Gaon Confirms G-Dragon’s USB Won’t Be Counted As A Physical Album, YG Responds

Gaon officially announced on June 19 that they will not be counting G-Dragon’s “Kwon Ji Yong” USB as a physical album on their charts.

Gaon said, “If you look at the definition for ‘record’ in revised copyright law, it’s possible the ‘Kwon Ji Yong’ USB could be considered a ‘record.’ However, Gaon Chart’s definitions of ‘album’ and ‘record’ are not the same, and [‘albums’] are limited to devices that have music on them.

“As a result, according to copyright law, the ‘Kwon Ji Yong’ USB will be categorized as a download service, and it will be counted toward digital and download charts.”

A source from YG responded to the announcement, saying, “We respect Gaon Chart’s decision. What’s important to G-Dragon is the music, although the fixed physical form and outdated chart aggregation methods are a shame.”

The source continued, “The world is changing so fast, and the development of IT technology is moving even faster. Our opinion that trying to limit album sales and chart aggregation to hard-to-find cassette tapes and CDs is outdated has not changed.

“Nowadays, most people don’t save music to their phones, just information. This is because now with fast internet, more information [and music] can be freely streamed and shared. If Gaon Chart’s reasoning is that the USB doesn’t have music on it and therefore can’t be counted as a physical album, then digital charts should also only count downloads and not streaming.”