping artists connect with new audiences.”
“Spotify X Le Sserafim: Pure Flowers Live” is set to take place on Thursday evening at Seosomun Shrine History Museum in central Seoul, a day before the release of the girl group’s second full-length album, “Pureflow pt.1.”
For Spotify, the event is part of what it describes as its “O2O” strategy — standing for “Offline to Online” — which is designed to connect artists and fans in physical spaces, then make those moments more accessible by sharing them as videos and other digital content on the platform.
Spotify has collaborated with various K-pop artists for offline promotions in recent years, including “Spotify STAYdium,” a pop-up experience held in collaboration with boy band Stray Kids, and Spotify House Seoul.
Now, under the O2O initiative, Spotify is taking those offline experiences back online by streaming live performances and talk sessions exclusively on its platform, extending the reach of such events beyond the limited number of fans who can attend in person.
“Bringing those [offline] moments onto Spotify, then expanding them globally through video and content, has become a core part of how we support Korean artists today,” Han explained.
He noted that Spotify became aware of K-pop’s global potential before the genre became the worldwide phenomenon it is today, citing early projects such as “K-pop Daebak,” the platform’s first global flagship playlist dedicated to K-pop, launched in 2014.
Those efforts, which led to global campaigns and offline events, have coincided with a sharp rise in K-pop’s popularity on the platform later in the decade. Annual global streams of K-pop on Spotify jumped by more than 570-fold between 2014 and 2025, according to Han.
Looking ahead, the Spotify Korea executive expects that the line between K-pop and the global pop market will continue to blur.
“The next chapter of K-pop is [the question of] is it going to become more niche, or is it going to become more mainstream?” he said. “I would say the latter.”
A poster for “Spotify X Le Sserafim: Pure Flowers Live,″ taking place at Seosomun Shrine History Museum in central Seoul on May 21 [SPOTIFY KOREA]
BY SHIN HA-NEE [
[email protected]
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