At the All That Matters Conference in Singapore, senior executives at Sony Music Entertainment Japan, Amazon Music, Netflix and Gold House expanded their role in Asia, citing anime, K-Pop and AI-led productions restructure the industry.
The “East Meets Everywhere” session, hosted by Angellee, the music business and legal affairs for Netflix in Southeast Asia, Australia/New Zealand and Taiwan, explored how Asian IPs are shrinking beyond music, anime, games and movies.
Bing Chen, executive chair and CEO of Gold House, emphasized that a paradigm shift is ongoing. “Historically, global has meant going west. The biggest trend we are colluding on is to ensure that Asia doesn’t need the West. Asia has Asia,” he said. Chen emphasized K-Pop’s mutual pollination with Indian music, arguing that the franchise must evolve beyond the star-driven sequel. “‘Pokemon’ is the best example,” he pointed out, citing worldbuilding structures that allow for endless new characters and stories without relying on superstar actors.
Sony Music Entertainment Japan’s Nobu Nakatake highlighted the sustainability required to incubate global fandom. He pointed out the “Kimet No Yaiba Infinity Castle” called “Demon Slayer: Yaiba Infinity Castle.” “Building a fanbase on a global basis is a tenacious job,” he said, emphasizing that the franchise journey began with the manga series nearly a decade ago, exploding into a cultural phenomenon.
Amazon Music’s Frankie Yaptinchay shines the spotlight on the cross-sectional reach of the platform, recalling the milestone of booking “Amazon Music Live” K-Pop group twice on Prime slots following Thursday night’s football. “We saw record viewers,” he said, celebrating the combination of Twitch, Prime Video and Live Fan Experience. Yaptinchay claimed that collaboration resonates most when it is authentic.
The panelists also sought direct artists and artist connections. “Artists should speak to the same language as artists and creators,” Nakatake said, warning against label design collaborations. Chen added that growing small circles of devoted fans often drives vast influences, urging creators to ritualize the fan experience and offer status-based privileges.
As for take-out, Chen urged artists to use AI despite creative concerns. “Unfortunately there is a very high and direct correlation between the amount of content created and the size of the audience.” Yaptinchay cited the work of the Gold Music Alliance in search of greater Asia’s representation at global institutions such as the Grammy Awards. Nakatake’s closing notes were clear. “Don’t copy songs from the top Western hit charts.
