Music Sharpens Memory. Melon Opens a New Era of Music Archiving
Melon turned 22 years of listening data into an archive of memories no rival could copy.
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AI Translation Summary
Facing global streaming rivals, Melon stopped competing on features and reframed 22 years of listening data from 23 million users as an irreplaceable archive of memory. The "Music Recording Era" campaign showed that music sharpens memory — and that only Melon holds Korea's largest record of it.
Cultural Context
"Text Hip" (텍스트힙) is a Korean trend in which reading, writing, and archiving text is seen as cool and stylish — context for why the campaign leaned on records and archives to reach people in their 20s.
Entry Information
Summary
For over two decades, Melon has represented Korean music streaming. But after losing its No.1 position to YouTube Music, it was losing market share and brand appeal under pressure from global platforms armed with algorithms, device convenience, and bundled/free pricing. As users began asking why they should keep using Melon, the brand needed more than a feature update: a new value only Melon could offer. The answer was 22 years of music-listening data from 23 million users. Based on the insight that music sharpens the resolution of memory, Melon redefined Korea's largest music dataset as a vast archive of users' memories no competitor could replicate, launching the Music Recording Era campaign.
Strategy
The campaign films were built as a four-part omnibus series around moments relatable to those who grew up with Melon: graduation, teenage nights, competition, and winter. The creative core was to let viewers experience the moment music makes memories vivid. Each film began with blurred visuals and ambient sound, which sharpened the moment the right track played, turning the abstract concept of memory into an intuitive visual experience. Using real user photos, listening data, and non-professional voices, the films showed that Melon stored not just playlists, but users' memories and lives. The message targeted those in their 20s — the fastest to leave for global platforms and a generation familiar with the hip culture of text and archiving (Korean culture "Text Hip") — maximizing immersion.
Execution
The year-end and new-year season, when people close one year, prepare for the next, look back on memories, and connect past records with new ones, was the most fitting moment to launch the campaign. Melon launched the campaign at the MMA (Melon Music Awards), Korea's biggest music event, building cultural momentum and authenticity. Digital films and major Seoul OOH then spread the message. The four films ran across YouTube, Instagram, and X, while subway media in core target areas like Hongdae and Jamsil, plus Seoul-wide bus wrappings, placed Melon's message into everyday listening moments. Finally, the Seongsu listening popup let users watch the films, explore their own music records, and share the experience.
Results
Melon's "Music Recording Era" message shifted brand perception and proved that its new reason to pay worked. Among campaign-exposed users, brand favorability rose from 4.58 to 5.19, future usage intent from 4.10 to 5.15, and the NPS significantly improved by +38.9 points (from -51.1 to -12.2), lifting all three metrics to the No.2 level among key competitors. During the campaign, association with Melon's music-recording service increased from 26.2% to 44.8%, the Melon-related keyword "record" grew by 611%, and the "Finally, Graduation" film entered the TVCF Hall of Fame. Over three days, the Seongsu popup drew 2,821 visitors and over 2,000 organic posts went viral, translating the message into real action.