Music producer helps Korean boy band BTS top The Beatles

SAE Oxford audio alumnus James Cunningham was part of the production team who helped BTS beat The Beatles’ Billboard Chart record for the highest number of number one records in a year.

BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a seven-member South Korean boy band formed in Seoul in 2013

IN less than 12 months the band has landed a third number one album on the US Billboard 200 chart with Map of the Soul: Persona, which was released last month.

Mr Cunningham, 25, has also been working with TMS - the producers who had a number one with Lewis Capaldi’s Someone You Loved.

He said: “I still can’t believe that I was even a small part of this team that have managed to break this world-record.

“The experience has shown me that anything is possible if you just believe in yourself. I can’t blow my own trumpet too much as I was honestly one of the smaller members of this team, compared to the Mastering, Mix engineer, producers and songwriters.

“However, to say you have had a small creative input in a number one album across 85 countries and over seven million sales is quite an overwhelming statement in itself.

“I’m looking forward to having my first ever double platinum disc on the wall!”

Mr Cunningham said when he joined SAE Institute in Littlemore, from 2014 to 2016, he wanted to learn new skills and develop himself as a person and student more than needing or wanting a degree.

He added: “The degree was a plan B in case music didn’t work out for me.

“However, being able to spend two years somewhere where you can talk, express, debate and just be a part of music everyday instead of having to work a full time job and find the spare time to do music as a hobby was amazing and very fulfilling.

“It brings a new level to the audio world as it suddenly becomes your life, rather than a dream.”

Mr Cunningham, who has also worked at Blackfrog Studios in Thame, said he has had to work ‘Korean hours’

“The Korean music labels are so different to the Western World in the way they work and run,” he said.

“They are super hard-working - not that our Western labels aren’t,but I have been in contact with the Korean label Big Hit Entertainment throughout all hours of the day!

“They seem to work 24/7, and not just within office hours. Their hard work and dedication to the band really show that they have a strong team on all fronts.

“The language barrier can sometimes be an issue, but luckily the label in Korea have some great English speakers."

BTS is the first group since The Beatles to earn three number one albums in less than a year. This achievement last happened between December 1995 to November 1996, when the iconic band released their archive tracks through the albums Anthology 1, Anthology 2, and Anthology 3. The Beatles' record spanned 11 months and a week while BTS broke the record in just under 11 months.