Busan, South Korea Goes Global With Help Of SURF Music, To Amplify World Expo 2030 Bid

The city of Busan looked to SURF Music to find thematic, Olympic-style music to accompany their bid for the World Expo 2030. 

For the city of Busan, South Korea, the World Expo 2030 symbolizes globalization and amplification of their great city to the rest of the world. Busan wanted to connect with the best of Korean entertainment and music to showcase an iconic global sound that would resonate with people of all ages, and support the city's initiatives around Expo candidacy. The city of Busan was connected with SURF Music, a B2B music marketplace for exclusive placements, by advisor and South Korean music producer, songwriter, and artist Shaun Kim, as the go-to place to find the perfect track fast. This led them to discover singer Lee Mujin and songwriter Ben Samama, along with co-writers on the song Peter Hanna and Sky Adams, who commissioned a track specifically for the Expo’s promotion called “Welcome to World Expo.”

“With SURF, advertisers, marketing teams, film directors – you name it – have this new discoverable way to find hidden talents all around the world,” says Kristine Kim, GM of Korea at SURF Music. “The city of Busan is wanting to be recognized on this global scale, and is trusting SURF as a partner at this very vulnerable stage.”

Busan wants to be a stamp in the world, with a goal to be the #1 content city of the world. Like the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Pyramids in Egypt, Busan wants instant recognition for their transformation and drive toward building up current global technologies and themes, for the better. Hosting of the 2030 World Expo will amplify this, as an international event that serves as a bridge between governments, companies, international organizations, and citizens. Busan’s partnership with SURF will continue through the Expo’s judgment day in November 2023.

SURF Music helped the city of Busan discover and connect with global music artists, producers, and songwriters, willing and able to match the specific needs for their 2030 promotional bid. After submitting a detailed brief of their requests for this commissioned song, SURF returned a playlist of unreleased music by real artists, vying for the chance to work with Busan on this promotional piece. Although their ultimate decision was between two artists, Busan went with “Welcome to World Expo” by Lee Mujin, based on its concept and iconic, catchy sound.

“Busan Metropolitan City, along with SURF Music, which is creating new forms in the music industry, was a delightful and meaningful project to be involved in as the central city of Korea's digital industry,” says Shaun Kim, South Korean Producer and Creative Advisor at SURF. “The Busan Expo project was incredibly enjoyable and innovative, and I am excited for the next project to be carried out with SURF Music!”

AI-search powers the SURF marketplace, featuring unreleased demos by hundreds of global songwriters, producers, and music creators for businesses, and access to creative briefs from labels, ad agencies, and film/tv production companies for artists. From the marketplace, these artists and music creators can manage their catalog via AI song tagging, organize playlists, and submit songs that fit a certain brief, as did Busan’s team and the submitting songwriters and artists for Busan’s World Expo bid. This is all conveniently offered on a monthly subscription basis, greatly simplifying the discovery and usage process.

“We have a hybrid approach to AI, where human interaction is vital to make connections and establish trust between musicians, producers, and businesses or entities searching for music,” says Jona Higa, COO at SURF Music. “Even though we are a digital platform, real musicians making and sharing this music is a vital part to our process in order to showcase what SURF can do versus other competitors.”

About SURF
SURF Music is a digital tool and marketplace for creators to sell their unreleased music to buyers across the global entertainment industry. We are re-energizing the music industry by providing the transparency and accessibility for global music discovery, connectivity, and collaboration.