CJ Olive Young is launching a live commerce program that turns conversations between K-pop artists and their fans into shopping. With K-pop album sales surging this year, the retailer aims to use music content to widen its reach with fandoms at home and abroad.
CJ Olive Young said on the 21st that it will run GREEN ROOM, a new program combining a music talk show with real-time shopping features.
GREEN ROOM is hosted by an idol who invites singers that have just released new albums. Built around the concept of an artist's waiting room, it features new songs and behind-the-scenes stories from album production, and lets viewers interact with the cast in real time. During the broadcast, albums are also sold with purchase benefits available only at Olive Young.
The first episode airs at 8 p.m. the same day. Seo Eun-kwang of BTOB serves as host, with Lily, Sullyoon, Bae, and Kyujin of NMIXX appearing as guests following the Oct. 19 release of the group's sixth mini-album, "Strange Muse." The broadcast will include a listening session for the new songs and performance stages.
Fans in Japan as well as Korea can watch. Olive Young will stream the program simultaneously on Olive Young Live, its own live commerce platform, the Olyoung TV channel on YouTube, and O.Y LIVE on the Japanese-language version of its global mall. Real-time Japanese translation will also be provided.
The retailer is holding events for album buyers. Customers who purchase products during the broadcast and submit proof will be entered into a drawing for limited-edition photos, autographed albums, and Olive Young gift cards. All buyers will receive Olive points equivalent to their shipping costs.
Games featuring the artists and fans are also planned. Customers selected by drawing from among participants will receive popular products from major beauty brands sold at Olive Young.
Behind Olive Young's push into K-pop content is its expanding album business. After first carrying K-pop albums on its global mall in 2022, the company extended sales to its domestic online mall and offline stores. Revenue in the album category rose 152% in the January-September period from a year earlier.
Olive Young plans to run GREEN ROOM twice on a trial basis this year before making it a regular program from next year. It also plans to adopt a seasonal format and expand both the roster of featured artists and the broadcast content.
Olive Young has been diversifying its broadcast content since introducing Olive Young Live in 2019. In 2024, it built a dedicated studio and launched Partner Live, in which brands stocked by the retailer plan and host broadcasts themselves.