Asia Society : BTS and Beyond

As a part of the Leo Gala Series to promote Korean culture and celebrate its beauty beyond the facade, Asia Society Korea and Asia Society Southern California co-hosted a live webinar with three distinguished panelists: Jae Chong, a producer, artist, and APAC Music Industry executive, Tamar Herman, senior culture reporter at South China Morning Post, and Youngdae Kim (Ph.D.), music critic and ethnomusicologist. They shared their thoughts about the record-shattering success of global K-pop superstars like BTS and Blackpink, the expanding influence of South Korean soft power, and beyond. The conversation was moderated by Bernie Cho, president of DFSB Kollective and music entertainment executive himself.

About the Guest Speakers

Jae Chong is an Asian superproducer with over 70 million albums sold worldwide. He's written and produced hit singles for Mando-Pop supernovas like Coco Lee and A-mei, and several K-Pop stars who are household names in Asia like Kim Gun Mo and JYJ. Jae Chong whose work as a musician and producer is well known in the Asian music scene, has written and produced for many artists such as L.A. Boyz, Stanley Huang, Shin Hwa, Aziatix, Royal Pirates, Hyun-A, etc. Chong's professional music career started in Los Angeles during the early 1990s, producing local rap groups such as Baby G, The Funky Few, and Soul Selection. He is one of the three members of the group, Solid (as well as the writer and producer), which was the first R&B group in South Korea with record sales exceeding 4 million. Chong then shifted his focus to the Asian music scene by writing and producing songs for various artists in Asia. He went on to write and produce for many international artists like Coco Lee, Kim Gun-mo, Shin Seung-hun, Stanley Huang and L.A. Boyz. In 2003 he also took part in launching the first hip hop entertainment company in Taiwan, MACHI Entertainment. He was also the first Korean American ever to be nominated for the Best Producer of the Year at the Golden Melody Awards and won various awards for albums, two of which were Stanley Huang and Nicky Lee who won the Best Male Artist of the Year award at the 2005 and 2006 Golden Melody Awards respectively. In 2010, he helped coordinate the collaboration project between JYJ, Kanye West, and Rodney Jerkins. In 2011, he founded the hip-hop/R&B group Aziatix.


Tamar Herman joined the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in 2020 after years of covering K-pop and related content for outlets such as Billboard, Forbes, and NBC News. She released her first book, “BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears,” in August 2020, and can be seen in the K-pop episode of Vox’s Explained on Netflix. She is a managing editor and co-founder of Kultscene, a website dedicated to creating unique content for fans of the Korean entertainment industry. She is also a regular contributor to numerous other media outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter, Vulture, and The Village Voice. Between 2014 and 2015, Tamar worked at NBC 4 New York as the early AM news show production assistant, producing weekly segments aimed at local communities. Tamar earned her BA in East Asian Studies with a focus on Korean culture, entertainment and business practices from the Macaulay Honors College, CUNY. Her minors were History, Korean and Business and Liberal Arts (BALA). She is proficient in Korean and Hebrew.


Youngdae Kim is a music critic and ethnomusicologist, who serves as a member of the Selection Committee for the Korean Music Awards. Kim holds a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Washington, Seattle. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, he moved to Seattle in 2007 where he has been studying music while closely observing American pop music trends and the development of global K-pop sensation for over a decade. Kim has contributed his critical articles to both Korean and American media outlets, including Vulture, MTV, and the Hankyoreh, and appeared on numerous TV shows, podcasts, and public/academic lectures. He is the author of multiple publications in Korea, including BTS The Review: The Comprehensive Look at the Music of BTS and Korean Hip-hop: The Footprints of its Passion.

