When commuting on the subway, driving somewhere, or resting without particular thoughts, many people listen to music. Collecting songs matching their tastes to create playlists and enjoying naturally playing music has become a daily routine for many.

However, problems arise when sharing these playlists with friends or changing platforms. First, sharing is difficult with friends using different music platforms, and when changing platforms, playlists must be manually registered one by one. Platform fragmentation causes difficulties not only for consumers but also for music agencies and artists, requiring significantly more cost and time for new song marketing tailored to each platform.

A company has found business possibilities in solving these difficulties—today’s interview subject KOIVIS, with their service named ‘Soundok.’ Founded in June 2024 by CEO Kim Hyun-soo, who has expertise in AWS infrastructure design, HPC architecture construction, and data scraping. CEO Kim is a unique individual who majored in stem cell regenerative engineering in university and also worked as a biology data scientist.

‘Soundok’ provides functionality to easily and freely move playlists across different music platforms. Users can move, replicate, and share their playlists with acquaintances to other music platforms with just a few clicks through ‘Soundok.’ So far, 5,000-6,000 people monthly and 50,000 cumulatively have created and saved playlists on Soundok. Considering that KOIVIS was founded just over a year ago, Soundok service started last October, and currently operates only web-based, this represents significant achievement.

Soundok shows advertising videos to users during playlist migration, and plans to charge about $2.14 USD (3,000 KRW) monthly from users who don’t want ads. Additionally, they’ve completed developing an app version of Soundok, planning to launch the app version service overseas before domestically and service it at $5 monthly with added premium features. This policy targets the fact that ‘SongShift,’ operating the same service in the US, services at $7 monthly.

Soundok also provides benefits to agencies and artists while earning revenue. CEO Kim explained KOIVIS’s business model: “While new or lesser-known indie singers promote through various methods, results aren’t particularly significant and performance analysis is difficult. Soundok puts songs requested by agencies or artists into playlists when users replicate, move, or share playlists, receiving advertising fees for each song insertion.” So far, 15 artists have used this service, with proven effectiveness including music playback increases of over 4 times.

What about technical aspects? Moving and replicating playlists isn’t as easy as thought. KOIVIS collected all songs from 9 music streaming platforms serviced in Korea including Melon, Genie, YouTube Music, Apple Music, and Spotify as metadata, preprocessed them, and trained ‘Soundok AI’ to achieve 99% music mapping accuracy. So when users input their existing playlists, Soundok AI can accurately retrieve songs on other music platforms to create identical playlists.

KOIVIS’s technological capabilities can be well understood by comparing with similar overseas services. According to CEO Kim, “Overseas services are inaccurate in music mapping because they simply use macro methods, or users must directly input music links of music platforms they want to move to.” Considering this, Soundok is not a simple service but a technology-based platform.

KOIVIS’s founders are all friends who’ve known each other since middle school. Four friends gathered to start a business with concepts of an inventor constantly contemplating what can help the world, a businessperson planning such inventions into business, and designers and developers materializing it. Having met for a long time, teamwork is reportedly very good.

Long-term, KOIVIS plans to expand Soundok into a global playlist sharing community. As America’s SongShift recently partnered with Apple Music and is growing into a larger company, their ambition is to grow rapidly with more advanced technology than SongShift and leap forward as a global service. For such growth, KOIVIS aims to attract $214K USD (300 million KRW) in seed investment in Q1 next year.

The company name KOIVIS was created inspired by ‘Koi’s Law.’ Koi, meaning Japanese brocaded carp, reportedly grows only about 8cm in small aquariums but 15cm in ponds and over 1m when going out to large rivers. It contains the goal of gradually increasing dream size to grow into a large company.

KOIVIS currently participated in funding and commercialization programs through Gyeonggi Content Agency’s Pangyo Gyeonggi Culture Creation Hub’s preliminary entrepreneur support project, and is growing while receiving various support including selection as an early startup funding support company this year. CEO Kim expressed gratitude, saying “Pangyo Hub plays a ‘trigger’ role for startups.”

Investors curious whether KOIVIS can go out to the big ocean rather than a small aquarium and realize their dreams should meet the KOIVIS team at Pangyo Hub.

What problem is the KOIVIS team trying to solve?

Currently, the music streaming market lacks inter-platform compatibility, causing users great inconvenience in playlist migration or sharing. When platforms differ, sharing music with friends is difficult, and after changing platforms, repetitive manual work is required to move playlists. Due to this inconvenience, many continue using existing platforms even when better price benefits exist.

