AI music is already charting. Korea is slow to respond

An artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted song's entry into Melon's Top 100 chart has exposed a regulatory vacuum over AI music in Korea, just weeks after the country's largest music copyright collective withdrew its first attempt to allow the registration of such works. "Forest of the Heart," released in May by YouTube creator Joseon HipHop, peaked at No. 89 on the Top 100 chart and No. 99 on the daily chart for Melon, one of the country's top streaming platforms, according to Yonhap News Agency. The creator wrote the lyrics and produced the melody and vocals using Suno, a generative music AI service. The track became popular by word of mouth, especially among listeners in their 40s. The song has since dropped out of both charts, but its run showed that AI-assisted music can already reach mainstream listeners here, well before rules on authorship and royalties are in place. In March, the Board of Audit and Inspection said 29 composers had submitted more than 200 songs each to the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) in 2024, and roughly 5,200 of those songs showed signs of generativ