About the Moderator


Bernie Cho is the President of DFSB Kollective, a Seoul-based Artist & Label Services agency that specializes in providing digital media, marketing, and distribution solutions to 600+ Korean Pop music artists. As more K-Pop acts aspire to go independent and international, DFSB Kollective collaborates with artists and their management companies to devise customized strategies that directly connect them to their local and global fans. Since 2009, the agency has successfully produced numerous K-Pop concerts and showcases in North America, Asia, and Europe as well as secured #1 Apple iTunes Music chart debuts for various K-Pop albums in the US, Canada, Japan, Korea, Greater China, Southeast Asia, Australasia, and Europe. In order to raise the recognition of Korean music internationally, DFSB Kollective is a member of Merlin Network (global digital music rights agency for world's leading independent labels) and an official Korean content provider for Apple iTunes Music, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube Music, Deezer, Pandora, iHeart Radio, Facebook, TikTok, Tencent Music Entertainment, NetEase Cloud Music, KKBox, AWA, JioSaavn, Boomplay, Anghami, and Yandex. As one of the first and foremost K-Pop music exporters, DFSB Kollective and its artists have been featured speakers/performers at top international music industry events (CMJ, CMW, SXSW, Coachella, The Great Escape, Glastonbury, Summer Sonic, Music Matters, MusicBiz, MIDEM) and profiled in leading international media outlets (BBC, Billboard, Bloomberg, CNN, Discovery, E!, Forbes, Monocle, MTV, Musically, Newsweek, New York Times, NPR, Pitchfork, Spin, Time, YouTube Originals, Wall Street Journal). Prior to founding DFSB Kollective, Bernie served as the Head of MTV Korea’s Digital Media Production and worked for nearly 2 decades in the Korean music TV industry as a Creative Planner, Program Producer, and Show Host. He has earned a BA from Dartmouth College in Government/Asian Studies and has graduated from the UCLA Anderson School of Management (Executive Entertainment & Media Program) and the Vancouver Film School (Foundation Film Program).

In Partnership with Asia Society Southern California

Featured Moderator : Bernie Cho [DFSB Kollective]

2019 All That Matters : Crystal Ballers - Future of Digital Influence

Social Media leaders Emily Foster, Parker Jones, Roxy Sun and Mari Takahashi talk with Bernie Cho about the influences of digital media and the future at All That Matters 2019.

www.allthatmatters.asia

Panel Moderator : Bernie Cho [DFSB Kollective]

SparkLabs Group : Innovations in Music During These Uncertain Times

Uncertainty can be a great innovator, especially during times like these. Join us for this virtual panel to listen to some of those at the forefront of innovation in the music industry.

Recently on April 26th, SuperM, the South Korean boy band, hosted a live stream online concert that had over 75,000 paid viewers and generated over $2 million. Kiswe is the technology company powering BTS's Bang Bang Con: The Live on June 14, 2020, so we are excited to have Kiswe's CEO Mike Schabel on this panel.

Our esteemed panelists will be discussing new trends and innovations being launched and how these uncertain times have affected the music industry overall.

Tuhin Roy
SVP New Digital Business & Innovation @ Universal Music Group

Tuhin is leading UMG's efforts to support a robust ecosystem of early-stage digital music companies.  As part of this effort, he designed and launched the UMG Accelerator Engagement Network which is building partnerships with accelerators around the world to foster a new generation of digital music companies.  Current Accelerator Network partners are located in New York, Belgium, Berlin, Seoul, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Paris, Toronto, Melbourne, Berkeley, Jerusalem, Mexico City, Campinas (Brazil) with new partners being added regularly.  

Tuhin has also been closely involved with the development of a new form of innovation license that enables early stage companies to launch products legally with a minimum of process for both UMG and the entrepreneurs involved.  Tuhin assisted Capitol Records senior management in launching Capitol360, a new innovation center based at the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood, California.  Beyond his work with the early-stage eco-system, Tuhin is negotiating new model deals involving data-driven A&R, short UGC video services and next generation subscription music services.

Jaeson Ma
CEO @ East West Ventures • Co-Founder @ 88rising • Co-Founder @ Stampede Ventures • Co-Owner @ Triller

Jaeson Ma is a media executive, artist, and serial entrepreneur. He is a principle co-owner in social music video app Triller, co-founded premium production studio Stampede Ventures, digital music label 88rising, and east-west talent, brand strategy & investment firm East West Ventures. Jaeson is a Senior Advisor to Tencent Music Entertainment & KKBox fund KKFarm, SparkLabs Foundry & a Network Partner for consumer tech fund GoodWater Capital. Jaeson is considered one of the leading financiers to companies, institutions, and individuals investing in Asian media, entertainment & tech. Investments include Musical.ly (TikTok), Grab, Dark Horse Comics, Slock.it, Brain, Oursong, Triller, Kind Heaven, NanoTech Energy & MAUM restaurant (Michelin Star).