Artists and agencies also face limitations in promotion efficiency and reach as they must market tailored to specific platforms. Consequently, both listeners and creators are bound by platform constraints, making it difficult to focus on music itself.

We aim to build a music sharing environment freely crossing various platforms, helping listeners freely hear music on desired platforms and artists deliver music to more audiences regardless of platform. Ultimately, our goal is creating an open ecosystem focused on music itself.

How does KOIVIS solve this problem?

KOIVIS is a music tech startup that developed the integrated music playlist platform ‘Soundok.’ Soundok contains the meaning “Sound On Demand, Keep,” aiming for an environment where playlists I created can be saved and shared anytime, anywhere.

We accurately connected different song IDs across streaming platforms with AI-based matching technology so users can continue the same music experience regardless of platform. Currently operating as a web-based service, we support easy distribution of playlists created by influencers or curators to users of various platforms.

Going forward, our goal is expanding to an app-based global playlist community platform, building an environment where general users can freely share and connect playlists.

What is the current status of KOIVIS’s products/services?

‘Soundok’ we developed is a web-based music playlist integration platform. Soundok normalizes song data from major domestic and international streaming platforms and automatically matches different ‘song IDs’ across platforms with AI so users can easily migrate and share their created playlists.

Users can move playlists to desired platforms without login, and we’ve launched and are operating a web service as MVP version. So far, about 50,000 users have saved playlists on Soundok, and we’re collaborating with about 20 music curators.

We’re also experimenting with an advertising-based distribution model that naturally inserts indie artists’ songs into curators’ playlists to be delivered when users move playlists. This structure allows users to move playlists for free while listening to indie artists’ music, enabling musicians to secure natural exposure at low cost.

So far, 15 artists have conducted promotion this way, with initial responses appearing positive. Going forward, we plan to expand to community-type app services enabling sharing among general users and develop advertising models and B2B API integration together.

What is KOIVIS’s competitiveness and differentiation compared to competitors?

Overseas, playlist migration services like SongShift exist, but with monthly charges around $7, price burden is high, and they don’t support platforms mainly used in Korea. Also, using simple search-based matching methods, song matching accuracy is only 70-80%, and beyond the single function of moving user-created playlists, there are no community or sharing features.

In contrast, Soundok supports all domestic and international platforms, providing high-accuracy automatic migration functionality for free through AI-based song ID precision matching technology. We operate a unique music marketing model utilizing curator-based playlist distribution structure where indie artists can naturally promote their songs.

Existing YouTube video insertion marketing isn’t connected to streaming, making it difficult to lead to consumer behavior, and Melon DJ playlist-based marketing often ends with short-term effects.

However, Soundok directly saves playlists containing artist songs to user accounts, guaranteeing clear exposure per listener and securing continuous listening possibility. Not only technological capabilities but the distribution structure itself connecting users’ needs to move playlists with artists’ needs to have their songs heard is our differentiated competitiveness.

Who are the core target customers, and what is the market size?

Domestic music streaming service users reach about 15 million, a very large and stable scale. About 44% of these listen to music based on playlists they directly edited or saved, with this usage pattern particularly prominent among the 20s-30s generation. KOIVIS sets music consumers with ‘needs for inter-platform playlist migration and sharing’ as primary targets in this market.

Currently, the music streaming market is about $1.4B USD (2 trillion KRW) domestically, with over 20,000 new songs released annually. Of these, 90% aren’t properly consumed, and we include indie artists and new musicians wanting to effectively promote their music as major customer segments.

Based on playlist-based user markets and artist music distribution demand, we target about $12M-$13M USD (17-18 billion KRW) in revenue in the detailed initial market. Going forward, we plan to expand to community sharing among general users and playlist-based advertising distribution markets, which we judge has very high possibility.

What is KOIVIS’s business model?

KOIVIS’s Soundok service operates based on two business models: B2C and B2B.

In the B2C model, basic functions are provided free so users can freely move and save playlists across platforms, with plans to provide a $2.14 USD (3,000 KRW) monthly ad-removal subscription model for users who don’t want advertising songs included. In overseas markets like the US, we plan to generate revenue by applying a $5 monthly subscription model including ad removal and premium features.

We also operate a ‘video advertising model’ inserting singer promotional videos during users’ playlist migration process. Users watch interested artist videos and can immediately play songs on corresponding streaming platforms when clicked, with advertisers paying $0.07 USD (100 KRW) each time videos are viewed.

In the B2B model, we provide paid products targeting artists or agencies wanting new song promotion by inserting songs into curator-created playlists and delivering them to user accounts. When artists pay $0.79 USD (1,100 KRW) per user, playlists containing their songs are saved to actual user accounts, with high likelihood of leading not only to exposure but playback.

