Pete Tong Shares 8 Observations for the Future of Electronic Music in Asia

Through his border and format-crossing Essential Mix, Pete Tong has become one of dance music's most iconic ambassadors. In 2014, he even won over the Queen—garnering an MBE for his contributions to the international electronic community—and crossed the Atlantic to set up shop for a permanent residence in Los Angeles, gracing American airwaves with his celebrated cadence (via syndicating his flagship mix show) and the occasional massive blowout. Outside of the western world, he's on occasion brought his taste-making DJ chops to Asia and just this week is performing as part of five-day boat cruise, Shipsomnia, in Singapore.

Tong's latest foray into the region follows his participation in IMS Asia-Pacific (again in Singapore) in December of 2015, where he was joined by many of dance music's most important voices. The globe-trotting conference, whose flagship event takes place annually in Ibiza, included key global industry players like DJs Kaskade, DJ Tennis and Armin Van Buuren, music industry execs from like Matt Rodriguez of booking agency AM Only, and influential artist managers like like Above & Beyond's manager James Grant. Throughout the day-long event at the W Hotel, they held various panels to address what the future holds for dance music in the continent.

After taking part in the day's programming of panel discussions, Tong hit us up with eight observations (listed in bold) that he took away from the summit and included some direct quotes from participants that complement and expand on his claims. Touching on themes like the region's arguably outdated penchant for EDM, and the creative potential offered by the region's diversity—the conference participants outlined what could be a vibrant and unique potential for dance music in the area.

"There is huge potential to grow the market. Penetration is currently 1/90th of that in the USA. […] If the Chinese market were even a quarter of where the US," says IMS analyst Kevin Watson during the first annual IMS China Business Report.

"Though America is a big country, when I fly from LA to NY I feel like I'm talking to the same people. But when I play Hong Kong versus Jakarta, these are very different regions," says Kaskade during his keynote interview at IMS Asia-Pacific. "There are different sensibilities in these regions."

"A huge indication of a healthy market are local artists. To have their own base and be able to export will be a great step in the right direction of growing," says Matt Rodriguez of AM Only during AFEM's Getting It Right the First Time panel at IMS China.

"Flume, What So Not and Will Sparks all came from a local scene. It became a thing. They got loyal followings, and now they can tour the world," says Matt Nugent of Onelove Records during AFEM's Developing the Eco-System panel. "You really do have to develop your own sound in order to breakthrough somewhere else," he adds.

"Artists just aren't making the effort to break through in China. You need a localized approach if you want to break through. Localize. Collaborate. Adapt," says James Grant, manager of Above & Beyond during AFEM's Getting It Right the First Time panel at IMS China.

"I don't see the market in Singapore first hand. I have to work with someone in the market that I can trust and rely on that will put my artist in the best position possible," says Ryan Saltzman, agent and co-owner of Bullitt Agency during AFEM's Developing the Eco-System panel.

"The crowd is so focused on the Top 100. If you're not in the Top 100, they don't want you," says Erik Leenders, CFO of David Lewis Productions during AFEM's Developing the Eco-System panel at IMS Asia-Pacific. "It's about education. It's about getting to know the different directions."

"You want to make sure that the music element is not neglected. At the end of the day, that's what drives everything else," says Kurosh Nasseri, attorney and artist manager for Paul Van Dyk during AFEM's Getting It Right the First Time panel at IMS China.

"In China, it's still brand new. There's no copyright protection, no legal streaming rules. That's another Firewall," says Eelko van Kooten, CEO of Spinnin' Records during The Great Firewall of China panel at IMS China. "The Firewall is figuring out how we get something back. We must invest to figure out how to get paid," he adds.

"Creating a scene is about creating a community. It has to bond organically," says DJ Tennis during the East Meets West artist panel. "It's time for Asia to start creating label scenes and bring people to work together."

"The rules of engagement here are completely different here: the ways they do business and the reasons they do business," says Robb Harker, CEO of Supermodified Agency during AFEM's Getting It Right the First Time panel at IMS China.

"The Asian market is one of the last markets to grow. I hope the Chinese government will be loyal with helping us get the right permits. The Asian youths really want this to happen. They really want dance music to grow. The only thing we can hope is that promoters get permission from local governments," says Armin Van Buuren during his keynote interview at IMS Asia-Pacific.

"We feel like we're in EDU, educating the crowd and the government. That's the goal: educate the government about the EDM industry as a whole," says Alan Hsia, co-founder of theLOOP during the Events in China panel at IMS China.

"The government needs to have options. We need to influence the government and show them the other options," says Irene Yang, co-founder of Midi Shanghai during the Events in China panel at IMS China.

"There's only so many international acts you can book for your market. Then you look at local talent. They're the ones educating," says Prateek Pandy, promoter at sLick! during AFEM's Developing the Eco-System panel.

"Electronic music is one of the most worldwide, influential music products. The energy of EDM is without language," says Noel Lee, founder of Monster Products during Brands in China panel at IMS China.

"I've always seen Asia as a place of opportunity, but now it feels like how it felt in 2008, 2009 in America. It was all leading up to something and we're going to get to see what that is. That's why we're all here," says Kaskade during his keynote interview at IMS Asia-Pacific.