Mike Schabel
CEO @ Kiswe Mobile

Mike Schabel has built his career around building global businesses in new and emerging markets. Mike earned his Doctorate at the University of Arizona in chemical engineering, a Masters in materials science and a Bachelor’s in aerospace engineering. Starting his career with Bell Labs in 2000, Mike quickly transitioned to commercializing technology as well as trying to invent it. Through his career, Mike ran Nokia’s Internet of Things business, created and led Alcatel-Lucent’s Small Cells wireless business culminating in deployments with 83 wireless operators in 55 countries, built a successful wireless analytics business, and led the turnaround of a distressed mobile soft-switch business. Mike joined the team at Kiswe Mobile, a pioneer in interactive-social mobile experiences, in 2016, and has led a world-class team of business and technical experts since 2017.

Sung Cho
Founder & CEO @ Chartmetric.com

Sung Cho is Founder and CEO of Chartmetric.com, a data analytics company dedicated to serve the music industry, by solving the complex problem by tracking a large amount of data and meeting the industry needs around playlist marketing.

Prior to starting Chartmetric, he worked as Principal Product Manager at Oracle Corporation. Prior to that, he was first employee/engineer at Gamevil (KQ:063080, Market Cap: $600MM), where he initiated mobile game development and eventually positioned the company as a leading mobile game developer. Sung graduated with a bachelor’s degree of electrical engineering and computer science from Seoul National University, and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Bernie Cho
Founder & President @ DFSB Kollective

Bernie Cho is the President of DFSB Kollective, a Seoul-based Artist & Label Services agency that specializes in providing digital media, marketing, and distribution solutions to 600+ Korean Pop music artists. As more K-Pop acts aspire to go independent and international, DFSB Kollective collaborates with artists and their management companies to devise customized strategies that directly connect them to their local and global fans. Since 2009, the agency has successfully produced numerous K-Pop concerts and showcases in North America, Asia, and Europe as well as secured #1 Apple iTunes Music chart debuts for various K-Pop albums in the US, Canada, Japan, Korea, Greater China, Australasia, Southeast Asia, and Europe.

In order to raise the recognition of Korean music internationally, DFSB Kollective is a member of Merlin Network (global digital music rights agency for world's leading independent labels) and an official Korean content provider for Apple iTunes Music, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube Music, Deezer, Pandora, iHeart Radio, Facebook, TikTok, KKBox, AWA, JioSaavn, Boomplay, and Yandex. As one of the first and foremost K-Pop music exporters, DFSB Kollective and its artists have been featured speakers/performers at top international music industry events (CMJ, CMW, SXSW, Coachella, The Great Escape, Glastonbury, Summer Sonic, Music Matters, MusicBiz, MIDEM).

Prior to founding DFSB Kollective, Bernie served as the Head of MTV Korea’s Digital Media Production and worked for nearly 2 decades in the Korean music TV industry as a Creative Planner, Program Producer, and Show Host. He has earned a BA from Dartmouth College in Government/Asian Studies and has graduated from the UCLA Anderson School of Management (Executive Entertainment & Media Program) and the Vancouver Film School (Foundation Film Program).

Billboard Magazine : 5 Takeaways From Music Matters 2018

COURTESY OF MUSIC MATTERS/BRANDED : Billboard's Lars Brandle and veteran DJ Kaskade chat during a keynote session at Music Matters 2018Dance music is crossing borders like never before, clubland has found its groove in Asia and the sleeping giant that is China… well, it’s awake. Those are just some of the hot topics that were explored from the stages and the buzzing floors of Music Matters 2018. 

The 13th annual summit was held Sept. 10-12 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Singapore, under the All That Matters umbrella, which gathered some 1,700 professionals from across the region and around the globe to do business and gauge the state of the industry. 

Among the 100-plus speakers who plugged into the summit’s five content tracks were DJ Kaskade; Liquid State managing director Gunnar Greve and his protége, the Norwegian/English EDM star Alan Walker; Adele’s manager Jonathan Dickins and many more. 

Billboard caught all the action. Here are five key takeaways from the latest edition. 

