‘Kpop Demon Hunters,’ Saudi Gaming Gasoline All That Matters Dialogue

A high-powered panel on the All That Matters convention in Singapore introduced collectively leaders from sports activities, gaming, music, advertising and rising tech to debate what drives leisure now — and what’s going to form its future.

Moderated by Branded CEO Jasper Donat, the dialogue featured Amanda Staveley, CEO of PCP Capital Partners; Akshat Rathee, managing director of Nodwin Gaming; Gita de Beer, international technique and incubator manufacturers lead at Heineken; Rebecca Barkin, co-founder and CEO of Lamina1; and Calvin Wong, CEO of Universal Music Group Southeast Asia and Korea.

Staveley, who together with her husband has constructed a worldwide funding portfolio throughout media and sport, stated her group is elevating a devoted sports activities and media fund. “The one thing that is consistent is that sport is fabulous content,” she famous, including that youthful demographics demand “leading edge” supply and fan engagement. She flagged the looming shift to direct-to-consumer fashions, saying it might take “six, seven billion pounds” ($8-9.4 billion) to embed totally at Premier League soccer degree.

Rathee highlighted seismic adjustments underway in gaming. “For the first time ever, there are more young gamers on planet Earth than older gamers,” he stated, noting the median age is dropping by about seven months annually. He additionally pointed to “power in gaming shifting from China to Saudi Arabia,” alongside a transfer from PC to mobile-first consumption.

At one level, Rathee declared that “it’s all going to be on this,” whereas gesturing to his glasses. He defined that Meta, Google and Amazon are all getting ready new sensible glasses, signaling what he sees as the approaching redundancy of cellular units. He predicted the subsequent technology of breakout titles will come from followers themselves, citing the historical past of “Counter-Strike” and “Dota” as mods that grew into decades-long franchises. Looking forward, he argued that “the highest level of premium experiences will go physical, but they’ll be based on digital camaraderie,” pointing to phenomena akin to Comic-Con and “Kpop Demon Hunters mashups” as examples of communities born on-line that spill over into real-world gatherings.

De Beer recognized three key elements for manufacturers: velocity, localization and a spotlight. “For global brands, they really need to build global brands, but with a very hard local soul,” she stated, warning that shopper consideration spans have now shrunk to “less than a second.”

Barkin harassed the significance of decentralization and giving each creators and followers a stake in IP. “For entirely too long, IP creators have sacrificed their rights in exchange for visibility,” she stated. Lamina1, co-founded with sci-fi author Neal Stephenson, is growing blockchain-based platforms geared toward restructuring content material economics. “The idea that you could have a direct connection with fans as an IP holder and work with them to do world building… with better economics and a piece of equity — that’s what we’re focused on,” she added.

Wong underlined copyright safety and long-term artist growth as central to UMG’s technique. “If the ecosystem doesn’t allow that to happen, music will become a lot more boring going forward,” he stated, referencing the years-long growth of artists akin to Sabrina Carpenter. He pointed to the worldwide rise of Asian expertise, together with Malay-Sikh DEF Jam rapper Abangsapau, who carried out on the occasion, Indian rapper Hanumankind and Thai acts promoting out Japan. Wong additionally highlighted UMG’s new “music for wellness” initiatives, utilizing pop songs with artists’ permission to assist focus, rest and sleep.

All That Matters, which started as a music convention, and has grown to embody sports activities, gaming, web3, advertising and content material, is celebrating its twentieth version this yr.