The Taipei Music Expo (TMEX) returned this year with four days of forums, networking, and live showcases that reaffirmed Taipei’s role as a central hub for Asia’s creative industries. Hosted at the Taipei Music Center (TMC) as part of the TRENDY TAIPEI series, TMEX 2025 unfolded as a rare space where regional voices, global delegates, and cross-cultural collaborations converged.
At the heart of Taipei’s vibrant music ecosystem stands the Taipei Music Center (TMC), a landmark institution dedicated to nurturing creativity and connecting Taiwan’s music industry with the world. Since its opening, TMC has become not only an architectural icon but also a cultural hub for artists, labels, promoters, and audiences across Asia. With world-class facilities and a mission to bridge local talent with international opportunities, the center has firmly positioned Taipei as one of Asia’s music capitals.
Against this backdrop, TMEX2025 returned with a sharp focus on how global perspectives are reshaping local music scenes and how collaboration across borders can create new opportunities.
Expansive Industry Panels
TMEX 2025 featured cutting-edge topics across music innovation, live entertainment, and cross-cultural creativity. The programming spanned over 6+1 keynote panels, with subjects from AI in music creation and the concert economy’s role in shaping urban culture to creative culture crossovers, featuring global figures like Eric Kang from NVIDIA and THE FIRST TAKE’s creative director, Keisuke Shimizu, along with producer, Makoto Uchida weighing in. The result was a panoramic look at how technology, urbanism, and culture all intersect in today’s music ecosystem.
How Global Mindsets Are Reshaping Local Music Landscapes
Moderated by industry leaders, this panel gathered voices from three cities; Chiang Mai, Taipei/Kuala Lumpur, and Bali, to discuss how global influences are transforming their local scenes.
Speakers:
- Earng S. Varinpramote (Thailand) – Founder of TEMPO.wav, who moved from Bangkok to Chiang Mai to cultivate the underground scene.
- Shinichiro Honda (Japan) – Key figure and hall director behind Zepp venues in Taipei and Kuala Lumpur.
- Anom Darsana (Bali, Indonesia) – Festival director of Ubud Village Jazz Festival and studio owner of Antida Music Production supporting Balinese musicians.
- Moderated by Dela Chang (Taiwan) – Founder of KAO!INC. and important figure towards Taiwan’s hip hop scene.
Chiang Mai: Thailand’s Underdog Music City TMEX
Earng highlighted Chiang Mai’s vibrant yet under-recognized scene. With over 300 active artists, genres like dream pop, shoegaze, psychedelic rock, and world music flourish in intimate settings but often in small livehouses holding just 40–50 people. Despite its creative density, the city struggles to connect its artists with the broader industry. Most large-scale festivals are organized by expats or funded externally, leaving indie artists to rely on grassroots gatherings. Tempo.wav aims to link this local underground with the international stage. TMEX
Taipei & Kuala Lumpur: Raising Standards Through Infrastructure
Honda-san shared the journey of Zepp’s expansion, beginning with Zepp New Taipei in 2020 and followed by Kuala Lumpur. He explained how venues of around 2,000 capacity, largely absent in Malaysia, create a bridge between small livehouses and massive arenas. Taiwan’s strong appetite for Japanese pop made it a natural first step, while Malaysia’s demand for Chinese and Indonesian music offered the next opportunity.
Zepp’s presence in Taiwan also raised the bar for livehouse standards, with high-quality equipment and professional support for artists. Unlike Japan’s “one-drink system” that sustains venues, Taiwan lacks such mechanisms, yet Zepp’s entry has elevated audience expectations and improved the ecosystem for both artists and venues.
Bali: Balancing Tourism and Local Creativity
Anom emphasized the challenges in Bali, where local musicians often perform for tourists rather than developing original material. His studio and the Ubud Village Jazz Festival provide a platform for local musicians to produce and perform their own work. While Bali attracts international investment, the risk lies in pricing out locals. For Anom, the priority is ensuring local ownership of resources and opportunities, with exchange programs that connect Bali’s musicians to the wider world.
The Bigger Question: Why Invest Overseas?
The panel also addressed where they would invest if resources allowed:
- Earng S. Varinpramote: Secondary cities like Chiang Mai, creating “music citizens” who support local scenes.
- Shinichiro Honda: Expanding J-pop into Southeast Asia, with potential markets in Vietnam and Malaysia.
- Anom Darsana: Strengthening Bali’s infrastructure, but with locally driven investment to protect cultural integrity.
The conversation closed on the idea that sustainable growth requires quality venues, professional equipment, and strong local ecosystems, not just good songs.
Crossborder Music Collaborations: Unlocking Value Through Cultural Differences
The second panel explored how artists and industry figures create value through international collaborations, highlighting both creative sparks and logistical hurdles.
Speakers included:
- Jameson Lee (Korea) – General Manager at FLUXUS INC. (ContentsX), known for projects like Mamamoo’s Solar collaborating with Taiwanese singer 9m88.