China is powering ahead. Streaming giant Tencent Music Entertainment Group hosted a Music Matters forum which explored the notion, “When, not if, China will be the world’s No. 1 music market.” It’s not far off, noted Gunnar Greve, founder of the full-service music company MER and managing director of Liquid State, the joint venture between Tencent and Sony Music Entertainment. During his final-day keynote presentation, Greve described China as the “music market of tomorrow, the most exciting, the most vibrant and fastest growing market in the world." 

With electronic music emerging as the “universal language,” he looks forward to the “chance of breaking the first global superstar from China.” The Norwegian-born executive and his 21-year-old client, Alan Walker, whose works have been streamed billions of times in China, also participated in a packed panel session with artists Seungri, CORSAK and Andrew Li, executive chairman of the Zouk nightclub brand. “China will become the biggest market in the world,” Greve said.

COURTESY OF MUSIC MATTERS/BRANDED : Billboard's Lars Brandle and Liquid State's Gunnar Greve talk during a keynote presentation at Music Matters 2018Clubland is jumping.  With Hakkasan now open for business in Bali, rumors of Pacha also opening a permanent club on the Indonesian island, the Marquee planning to launch next year in Singapore and underground clubs Savage in Hanoi and TAG in Chengdu, China making all the right noises, Asia’s club scene is bouncing. Andrew Li says his Zouk venue has hit on a novel idea to cope with demand and build the brand, specifically in China: a cruise ship, with a capacity for 9,000 people. It’s a major challenge, he admits, but the realization of the dream could see a floating festival complete with bars, hotels and restaurants.

COURTESY OF MUSIC MATTERS/BRANDED : DFSB Kollective's Bernie Cho chats with Believe Distribution Services's Denis Ladegaillerie at Music Matters 201Denis Ladegaillerie will make you believe. It’s no secret: streaming has returned the global recorded music market to growth. As cheap data rolls out across Asia and music fans adopt new platforms, there’s more good times ahead, predicts Denis Ladegaillerie, CEO of Believe Distribution Services. “Asia today is the fastest growing region, from India to China and Indonesia,” says Ladegaillerie, whose own company is expanding as music fans clamor to streaming services like YouTube, Deezer and others.

There’s a lot of “growth potential,” he told DFSB Kollective’s Bernie Cho, which will be reflected by his own company's recruitment of 15 addition staff in the year ahead to work with labels and in other roles. Ladegaillerie also talked transparency across royalty collection and data. “The more information you make available, the more power you put in the hands of the artists,” he enthused. In time, the digital executive expects indie market share will continue to grow because “indie artists understand how digital works… and they’ll continue to build success on their own.”

Kaskade’s beach dream. Few DJs and producers have enjoyed the career longevity of Kaskade (aka Ryan Raddon). And no-one could blame him for wanting to ditch the club and hit the beach. The veteran U.S. DJ and producer also became a festival owner and promoter with Sun Soaked, a beach-festival concept he started in 2017 and hopes to expand in the years to come. "I’d been talking for years about doing something at the beach. My sound is very beachy. It’s the ultimate thing for me," he said during his Monday keynote. This year’s edition grew almost triple-fold, gathering more than 30,000 party goers. "My goal is to hopefully take it to the rest of the country and beyond," he noted. Kaskade and his small team is already planning and securing dates for next year.

Think big. Be ambitious. But you won’t beat Adele. September Management founder Jonathan Dickins had the privilege of closing this year’s summit with a relaxed keynote loaded with insider stories, advice for aspiring stars and surprise tribute videos from industry leaders. Dickins, a regular entrant in Billboard’s Power 100, talked Adele (25 is “probably the last blockbuster” CD, shifting 23 million copies), London Grammar ("this band this gonna get better") and King Krule (“an artist we’ll be talking about in 20 years”).

On pursuing acts, he also has one thing in mind: “We try to sign the best of class. If you do that, you can build careers.” And he warned baby bands to not get ahead of themselves. “The easiest thing you’ll do is put out a debut album. When you’re putting out 3s and 4s, that sorts out the wheat from the chaff…. So many artists fall off a cliff after the first."

https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news
By Lars Brandle

Featured Interviewer : Bernie Cho [DFSB Kollective]

Music Business Association : MUSIC BIZ ATTENDEE ALL-ACCESS < The World Comes to Nashville - How Music Biz Serves the Industry on a Global Level >

Each year, the Annual Music Biz Conference offers a wealth of knowledge and perspective from the industry at large, united under one roof for four days of insightful conversations and presentations. Our Attendee All-Access Series checks in with previous Music Biz Conference attendees to discuss their past Conference experiences and give first-timers a taste of what they can expect at Music Biz 2019.

