Epik High’s albums have been restored on Spotify after hundreds of K-pop releases were pulled from the service earlier this week after an expired licensing deal with South Korean distributor Kakao M.
On March 2, Tablo of Epik High confirmed that the group’s albums, including their most recent release, ‘Epik High Is Here (Part 1)’, have been made available again on Spotify. However, the original streaming numbers on the records have vanished, he added.
“Did all we can to restore our music. Lost the streaming numbers & playlisting. Heartbroken but what matters is that u can hear the music again. Throw us a streaming party,” he tweeted.
Check out the tweet below.
Did all we can to restore our music. Lost the streaming numbers & playlisting. Heartbroken but what matters is that u can hear the music again. Throw us a streaming party.
Epik High Is Here 上 (Part 1): https://t.co/R7GuBaRc7W
sleepless in __________: https://t.co/tZVBhrP3dq
— 에픽하이 타블로 | Tablo of Epik High (@blobyblo) March 1, 2021
Tablo had previously called out the companies for removing their music “against their will”. “Regardless of who is at fault, why is it always the artists and the fans that suffer when businesses place greed over art?” he wrote on Twitter.
Epik High are among the many K-pop acts that have been affected by Spotify and Kakao M’s ongoing licensing battle. On Monday morning, hundreds of K-pop releases were removed from Spotify worldwide following the expiration of Kakao M’s contract with the streaming service. Kakao M’s back catalogue included music from IU, GFriend and MONSTA X, among many others.
At the time, Spotify said that it is working with Kakao M to “resolve the situation soon”. The company added that it will “remain committed to working with local rights holders including KakaoM, to help grow the Korean music market and overall streaming ecosystem together”.
However, Kakao M later claimed that its catalogue was removed because of a Spotify policy that requires simultaneous domestic and global music deals with the streaming service. It is currently still in the process of negotiating contacts.
Spotify had only launched in South Korea at the start of February.