A day after major record labels YG Entertainment, S.M. Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and Star Empire Entertainment filed a complaint with Seoul Supreme Prosecutors’ Office claiming local digital music charts were being illegally manipulated, the Culture Ministry announced related countermeasures on Thursday.

According to the complainants, the number of cases where firms were paid to illegally manipulate music chart rankings has been on the rise. The manipulators boost song rankings by playing the songs multiple times using fake IDs on streaming websites. The most streamed song usually tops the digital music charts in Korea. 

To discourage such manipulation of the charts, the online music charts’ rankings will now be determined based on the number of downloads, instead of streaming. The ministry also said it was planning to research and hold forums on the current chart system and its impact on the music industry. Producers who are caught hiring firms to illegally achieve higher rankings on charts will not be able to receive royalties earned from their songs.

“For our K-pop industry and its future development, this fraud must stop,” said a ministry spokesperson on Thursday. “It gives misleading information to the consumers and loss of profit to the chart service providers and copyright holders.”

Currently, most television music shows rank artists according to their position on the digital charts.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)