Abstract ▼ AI-Helper

The U.S. music market is a lucrative market for many foreign musicians due to its sheer size and it continues to play a leading role in the world music industry. However, it is a challenge to gain entry into that market and an even greater challenge to achieve success and fame within it. In fact, ch...

The U.S. music market is a lucrative market for many foreign musicians due to its sheer size and it continues to play a leading role in the world music industry. However, it is a challenge to gain entry into that market and an even greater challenge to achieve success and fame within it. In fact, changes in the media paradigm have allowed for musicians to be able to independently produce their own songs and promote them globally. Some scholars address that the media paradigm shifting from traditional outlets to new outlets gives a chance to bypass traditional gatekeepers when entering the U.S. music market. Based on this scenario, this article examined two songs from Korean singer, Psy: Gangnam Style and Gentleman as a single case study. Utilizing Google Trends as a source of information, this study examined how each song's recognition among American music fans was different based on radio spins on Top 40 commercial radio stations. This article sheds new light on radio, which has been neglected due to the media paradigm shift, and presents how radio programmers are part of a complicated gatekeeping process which ultimately decides which songs are to gain popularity.