Courtesy of Music Matters
Singapore’s skyline glowed under race-week lights as the 20th edition of All That Matters (Music Matters) roared to life. Over six days — starting Sept. 26, 2025, with Music Matters Live and running through Oct. 1 with the business conference — Hilton Orchard and Clarke Quay became a crossroads for culture, commerce, and ideas.
On the evening of Sep. 28, before the conference formally began, the Australian showcase, hosted by Sounds Australia, set the tone. Acts like Pania, Adrian Dzvuke and Egoism delivered breezy, confident sets under warm lighting. The crowd thinned and swelled as delegates began to mingle, scanning for familiar faces and discovering new voices.
Inside the Hilton’s meeting rooms over the next three days, panels ranged from deep dives into AI’s role in songwriting to strategic debates about touring in Asia. But one undercurrent kept surfacing: the tension between scale and substance, between algorithm and art, between regional ecosystems and global metrics.
India’s story had a center seat. During Indian Culture Matters, panelists Owen Roncon of BookMyShow, Mandar Thakur of Times Music, and I, along with our moderator Ed Peto of Virgin Music Group and Outdustry, explored what it means for India to straddle global ambition and local constraint. While audiences scale into the hundreds of millions, monetization — especially in streaming and concerts — still lags. Discussion veered toward how creators in India are increasingly discovered via short-form video platforms, and how diaspora audiences in Singapore, Malaysia, the Gulf, and beyond are creating bridges for touring and consumption that bypass the traditional West-inward lane.
The conference also featured Kennel Matters as part of the Music Academy segment, a panel on songwriting and publishing that unpacked what it takes to move from creativity to global placements. Moderated by me, the session with Jon Chua and Johan Gustafsson of Kennel Music offered clear takeaways for young songwriters. One point they emphasised was deceptively simple: never send out a track you’re not personally happy with. If the creator isn’t convinced, it’s unlikely anyone else will be. External perspectives matter, but only after the writer feels confident the work represents their best effort. They also noted that demos need to be presented as close to finished as possible — toplines, hooks, and production polished enough that the song could stand on its own. Beyond the creative, both panellists underscored the importance of business literacy: knowing how to structure splits, protect rights, and follow through on opportunities. And, they added, relationships and trust are what sustain careers — people want to keep working with writers who show up consistently and deliver at a professional standard.
Elsewhere, sessions about AI debated whether generative technology should be treated as a tool or a threat. Speakers pointed to real-world examples: labels are already using AI to clean up vocals and mix demos, while also raising concerns about platforms being flooded with AI-generated tracks with unclear ownership. Gaming, Music & the Metaverse revealed how in-game concerts and avatars are redefining touring for younger fans, citing Travis Scott’s Fortnite performance that drew over 12 million live participants as a benchmark, alongside experiments in Southeast Asia where local artists are building avatars into mobile gaming apps to extend their reach. On new models of collaborations, speakers spotlighted how companies across tech and fashion are shifting from simple sponsorships to deeper partnerships — Adidas was cited for co-creating campaigns with regional artists, while luxury houses like Louis Vuitton are increasingly tying capsule launches to music collaborations in Asia.
Another key moment came with the launch of the Official Southeast Asia Charts and a refreshed Official Singapore Chart. Overseen by IFPI and built on streaming and digital download data from platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, the charts aim to formalize measurement across the region and amplify local voices. In Singapore, Regina Song, Benjamin Kheng, ALYPH, and Stefanie Sun were recognised for their top-selling local releases, underscoring how regional artists can hold their own alongside global names when visibility and tracking are in place.
These big-picture conversations played out alongside hundreds of smaller, more personal exchanges in hallways, lounges, and breakout rooms. Delegates from across Asia, Europe, the Gulf, and North America swapped notes on touring, sync deals, and creator economies. In one meeting with a Southeast Asian executive, a language barrier almost derailed the flow — until the new AirPods Pro translation feature bridged the gap in real time. It was a small but telling moment: the tech of tomorrow is already shaping how global deals are brokered today.
Evenings were reserved for industry mixers and Music Matters Live, where Clarke Quay pulsed with performances from more than 40 acts spanning Asia, Australia, and beyond. Highlights included James Reid from the Philippines, Psychic Fever from Japan, Go-Jo from Australia, and a strong Indian presence with artists like Frizzell D’Souza. Each showcase became a reminder that, beyond algorithms and strategies, live music is still the truest measure of connection.
Now in its 20th year, Music Matters reinforced that the Asia-Pacific is no longer just an emerging region — it is a center of gravity for the global industry, and one the Western world can no longer afford to overlook. And in Singapore this year, India’s presence came through as one of the strongest voices in shaping the next chapter.
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