88rising’s new SiriusXM Asian music radio channel

The formation of the channel, which has been in the works for more than a year and has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, highlights the growing global popularity of Asian music in the age of streaming. It also represents a blow to 88rising, the Los Angeles-based label run by the founder and CEO. Sean miyashiro, whose artists, including Indonesian singer Niki, Japanese singer-songwriter Joji and Indonesian rapper Rich Brian, will benefit from greater visibility for their music and higher royalties for radio broadcasts.

“It’s a great indicator of how Asian music is going today,” said Miyashiro. Billboard. “Just playing Asian music around the clock is a huge victory and a huge step forward.”

Excluding Japan, Asia music market revenues experienced their second consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2019, increasing 11.5% to $ 1.71 billion (Japan revenues fell 0.9 % to $ 2.9 billion), boosted by a sharp increase in paid subscription streaming, according to IFPI.

Asian music also shows its strength on Billboardthe new world maps of. Japan and South Korea were among the 10 countries with the most over-indexed songs on the Global Excl. US chart versus Global 200 chart, which includes the US market, the largest in the world.

Pandora, which is owned by SiriusXM, will launch a complementary radio station in January that will rise to include select tracks and exclusive audio messages from artists from the SiriusXM channel.

88rising Radio will debut with a 24-hour takeover by 88Asian artists and talent from around the world. Participating artists will include Yuna, Dumbfoundead, beabadoobee, Phum Viphurit, Japanese Breakfast and Keshi.

Initial programming will include stupid early, hosted by rapper-actor Dumbfoundead, and SOSUPERSONS, hosted by Filipino R&B singer-DJ SOSUPERSAM. Early next year, Miyashiro will host a weekly Asian global countdown show, The biggest 8.

When social distancing is no longer needed, says SiriusXM, the channel will also provide a platform for touring artists to visit, conduct interviews and interact with listeners and perform live at SiriusXM Studios in Los Angeles and New York. York.

Miyashiro says the SiriusXM channel will offer a heavy dose of pop music in English and Asian languages. His team at 88rising, who will curate the station’s content, also plans to create shows featuring subgenres of Asian music such as 2000s Korean R&B and Japanese urban pop. There are also podcast plans. At least two shows are already in the works, including a six-part humorous interview series hosted by comedian Joel Kim Booster titled Joy Fuck Club.

While the channel will be headquartered in Los Angeles at SiriusXM’s new Hollywood studios, 88rising also plans to feature shows recorded in Asia, including two produced in Seoul – one is a Total live requests-a countdown-style show with performances, and the other is a “variety podcast show” developed around Jae, a Korean-American member of South Korean rock band Day6.

For 88rising, the SiriusXM channel will generate more content for the company’s growing ecosystem focused on Asian music. The label plans to film all of the channel’s shows and reuse them as video clips for social media and 88rising’s YouTube channel, which has nearly five million subscribers. “There will be a very large video component because we know how to take advantage of video,” says Miyashiro. “It’s kind of a big part of our thinking.”

The SiriusXM channel is the latest effort from the five-year-old 88rising to expand its footprint. The label discovered groundbreaking talent with NIKI and Higher Brothers, and recently signed a deal with a Filipino telecommunications company to develop crossover artists. “88rising is a pioneering force connecting East and West, with undeniable success and credibility in strengthening cutting-edge Asian musical culture. ” Scott Greenstein, president and chief content officer of SiriusXM, said in a statement.

Miyashiro says he’s not that worried about language barriers to take advantage of non-English songs. It counts on the same popularity that Latin music has aroused among non-Spanish speaking populations. “There are a lot of people who don’t understand or speak Spanish fluently and love Latin music, including myself,” he says. “Bad Bunny – I listen to his album more than anyone this year I would say. It’s the same with K-pop. As if the lion’s share of the world audience doesn’t understand Korean.

Miyashiro hopes that the channel will eventually become a “living and breathing universe of Asian music and culture, where we develop many different shows with personalities who have distinct points of view.”

UPDATE 02/12: Based on information provided by SiriusXM, an earlier version of this story indicated that channel 88rising would not be available in automobiles. SiriusXM has since corrected the error, claiming the new station will be accessible anywhere.