- Chalerm Soongsak – Lemmy (Thailand) – Music Director from THE TIME TRAVELLER and Go On G’s Journalist. Singer of GYMV (former Gym and Swim) who has collaborated and toured with Sunset Rollercoaster from Taiwan.
- Go Kurosawa (Japan) – Co-founder of Guruguru Brain, known for Kikagaku Moyo’s drummer and vocalist, producer and A&R with deep ties across Indonesia, Japan, and Europe.
- Moderated by John Huang (Taiwan) – Founder of NPCC / TCM World, known for his dedication to connect Taiwan to the rest of the world through music bonds spanning overseas.
Collaboration Stories That Transcend Borders
- Solar (Japan) x 9m88 (Taiwan): Solar lived in Taiwan for two months, learning Mandarin and working closely on songwriting to ensure authenticity, proving that linguistic and cultural dedication strengthens fan engagement.
- Gym and Swim (Thailand) x Sunset Rollercoaster (Taiwan): A missed flight turned into the inspiration for their collaboration Don’t Leave Me Behind.
- Ford Trio (Thailand) x Mong Tong (Taiwan): What began as a single-song idea evolved into a full EP, with sessions involving Thai instruments and even Mong Tong’s trip to visit “ghost temples” for inspiration.
- Numcha (Thailand) x Kuo (Sunset Rollercoaster): A pandemic-era collaboration completed remotely in just one month.
Lessons in A&R Strategy
Jameson provides insights that the labels played a crucial role in pushing the collaboration into light with elaborate plans and strategies to extend the lifespan of the K Pop artist, which usually has a rough estimated cycle of 7 years, while also expanding into different markets, especially the Mando pop fans. The label ensures the efficient direction that provides common ground for the artist to work between each counterpart in creating the perfect song that can transcend across different boundaries.
In a different perspective, both Lemmy and Go stressed that collaboration should emerge organically from the artists themselves, not as a forced label-driven tactic. The key is chemistry: if artists “let it cook,” authentic connections will create stronger music than market-driven formulas. Lemmy told his stories about touring to Taipei 9 years ago with Gym and Swim that they spent a lot of time hanging out and building relationships with Sunset Rollercoaster members to a point that they became friends and even played together both in Bangkok and Taipei.
Go Kurosawa also mentioned that the western and eastern music industry has a different mindset. Western artists hire the company to book shows and distribute their music while having the final say on everything related to them. In contrast, eastern artists are mostly owned by the company since the labels put investments on the artist. Both approaches are neither right or wrong; it is just a matter of choice that the artist has to decide but needs to know what they are signing up for, although he wishes that there is an alternative way to coexist between both parties.
Obstacles remain, particularly with visa restrictions and differing industry structures between East and West, but the rewards, expanded fanbases, innovative sounds, and cultural bridges, far outweigh the risks.
As Go from Guruguru Brain put it: “Collaboration should start from the artists themselves. The differences are like cooking a cuisine; mixing of the differences of flavor to create a new memorable dish.” Even if the thinking is different, he hopes that the dish can make our world have better understanding and a wider perspective of each other.
Help! The Curator’s Survival Guide to Music Festivals
At the recent TMEX Festival seminar, a dynamic panel brought together festival organizers and arts programmers from across Asia and Australia to discuss the past, present, and future of music festivals in the region. Featuring voices behind Thailand’s Mahorasop Festival, the Philippines’ Malasimbo Festival, and Australia’s Artback NT community events, the session revealed shared challenges and triumphs across cultural, geographical, and logistical borders. At its core, the seminar was a heartfelt exploration of what it truly takes to build platforms that sustain artistic communities, not just profit margins.
Speakers:
- “Poom” Piyasu Komaradat (Thailand) – Founder of Seen Scene Space; one of the three promoters of Maho Rasop Festival.
- Miro Grgić (Philippines) – Founder and director of Malasimbo Festival.
- Evan Saunders (Australia) – Performing Arts Manager of non profit Indigenous-led community festival Artbank NT.
- Moderated by Suming (Taiwan) – Founder of Amis Music Festival, prominent Amis musician known for his work in preserving his culture.
Curating Lineups: Taste, Timing, and Collaboration
The selection of artists and curation styles revealed differing philosophies grounded in local contexts and personal values:
- Mahorasop, meanwhile, balances artistic ambition with commercial viability, often aligning its programming calendar with regional events like Joyland (Indonesia) and Clockenflap (Hong Kong) for strategic artist routing and co-booking.
- Malasimbo’s lineup has consistently leaned toward soul, jazz, funk, and world music, favoring artists like Jimmy Cliff, Jacob Collier, and FKJ.
- Artback NT uses both EOI (expression of interest) systems and cultural exchange relationships such as their years-long collaboration between Paiwan (Taiwan) and Yonglu (Australia) artists to decide which artists tour or perform at their events.
Navigating Challenges: From Permits to Presidents
Bureaucratic Hurdles and Political Climates
Each speaker reflected on the unique challenges in producing festivals:
- Poom (Mahorasop) described Thailand’s red tape: acquiring multiple permits for alcohol, tobacco, and even cannabis sales, often requiring coordination across five or more agencies.
