Sony Music’s Shridhar Subramaniam Champions Asia’s Cultural Diversity at All That Matters

At the All That Matters conference in Singapore, Shridhar Subramaniam, President of Sony Music for Asia and the Middle East, highlighted the region's growing power within the global music industry. In a keynote dialogue with music business leader Ralph Simon, Subramaniam—who also chairs the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)—praised the IFPI's recent launch of weekly music charts in six Asian nations. He described this move as a pioneering effort that redefines how regional hits are measured. The IFPI, a global organization representing the recording industry worldwide, has long tracked music consumption trends. Subramaniam evocatively likened the area's cultural depth to "the stratified Grand Canyon," where every layer reveals "new cultures, new colors and new material."

He cited Indonesia's dangdut music as a compelling case of a local sound being repackaged for wider audiences. Originally a folk genre performed in village settings, dangdut has been revitalized by a younger, urban generation into "hipdut," a contemporary fusion of traditional instrumentation and modern production that now dominates local charts. Sony Music, anticipating this evolution, created a dedicated label and pursued strategic acquisitions to nurture the genre. Subramaniam drew parallels to the international trajectories of reggaeton, Afrobeats, and Punjabi music, suggesting dangdut is poised for a similar ascent. This focus on localization is also evident in the Philippines, where Pinoy pop groups like SB19—structured on the K-pop model but infused with Filipino identity—are amassing billions of streams and starting to perform abroad, including recent concerts in Japan.

Subramaniam also pointed to Thailand's music scene, which is attracting significant attention from Chinese audiences for its pop offerings. He emphasized that cross-border collaborations are now commonplace, frequently involving producers from Korea, Japan, and China. However, he firmly stated that a strong domestic fanbase is the non-negotiable prerequisite for any artist aiming for international recognition. The K-pop industry serves as the definitive blueprint, where fervent local support created the foundation for worldwide domination—a strategy now being replicated across Asia. As one industry analyst noted, "The meticulous cultivation of local fandoms in Asia, combined with savvy digital marketing, is creating a new export model for pop culture."

In an era where Spotify reportedly adds more than 135,000 new tracks every day, artist development requires a multi-pronged strategy. Subramaniam explained that breaking through now depends on a synergistic use of fan communities, live events, and synchronization placements in television, film, gaming, and influencer content. "The challenge is to find the map and the right road for each of these artists," he stated. Despite the fragmented nature of modern media, he expressed strong optimism for Asia's future, pointing out that its portion of global music revenues has surged from under 7% a few years ago to nearly 15% today, with a potential climb to 20% in sight. This rapid growth underscores how the region's hyper-local music scenes, once amplified by algorithm-driven platforms, are positioned to influence global listening trends for years to come.