{"id":516721,"date":"2026-06-29T14:51:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T14:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/516721\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T14:51:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T14:51:09","slug":"asia-live-music-boom-sweeting-and-yen-on-whats-driving-the-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/516721\/","title":{"rendered":"Asia Live Music Boom: Sweeting and Yen on What’s Driving the Surge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEach year, Taiwan\u2019s Golden Melody Festival<\/a> conferences, which take place before the Golden Melody Awards<\/a>, bring together local and international music industry experts across a series of keynotes and panels covering topics ranging from the global market and music production to extended economic value and industry trends.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe festival\u2019s first market presentation, titled \u201cThe Rise of Asia\u2019s Live Music Economy,\u201d featured Justin Sweeting, co-founder and head of music at Hong Kong\u2019s outdoor music and arts festival Clockenflap, and Mia Min Yen, founder of Woozi Studio, LLC, an agency that bridges the gap between East and West, who shared their perspectives on the evolving landscape of Asia\u2019s live music market.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the presentation, Sweeting made the structural case for Asia as a key touring destination. Rising costs in Europe and North America are pushing artists and promoters to look eastward, while the region\u2019s geographic proximity and well-connected transportation networks make multi-country routing far more practical than it once was. Collaborative projects like Sunset Rollercoaster\u2019s AAA Tour, he noted, have shown how teams across Asia can pool resources, align on market strategies, and collectively expand what is possible for touring across the region. He also stressed that government support, solid infrastructure, and cultural awareness \u2013 knowing when not to schedule, whether around Lunar New Year or Ramadan, and when to lean in during peak festival seasons \u2013 are just as critical to long-term success.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe pandemic reset many people\u2019s relationships with live music. I\u2019d argue there\u2019s a depth of appreciation now which was amplified after being taken away for so long,\u201d Sweeting tells Variety.<\/p>\n

\n\tSweeting painted a picture of a region whose time has come. \u201cBroadly speaking, Asia is very much a growth story and I\u2019d say this is the result of several factors coming together. On the audience side, the region has a massive, youthful middle class across Southeast Asia, China, South Korea and India with rising disposable income and a genuine hunger for live experiences,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n\tYen agrees the ground has shifted. \u201cFans\u2019 listening habits and ways of discovering music have evolved, driving a dramatic shift in festival curation over the last ten years. Today\u2019s audiences prioritize community, shared identity and experience, over traditional, commercial, or genre-based lineups,\u201d she tells Variety.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat emotional investment has translated into higher spending and higher expectations. \u201cNo longer is a fan just buying a ticket, but investing in a memory. From the queue experience to merch offerings, everything needs to be considered and to feel special,\u201d Sweeting adds.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the question of sustainable growth, Yen is direct. \u201cI think there needs to be room for local promoters to thrive. The live music industry cannot be a monopolistic market. Furthermore, a clearer division of labor is essential, and the role of Asia-focused booking agents\/agencies will undoubtedly become more prominent,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\n\tSweeting is equally candid. \u201cAsia is not homogeneous, and it is its diversity that presents both challenges as well as what makes the region so exciting. Distinct cultures, languages, geopolitical factors, currencies, tax and visa regulations and more, mean that there are complexities throughout,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n\tLooking five years ahead, Yen says: \u201cThe Southeast Asian market is set to bloom, language barriers will continue to diminish, emerging sounds from this region will become increasingly prominent, [and] more Western artists will be drawn towards this market.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Each year, Taiwan\u2019s Golden Melody Festival conferences, which take place before the Golden Melody Awards, bring together local…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":516722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[146,236020,236748,85,46],"class_list":["post-516721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-golden-melody-awards","tag-golden-melody-festival","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}