How Broadcasters Take Music Show Audience Applications

There are two ways into a music show’s studio audience: the participation notice the performing act’s agency posts for each episode, and the audience application a broadcaster takes on its own page. The agency side was read through seven notices in the guide to pre-recordings.

This guide reads the broadcaster side, as the official pages of three programmes — KBS’s Music Bank, SBS’s Inkigayo and MBC’s Show! Music Core — stated it on 11 September 2026. The three doors are shaped differently, and every procedure and date below is what those pages carried that day.

1. The way into the audience splits into the broadcaster’s application and the agency’s notice

Kyunghyang Shinmun wrote that an audience can be admitted to a pre-recording as well, and that in that case the act’s agency and its fan club agree in advance on the entry time and the headcount. The application window opens on that side too. For the M Countdown pre-recording of 28 May 2026, applications were taken by an episode notice on the artist’s Mnet Plus notice page, with a window of two hours and a capacity of 210.

The audience a broadcaster takes directly is a separate channel, and the three programmes read here keep a guide to it on the broadcaster’s own page. What one act’s episode notices look like is set out in a guide reading seven episode notices.

2. Music Bank takes web applications on the Thursday and Friday a week before the broadcast

The audience guide on KBS’s Music Bank site states that seat applications run from 9 a.m. on the Thursday a week before the broadcast to midnight on the Friday. The application is made by choosing an episode from the audience-ticket list on the same page. The recording takes place in the open hall of the KBS New Wing or the KBS Annex.

That list gives each episode’s date, venue, announcement date, age rating and seat type. Episode 1,308, open for applications on 11 September 2026, was listed for Friday 18 September at 5:15 p.m. in the New Wing open hall, with results on Monday 14 September, a rating of 15 and over, and general seating. Episode 1,307, recorded that same day, was already closed.

3. At Music Bank, one application covers two tickets and names the companion

Each application reserves two tickets per person. The guide states that the companion’s name must be entered at the time of applying and cannot be changed after the announcement, and that on the day both people must arrive at the set time and have their identity checked before they can enter.

Anyone who needs a wheelchair space is asked to note it in the remarks field when applying. The guide states that an application with nothing in that field is assigned an ordinary seat.

4. Results come on the page the following Monday evening and by text on Thursday afternoon

The guide states that winners can check the result on the audience application page after 6 p.m. on the Monday after the application week, and that a text message follows after 2 p.m. on the Thursday. Its worked example runs in that order: apply on Thursday and Friday, check the result the next Monday, receive the text on Thursday and attend on Friday. The announcement and recording dates of episode 1,308 fall in the same order.

The seat is fixed with the result. Every seat is assigned at random, and the seat number is announced together with the winners. The guide describes the assigned-seat system as one meant to spare viewers the long wait to see Music Bank.

5. On the day, the result and an ID are exchanged for a seat ticket

Seat tickets carrying the seat number are handed out from 2 p.m. on the day of the broadcast, and entry runs from 4:10 p.m. to 4:40 p.m. The guide states that staff check the mobile ticket or the winning text together with the winner’s ID and the companion’s ID, then exchange them for the seat ticket. The mobile ticket is found through the ‘Ticket’ icon at the top right of the KBS+ app or on the KBS My Page site after logging in as a KBS member.

A photocopy of an ID or a photo of one is not accepted, and no one is admitted after the live broadcast has started. The guide states that nobody under 15 is admitted, whether or not they hold a ticket.

6. Music Bank tickets cannot be resold, and the audience appears on screen

The guide’s cautions state that duplicate reservations and the sale or transfer of tickets, once detected, bar the holder from reserving and entering, and that action will be taken through lawful procedures. Photography, video and audio recording inside the studio are prohibited too; anyone caught has all material deleted, is removed and cannot attend again.

The audience is part of the broadcast. The guide states that, because the show is live, the audience and its reactions are filmed along with it and may be used in the broadcast and in online content, that taking part counts as consent to this, and that anyone who does not consent cannot take part.

7. Inkigayo runs application, results and entry through the SBS play app alone

The audience guide on SBS’s Inkigayo site and SBS’s audience application page both state that application, the winning check and entry all go through the SBS play app. The application is reached from ‘My’ in the app, then ‘Audience and application history’, then the audience application banner, and the application screen asks for the date.

