Idol music producer explains the difference between k-pop and j-pop ft. Alex Karlsson

<p>Meet Alex Karlsson, a Swedish idol music producer based in Seoul, Korea, known for his work with Korean groups like Ateez and Enhyphen, as well as Japanese groups like SixTones and &amp;Team. He sits down to talk to us about the foundations of idol music, the differences between k-pop and j-pop, and the authenticity of manufactured pop music.</p><p><br></p><p>--</p><p>0:00 Intro</p><p>0:50 Start as artist</p><p>7:55 Transition to producer</p><p>11:39 Royalty split in k-pop vs. j-pop</p><p>14:16 Producing hits for foreign bands</p><p>19:25 K-pop vs. j-pop</p><p>23:21 The sound of manufactured pop</p><p>30:49 Modern idols are more involved in production</p><p>33:33 When the slave contract ends</p><p>35:30 The breadth of Asian pop music</p><p>41:00 Why k-pop is huge overseas but j-pop isn&#39;t</p><p>44:55 How Gangnam Style changed k-pop</p><p>47:25 Breaking in to the Japan market</p><p>50:51 Why Japan is so different</p><p>53:36 How moving to Korea changed his career</p><p>58:37 Adding emotion to manufactured pop</p><p>1:00:55 What&#39;s most important when producing</p><p>1:02:12 Boy bands vs. girl groups</p><p>1:05:28 The problem with AI music</p><p>1:10:43 The future of the industry</p><p>1:12:43 Next steps</p><p>--</p><p><br></p><p>Follow Alex:</p><p> @AlexKarlssonofficial </p><p>https://www.instagram.com/lefauxreal</p><p>https://www.tiktok.com/@lefauxreal</p><p>https://x.com/AKarlssonMusic</p><p><br></p><p>Follow us:</p><p>https://unpacking.jp/</p><p>https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan</p><p>https://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapan</p><p>https://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapan</p><p>https://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts</p><p>https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan</p><p>https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan</p><p><br></p><p>Subscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! </p><p><br></p><p>Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/</p>