In the first installment of our series, IMMF advisor Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt offers an overview of why the global breadth of the industry attends the Music Biz Conference.

A Global Perspective

The Music Biz Conference has grown organically year over year, proving to be a leading indicator of returning confidence in the industry. In an increasingly interconnected world, it’s important for music business representatives across the globe to share their successes, failures and innovations with one another to drive sustained growth industry-wide. Thankfully, the Music Business Association (Music Biz) truly provides a global forum to facilitate this at their Annual Conference.

Every industry is now global — automotive, tech, and even food & beverage, to name a few. The music industry is no different, with artists Arijit Singh, Aya Nakamura, BTS, Rosalía, and Wizkid currently making a huge global impact. Music Biz’s board brings together key labels and distributors like Big Machine, INgrooves, Sony, Warner, Universal, with platforms and stores like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube. While they may be headquartered in the US, these companies, and many more, have a global agenda. By extension, these companies bring that international perspective to all conversations at the event by exploring best practice and through networking at the Annual Conference.

Always Innovating

Part of the Conference’s sustained success is due to always remaining ahead of the curve. For example, the Conference has run its Metadata Summit for the past seven years, and ideas first discussed on the Music Biz stage are now ubiquitous at other conferences. 2018 industry newsletters and conferences included some buzz around the future of integrated entertainment systems in driverless cars, a topic first discussed at Music Biz 2013 that came to life through high-end audio in-car demos at Music Biz 2018. On a global level, the story behind the Latin music explosion was tracked at the Music Biz Conference long before the eventual boom began. The Conference has always promoted global innovation through networking and programming, and by featuring industry pioneers from across the globe such as Nashville locals Exactuals, Australia’s Jaxsta, and Finland’s Teosto.

One of many impactful conversations I witnessed at Music Biz 2018 was a presentation by Bernie Cho of DFSB Kollective on how the South Korean music industry had focused on metadata and B2B supply chains that digitally connect artists with global audiences. The South Koreans had acted locally to implement research and metadata standardization to think globally. Their system pays careful attention to multiple technical specifications, including languages, character sets, literal translations, and translations that accurately convey a phrase’s artistic sentiment. Some amusing, if not alarming, examples showed how the assumption, “its digital, I upload it here, it magically appears there” is true, but how that sentiment abandons responsibility for what the audience “discovers” on their local platforms. The presentation was a masterclass in best practice for acting globally.

To ensure that the global music business conversation remains current, this year’s Conference offers the strongest international representation yet. Hamburg, Germany’s Reeperbahn Festival (a leading European conference) will be in attendance to discuss the most pressing topics facing the global market. Artist strategy wizards like mtheory, Sandbox and Big Loud will offer their insights alongside publishing developments from SongTrust and BMG. And in the “Beyond Borders” segments, global monitoring and research service Nielsen will present their latest insights on global audiences alongside expert speakers from China, India and Latin America.

All Roads Lead to Nashville

Many cities are musical, but Nashville is “Music City.” And while Country music has never been stronger, the local Hip-Hop and Rock scenes are also thriving, including Jack White’s Third Man Label and Studios which past Music Biz delegates have visited. Last year, Dolly Parton gave a keynote, and in 2019 speakers will include Paul Rosenberg, CEO of Def Jam and Eminem’s manager. Across multiple continents and multiple genres, Music Biz serves as a uniting force for the industry and fosters inspiration to guide its shared future.

The Music Biz Conference has become the leading annual music industry event for global business development, and a melting pot of ideas informing the international music community. If you want access to the key decision makers, and to stay up-to-date on key developments both behind the scenes and consumer-facing, you go to the Music Biz Conference every year.

And when you’re overloaded with ideas, sneak down to Nashville’s Broadway, the home of the Honky Tonks. You’ll find me at the bar in Robert’s Western Lounge soaking up the sounds of the best guitarists and singers in the world. If it’s anything like last year, I’ll be sat next to industry experts from Norway, Japan, Mexico, and, of course, Nashville.

https://musicbiz.org/news
By Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt

Featured Speaker : Bernie Cho [DFSB Kollective]