K-pop is built on comeback cycles, dual-script metadata and a stack of versions per song. Mazufa Records distributes for artists and teams we invite in after a human listen, and we care about the details that break Korean releases abroad. You keep your masters and your publishing, and we take 0% commission.
What sits under the K-pop label
Outside Korea the term covers almost everything, which causes tagging problems. Inside it there is idol group pop and its soloist offshoots, a separate Korean hip-hop and K-R&B scene centred on Seoul crews and labels, Korean indie and band music from the Hongdae circuit, drama soundtrack songs released as numbered parts, and older trot for a domestic audience. Teams outside Korea now make records in the same style with Korean, English or Japanese lyrics. The sound borrows from pop, hip-hop, house, drum and bass and rock, so the vocal style and language do more tagging work than the production does.
Comebacks, mini albums and versions
The unit here is the comeback, not the single. A single album or mini album carries a title track and a small set of b-sides, usually with a pre-release single a few weeks earlier and a repackage or Japanese-language edition later. Digital singles fill the gaps between cycles. Each cycle can produce an instrumental, a language version, a remix and a performance edit, all separate tracks with their own codes. Korean releases are typically timed to a domestic evening or midnight slot, so confirm the exact UTC time you want and deliver early, subject to current availability and platform rules.
Hangul, romanisation and version tags
Most rejected Korean releases fail on script. Decide one artist name spelling and use it everywhere, with the Hangul name supplied in the right field rather than pasted into the title. Titles that carry both a Korean phrase and an English one should follow a single convention across the project instead of switching per track. Instrumental, inst, acoustic, Japanese version and remix all belong in the version field. Credit every writer, topline writer, arranger and producer with the names they are registered under, because Korean teams often work with several co-writers whose splits are agreed after the session rather than before.
How stores file Korean releases
Global services usually carry a K-pop genre plus adjacent tags such as K-R&B, K-indie and Korean hip-hop, and their editorial surfaces are often run by regional teams covering Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia and the rest of the world separately. Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music each treat those as distinct catalogues. Domestic Korean services have their own charts and rules and may or may not be available to a given release, subject to current availability and platform rules. Fan behaviour drives repeat listening and saves, which feed algorithmic surfaces, but no editorial or algorithmic outcome can be promised.
Mastering, artwork and photo assets
K-pop mixes tend to be dense, wide and vocal-forward, with heavy stacking and effects on the lead. Platforms normalise around minus fourteen LUFS integrated, so a master crushed for impact loses transients without gaining volume, and the wide synth layers need a mono check because stacked stereo widening can hollow out on phone speakers. Deliver instrumentals when you have them, since broadcast performances need them. Cover artwork must be square and free of store-restricted text, social handles and prices, and photo concepts shot by an agency need a written licence for commercial cover use.
Our song had six co-writers across two sessions. How should splits work?
Agree them in writing before the release date, not after. List every writer with their legal name, their society, their publisher if they have one, and a percentage, with the total reaching one hundred. Toplining, arrangement and production are often treated as separate contributions, so say which each person did. If a writing camp produced the demo, confirm who owns what before you build the release, because retroactive changes to registrations are slow.