Music program 'M! Countdown' will be making changes to its ranking system.

Jung Yoo Jin PD, who is in charge of setting the direction for 'M Countdown' on Mnet, announced�on August 28th, "We are reorganizing how the rankings are made to better fit the changing music trend and also to have the public [agree] with the chart," explaining why they decided to change the way rankings are made.

Ahead of the change in rankings, on August 22nd, the Korean Musicians Association, Korean Entertainment Production Association, KMP Holdings, and many others involved in the entertainment industry were invited to inform them how the new ranking system will work.

Han Dong Chul, the director of Mnet, revealed, "'M Countdown' strives for fairness, and to raise the equality level, we decided to change up our ranking system. We are holding this meeting to see what the opinions of the experts in the industry are before we make any changes to the rankings."

During the meeting, those gathered agreed that there is a need for music program rankings that mirror the hot issues and most recent trends in the music scene. They also agreed that music programs should be a stepping stone for rookie singers to build up their skills, so that they can carry on the hallyu wave and grow as K-pop artists. Regarding international fans, they stated that the easiest way for them to get into K-pop is by looking at ranking charts, so there is a need for music programs with rankings.

Mnet staff members agreed to try and follow theses suggestions and other ideas coming from the meeting. The general consensus was that the rankings will raise the importance and percentage of music sales, downloads, and plays, and decrease the importance and percentage of fan votes. In exchange for decreasing the weight of fan votes, a research study of the reactions of those ranging from ages 15-39 will be held.

Director Han Dong Chul said, "We will work hard to make a fair chart that reflects the music trend as well as the hard work of producers and artists alike," revealing his future plans.

Starting with the last week in August, 'M Countdown' will start using the new ranking system. Another change is that rather than narrowing down the winner from three finalists, only two finalists will go head to head.

Along with the change in the ranking system at 'M Countdown', F.T. Island's Hongki has replaced Tony An as the new MC.

Source: My Daily via Naver