- Miro (Malasimbo) recounted early friction with local government officials who didn’t grasp the potential economic and cultural impact. National support came easier once he submitted a tourism strategy, but local skepticism was harder to overcome.
- Evan (Artback NT) cited connectivity and funding as major barriers. Some Indigenous artists live so remotely that communication alone is difficult, while sponsors must also align with community ethics mining companies, for example, are controversial funders.
Financial Fragility and Sponsorship
Sponsorship remains a perennial issue:
- Mahorasop has seen fluctuating sponsorships year to year from Johnny Walker to Singha Beer with constant pressure to justify ROI and media value to potential partners.
- Malasimbo lost major support during Duterte’s administration in the Philippines due to political hostility toward festivals.
Marketing and Momentum: Building Reputation Organically
All three panelists emphasized the irreplaceable power of word of mouth over social media hype.
“People come back because of the experience, not the artist,” Miro said. “Product quality is king.”
Poom echoed this, noting that Mahorasop’s early success stemmed from fan trust in the three founding brands. Early bird “blind tickets” continue to sell well each year, despite rising competition from free concerts backed by Thai conglomerates.
For Artback NT, “marketing” in the traditional sense isn’t always necessary. In remote Indigenous communities, simply raising awareness and maintaining respectful relationships carries more weight than billboards or hashtags.
Community Over Commerce: Festivals as Cultural Infrastructure
Perhaps the strongest shared value was the belief that festivals should serve their communities before chasing commercial success.
- Artback NT helps communities build cultural capital, leadership, and arts infrastructure through continuity and support, not top-down control.
- Mahorasop’s collaborative model among promoters shows how pooling resources and fanbases can uplift a broader indie music ecosystem.
- Malasimbo doubled as a training ground for Filipino sound engineers and producers.
As one speaker concluded, “If you build a good experience, the audience will come and so will the sponsors.”
Conclusion: A Festival is More Than a Stage
The TMEX seminar painted a vivid portrait of festivals not as mere spectacles, but as living ecosystems where sound quality, cultural identity, grassroots collaboration, and adaptive resilience define success more than headliner status.
From the mountain amphitheaters of the Philippines to remote desert towns in Australia, and Bangkok’s bustling indie scene, the panelists demonstrated that authenticity, patience, and purpose-driven programming can still carve out meaningful space in an increasingly commercialized industry.
Their message was clear: Build something worth believing in and the rest will follow.
Jam Jam Asia: A Festival Within TMEX
A major highlight of TMEX was Jam Jam Asia (JJA), which transformed TMC into a multi-stage celebration of contemporary Asian music.
Headliners included:
- Yaeji (Korean-American electronic innovator)
- POTATO (Thailand’s leading rock band)
- Tanya Chua (Singaporean award-winning Mandopop icon)
- Sunset Rollercoaster (Hometown heroes from Taiwan)
- 9m88 (singer, songwriter, and actress from Taiwan)
With over 80 artists across 7 stages, including J.Sheon, YELLOW, Dizzy Dizzo, OZworld, Flesh Juicer, Sandee Chan, and more. Jam Jam Asia delivered an electrifying showcase of regional creativity unifying artists across Asia within the Taipei Music Center’s venues.
International Delegates Strengthen Regional Links
TMEX also welcomed over 100 international delegates spanning Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America, with festival directors, media, and industry leaders converging in Taipei.
Notable names included:
- Kartini Ludwig, Curator, SXSW Sydney (Australia).
- Keisuke Shimizu, Creative Director , THE FIRST TAKE (Japan).
- Kyuhee Baik, Brand Director & Strategist, SUPREME (USA).
- Yuthana Boonorm (Ted), Big Mountain Music Festival, Thailand’s largest outdoor music festival.
As TMEX 2025 drew its final notes at Taipei Music Center, the message was unmistakable: Taiwan isn’t just hosting Asia’s conversations, it’s charting the routes. Across four days of forums, showcases, and deal-making, Taipei proved how infrastructure, curation, and community can turn a city into a launchpad, putting Taiwan visibly on the global music map.
What emerged wasn’t a one-off spectacle but a working corridor. From Chiang Mai’s local music media to Australia’s indigenous music festival and Japan’s most unique conceptual Youtube session, TMEX connected Southeast Asia’s scenes into a network with Taipei as a dependable hub where artists co-write, labels co-invest, and festivals co-route. The collaborations spotlighted here; spanning language, genre, and market, showed that when creativity meets practical pathways, borders become bridges.
That is TMEX’s legacy this year: Taiwan as the compass point and connector; aligning Southeast Asia’s diverse music cultures with global attention, and proving that regional unity can amplify local voices onto the world stage.
Read more about Taipei Music Center from our 2024 trip to Taipei here https://www.therealcosmos.com/cosmos-voyage/trendy-taipei-taipei-music-expo-eng/
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