Seoul played host to the 2014 Seoul International Music Fair starting on October 6, as it brought together renowned musicians and industry representatives from both home and abroad.


Under the theme of, “Music Connection@MU:CON,” the fair will run until October 8 in Itaewon, one of the most global neighborhoods in Seoul. The festival, to put it simply, is a combination of multiple events, including a conference in which the world’s important musical figures and industry experts share their ideas on global trends and on music itself. There are also showcased a variety of musical genres and, lastly, networking takes place between entrepreneurs involved in the global music market.


The event began with the keynote speech by Janice Min, co-president and chief creative officer at Guggenheim Digital Media, who oversees the well-known U.S. music industry news sources the Hollywood Reporter and Billboard. Her speech focused on, “The past, present and future of K-pop and its global strategies.”

Min emphasized that Korea’s popular music has great potential for further growth on the global scene. She said, “Quite a few Koreans don’t realize how popular and how influential K-pop is. Among U.S. youth, K-pop is a big trend and I can see that everyone likes it, no matter what their color.”


On October 7, Rodaidh McDonald, a Scottish music producer who works at British record label XL Recordings, shared his knowledge about record producing, based on his experiences working with global stars such as Adele, King Krule and Bobby Womack.

On October 8, Jimmy Douglass, a U.S. record producer whose prolific career includes working with Snoop Dogg and Justin Timberlake, gave a lecture on “Inspiration & Creativity.”


Tony Maserati, a U.S. record producer well-known for his work with singer Cho Yong-pil, as well as with Beyonce and Jason Mraz, among others, brought to a group of domestic musicians his expertise in audio engineering and programming.

This year’s fair allotted some time for headhunters, too, who look for musical talent. In the so-called Pitching Program, representatives from world-renowned music festivals from 18 countries gathered to discover unknown talent to invite to their respective festivals.

The fair also hosts a series of performances, presenting a total of 43 groups, including pop and hip-hop music groups such as Crayon Pop and VIXX.


“We took as the theme for this year’s fair ‘Music Connection,’ as music has the power to bridge people-to-people, country-to-country,” said President Hong Sang-pyo of the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA).

“We will make the fair into an event that helps to unite the global community and to bring a variety of Korean musical genres to the world.”

(All photos courtesy of the KOCCA)

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
jiae5853@korea.kr