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NME launches new strand focused on music of Southeast Asia
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 19 August 2020
NME has launched a new strand focused on the music scenes of Southeast Asia. NME.com/Asia will, the magazine says, provide a “fresh perspective on Southeast Asian music scenes and tastes” with an initial focus on Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The new Asia-focused strand follows the launch of an Australian version of the NME website at the end of last year, which also resulted in a return to print, with a monthly NME mag now being published in Australia. Meanwhile, the latest innovation has, in part, been influenced by the fact NME is now owned by Singapore-based BandLab.
Announcing the new strand, BandLab CEO Meng Ru Kuok said: “Asia is a tremendously exciting and vibrant market to be launching into. Even though live events, tours and travel are on pause globally, there is still incredible creativity coming out of this region which we want to highlight”.
“NME has long been recognised as one of the world’s leading authorities in music and pop culture, known for a distinctive voice and point of view”, he went on. “As a group we have a long history in the region and as BandLab Technologies we are very pleased to be bringing a global powerhouse like NME to our doorstep, and to be opening a new channel between musicians, artists, fans and brands”.
NME Asia will be led editorially by Iliyas Ong, who added: “Southeast Asia has a proud musical heritage. Whether it’s trending pop styles, traditional music or a marriage of the two, artists in the region have pricked the ears of audiences worldwide – and we’re THRILLED to be able to tell their stories. Expect the best music writing and multimedia content, from breaking news to long-form features to authoritative guides on the many vibrant scenes across Southeast Asia”.