This structure provides general users autonomy in platform selection for free while providing artists efficient low-cost music promotion channels based on targets.

What achievements has the KOIVIS team made so far?

Despite being in early service stages, KOIVIS is rapidly proving marketability and expansion possibility through meaningful achievements. Soundok’s cumulative users reach about 50,000, securing 20 curators through curator-based music distribution models. We’ve signed actual order contracts from 15 artists for playlist-based music marketing services, with formal promotion campaigns operating for them.

Revenue currently occurs at about $1.4K USD (2 million KRW) monthly average, gradually rising with B2B demand increases. As a case expanding playlists beyond the music industry, we signed an MOU with flower tea brand Debaroti to ‘pair music matching tea atmosphere,’ conducting experiments expanding music as lifestyle content.

Also attracting attention as a new music distribution method within the music industry, we produced and distributed artist promotional playlists based on ‘Countdown Fantasy’ festival setlists hosted by MPMG, executing marketing campaigns connecting concert emotions while leading to actual ticket purchases.

Recognized for technological capabilities and planning, we’ve won various startup competitions, with representative awards including 1st place in Gyeonggi Economic Science Promotion Agency IR Pitching Competition, Excellence Award in Gunpo Youth Startup Competition, 2nd place in Gyeonggi Content Agency PRE-MAP Final Performance Report, and Grand Prize in Kookmin University Startup Competition.

What is the KOIVIS team’s competitiveness?

Our team gathered friends whose intentions aligned since middle school to start a business, composed of 2 developers, 1 designer, and 1 planner/data analyst. Co-founder developer Park Jeong-seop is an ‘inventor’ type wanting to create something practically helpful to the world, while CEO Kim Hyun-soo handles designing business-wise how that technology gives users value and connects to revenue, verifying with data.

With a designer responsible for user experience completion and another developer implementing technical stability, we have a team structure where planning-development-design operates organically. Our team name ‘KOIVIS’ was created inspired by ‘Koi’s Law.’ Like brocaded carp growing small in small aquariums but large in wide rivers, we entered the startup scene believing growth limits change when environments change.

With the determination ‘we advance to bigger oceans,’ we aim to create functions the world needs with technology and provide convenience actually used. Our team structure and philosophy of rapidly executing and flexibly growing together with team members deeply understanding each other’s strengths is our greatest competitiveness.

Give three reasons why KOIVIS should receive investment!

First, despite being in launch stages, Soundok achieved 50,000 cumulative users, over 15 artist orders, and initial monthly revenue of $1.4K USD (2 million KRW), proving both marketability and revenue possibility. Beyond simple playlist transfer tools, our model integrating music-based curation advertising and music distribution functions has clear differentiation and competitiveness compared to similar domestic and international services.

Second, we’re ready to build globally competitive systems but lack infrastructure and resources. Similar US services already grew enough to partner with Apple Music. However, if we properly equip DB and machine learning systems, we possess technological capabilities to provide cheaper yet more accurate matching. The problem is currently not securing DBs for all songs, requiring manual model operation whenever user requests occur. Funding to build servers, storage, and learning infrastructure is desperately needed.

Third, we’re not a simple technology startup but a team that can grow into a platform connecting the entire music industry. Soundok’s final goal is a ‘music-based social platform’ encompassing song-based data and recommendation algorithms, curator networks, and artist advertising platforms. This absolutely requires aggressive marketing and infrastructure expansion to enhance public recognition proceeding in parallel. Technical preparation is already finished—now we’re finding partners to give this system wings through investment.

When did your relationship with Pangyo Gyeonggi Culture Creation Hub begin, and what advantages can you recommend to other startup teams?

Our team first connected with Pangyo Gyeonggi Culture Creation Hub while performing the PRE-MAP preliminary entrepreneur support program at the preliminary entrepreneur stage last year. After graduating as the final 2nd place company then, this year we were selected for the early startup package program for full-scale commercialization and continue using Pangyo Hub as a base.

Pangyo Hub’s biggest advantage is not stopping at simply providing space or conducting formal mentoring but actively connecting programs and opportunities helping actual business expansion. For example, branding/marketing support programs, demo day opportunities, meetup days with investors, and exhibition support greatly helped obtaining immediately necessary resources and know-how from startup perspectives. I think it can be very practical support especially for teams struggling with marketing or initial user acquisition.

For startups, Pangyo Hub is more than simple space—a ‘trigger.’ A base I’d definitely recommend in early startup stages.