It does not give one person two tickets. The application screen states that one ticket admits one person, and the guide says the same.

8. Inkigayo sends its results by app push only, with no text message

SBS’s audience application page states that winning notifications are sent only as app push messages and that no separate SMS is sent. The same page notes that a user who deletes the app will not receive the push notification.

The place to check when a push does not arrive is also in the app. The Inkigayo guide states that the result can be checked in the audience application history under ‘My’ after opening the app.

9. The Inkigayo ticket is a mobile ticket in the app, and staff press ‘Enter’ on the day

A winner finds the mobile ticket through the ticket icon at the bottom right of the app’s main screen or the ‘View ticket’ button in the application history. The guide states that the red ‘Enter’ button on the ticket screen is pressed by staff at the venue on the day, after they have checked the holder’s ID.

If it is pressed by mistake beforehand and turns into the grey ‘Entered’ button, the win is voided and the holder cannot enter. The guide states that Inkigayo is closed to anyone under 15, even with a parent.

10. The application menu on the Show! Music Core site recruits a viewer committee, not an audience

The programme menu on MBC’s Show! Music Core site has no item for audience applications. The place that takes applications is ‘Viewer committee recruitment’ under ‘Viewer committee’, which also holds ‘Viewer committee vote’ and ‘Notices’. On 11 September 2026 the only entry on that recruitment page was the recruitment of the committee’s 80th cohort, with an application period from noon on 14 September to noon on 18 September.

The recruitment guide states that anyone in Korea who loves music, from their 10s to their 40s and over, may apply, that those selected serve for five weeks, and that their votes count toward the show’s ranking score. Where that vote sits in the ranking is set out in a guide to each show’s voting.

11. Show! Music Core seats go by a weekly draw among committee members who voted

The recruitment guide states that, after the committee is selected, audience tickets are given by a weekly draw only to those who have voted. The broadcaster’s route into the Show! Music Core audience therefore passes through selection and the vote.

Only those selected vote. The vote page states that each member of the current MBC viewer committee may vote for four songs, and that the result of the vote from 9 a.m. on 9 September to 11 a.m. on 10 September applies to the 12 September Show! Music Core ranking. The recruitment guide also states that a phone number changed after the recruitment period cannot receive a resent text.

12. Each broadcaster names its own place to check when something goes wrong

The Music Bank guide asks viewers to check the ‘Notices’ board on the site before coming, and adds that the line-up on the day of a live broadcast may change. The result can be checked on the audience application page from the evening of the announcement.

Inkigayo sends no text, so the audience application history in the app is that place. Show! Music Core keeps a separate notices board under its viewer committee menu.

Frequently asked questions

When do Music Bank audience applications open?

From 9 a.m. on the Thursday a week before the broadcast to midnight on the Friday. The result appears on the audience application page after 6 p.m. the following Monday, and the text arrives after 2 p.m. on Thursday. For episode 1,308, recorded on 18 September 2026, the announcement date was Monday 14 September.

How many people get in on one application?

It differs by broadcaster. Music Bank reserves two tickets per person, with the companion’s name entered. Inkigayo admits one person per ticket.

How old do you have to be?

The Music Bank and Inkigayo guides both state that nobody under 15 is admitted. The Inkigayo guide adds that this holds even with a parent.

Can you apply to MBC directly to watch Show! Music Core?

The application menu on the Show! Music Core site recruits a viewer committee. Its guide states that audience tickets go by weekly draw only to members who were selected and then voted. The participation notices agencies post for each episode are a different route.

Where do you check if no text arrives?

For Music Bank, the audience application page shows the result after 6 p.m. on the Monday of the announcement. Inkigayo sends no text, only an app push, and the result can be seen in the audience application history under ‘My’ in the app.

Can you choose your seat at Music Bank?

No. Every seat is assigned at random, and the seat number is announced with the result. A wheelchair space is requested in the remarks field when applying.

How do you apply for M Countdown?

This guide covers the three programmes that keep an audience guide on the broadcaster’s own page. Applications for the M Countdown pre-recording of 28 May 2026 opened through an episode notice on the artist’s Mnet Plus notice page, with a window of two hours.