Tech, Talent, and Entertainment: New Opportunities for Creators and Consumers | Asia Summit 2025

Panel Overview

• Session Topic: Tech, Talent, and Entertainment, focusing on the convergence of technology and the creation, consumption, and monetization of content.
• Moderator: Shurangjit Leal, Chancellor of Bath Spa University.
• Panelists:
  • Jay Brown: Co-founder/VP of Rock Nation, Partner at Marcy Venture Partners (worked with Jay-Z, Rihanna).
  • Janet Yang: President of Janet Yang Productions, former President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
  • Patrick Lee: Co-founder and founding CEO of Rotten Tomatoes.
  • Ryu "Verbal" Yong-ji: Musician, producer, fashion designer (Ambush), associated with Teriyaki Boys and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

AI in Entertainment: Opportunities and Challenges

• Opportunity for Creators and Business:
  • Verbal views AI as a collaborative tool to accelerate the design and production process (e.g., using Suno to generate musical drafts).
  • AI can help creators release content faster to meet fan demand, provided the creator remains authentic to their craft.
  • Jay Brown emphasizes that AI is a business reality that must be embraced; ignoring it or fighting it ("throwing stones") is unproductive.
  • Patrick Lee notes that every major tech wave (desktop, internet, mobile, cloud) created massive companies (Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Dropbox); AI is the next wave destined to change the landscape.
• Concerns and Risks:
  • Copyright and Compensation: Janet Yang expresses disturbance that artists' works are being ingested into language models without respect or compensation.
  • Lack of Emotion: Yang argues that while AI mimics behavior, it lacks human emotion, pain, or love, and cannot fully replace the human creative voice.
  • Regulatory Gaps: Janet Yang cites a lack of regulation causing "free-floating panic" in Hollywood regarding job security and the quality of "AI slop."
  • Legal Complexity: Patrick Lee highlights that laws currently struggle to keep pace with platforms, often suing individuals first and then platforms (e.g., Napster, YouTube) before establishing balanced business models.
• Current Industry Actions:
  • Corporate Guidelines: Netflix, the Television Academy, and various guilds have begun publishing specific rules on AI usage.
  • Litigation: Ongoing lawsuits exist between publishing companies, media companies, and studios to define rights.
  • Historical Precedent: Patrick Lee points out that industries eventually sort out illegal content (e.g., Napster to Spotify, Crunchyroll to licensed streaming) through new business models.
  • Collective Action: Janet Yang suggests that star power and the "court of public opinion" act as bargaining chips, though the music industry tends to resolve issues via class-action lawsuits rather than strikes due to the speed of content creation.

Asian Cultural Influence and Globalization

• Shift from Imitation to Innovation:
  • Verbal notes that Asia moved from rampant counterfeiting (e.g., bootleg CDs in Korea in 1999) to becoming global innovators by design.
  • Government Support: South Korea's government subsidized entertainment exports (covering up to 40% of costs), enabling companies like CJ Entertainment to create global phenomena like KCON.
  • Cultural Coding: Asia is now creating new genres and cultural codes (e.g., K-pop, Demon Slayer) that other cultures adopt.
• Success Factors:
  • Quality and Storytelling: Patrick Lee and Jay Brown credit the superior quality of animation and storytelling (e.g., Akira, anime, K-dramas) and the freshness of non-Western narratives.
  • Coordinated Effort: Unlike the Western focus on individual genius, Asian industries often use coordinated, company-driven strategies with government backing to penetrate global markets.
  • Representation: Janet Yang highlights the impact of diverse award winners (Parasite, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Shogun, Beef) and the Academy's push to internationalize its membership.
• Genre Classification Debate:
  • Jay Brown argues against segregating Asian content into specific "K-pop" or "J-pop" categories, advocating for it to be recognized simply as "Pop Music" to avoid marginalization in major awards like the Grammys.
  • Verbal acknowledges that while identity matters, the focus should remain on the universality of the music.
• Diversity Gaps:
  • Janet Yang points out a discrepancy where Black and Asian narratives dominate globally but are underrepresented at executive levels in the music industry, specifically noting a lack of women of color running major labels.

The Creator Economy and Democratization

• Technology as an Equalizer:
  • Patrick Lee states that every technological wave (printing press, internet, mobile) has increased individual capability, allowing one person to potentially create a "unicorn" company or a major film via AI.
  • Legacy companies that fail to adapt (Blockbuster, Barnes & Noble) are being wiped out, while those embracing new platforms thrive.
• Shift in Business Models:
  • Verbal identifies a shift from "virality" to "ownership and structure," where creators (like MrBeast) build their own businesses rather than relying on licensing deals.
  • Investment Opportunities:
    • Craftsmanship: Verbal suggests investing in Japanese craftsmanship (e.g., sake breweries) that lacks digital e-commerce presence, noting that small business acumen could unlock global potential.
    • Education: Patrick Lee urges the industry to invest resources in AI-driven personalized education to reduce global divisiveness and increase economic opportunity.
    • Content: Jay Brown asserts that "content is king" and investors must continue to fund great, authentic art regardless of current market trends.

Final Advice for Aspiring Creators

• Jay Brown: "Don't be scared to dream" and "don't be scared of failure"; imperfections are perfections.
• Janet Yang: Focus on "authenticity"; know your instincts and passions, as nothing else matters in a saturated market.
• Patrick Lee: "Just do it"; many talk about entrepreneurship, but success requires taking the leap and acting.
• Verbal: "Be an otaku"; cultivate a specific, deep love for your niche rather than diluting your identity by chasing trends.