“We are seeing the same trends that you’re seeing in North America and Europe, and a large part of that is because the platforms themselves have made this increasingly possible and a lot easier.”
There are some striking similarities between the media markets of Europe and Asia. Both are region-specific and split by language and culture. At the same time they take their cues from the US, building bespoke businesses on platforms that began life in Silicon Valley.
Both present challenges to global media companies due to the sheer diversity of their markets.
One person who knows the Asian media scene especially well is Alan Soon, the co-founder of consultancy and events company Splice Media. After a career writing for magazines and newspapers and then running Yahoo’s media business in Southeast Asia and India, Alan with his partner Rishad Patel began Splice. Their stated mission is to help media companies in the continent make the most of where the industry is going, keep abreast of the latest trends and maximise the impact of emerging technology in the media.
Meet Alan in Barcelona
Alan will join us at Mx3 Barcelona, along with various other media industry leaders. Meet them on 12-13 March in Barcelona.
Our discounted pre-agenda offer is available until this Thursday, 7 December. You can now take a peek at the draft agenda on the website.
The company combines consultancy work with training workshops and an annual event called Splice Beta.
“We also have coaching calls with clients who are trying to build something or trying to transform something,” says Alan. “We talk a lot about media entrepreneurship and figuring out ways to support small media companies. We also focus on product design, working out how to best serve the community that’s in front of us.”
“We strongly believe that the change this industry requires is the arrival of more and more diverse creators. That’s the initiative that will help to make the most of this digital journey that we’re on.”
Alan and Rishad are best known in Western media circles for their two must-read email newsletters – Slugs and Frames. Launched way before Substack enabled other companies to air their views via email, Splice has been keeping Asia’s top media executives on top of the latest developments in trends, design, tools and business models.
“The newsletter started as a way for me to keep our clients up to date about what was going on in the industry. We have clients who are incredibly smart people, but don’t have the time to stay on top of what is going on. And so this began as a briefing note sent out to clients to help them stay on top of what was going on in the industry, with a little point of view here and there, as consultants do.”
Diversity of Asian media
During our conversation I am reminded of the sheer size and diversity of firstly Asia as a continent, and secondly its media. There are some huge markets – Indonesia, for example has over 280 million people – along with some smaller yet incredibly influential ones such as Singapore.
“In Asia we have a huge diversity of different types of media companies,” says Alan. “But more importantly the way that people consume content is different from one country to another.”
“So, you have very advanced economies, such as South Korea and China which have their own set of rules when it comes to media consumption and internet use. And then you’ve got other countries like say, Indonesia, where the use of the Internet is very distinct in its own way.”
Alan expands on this perspective by stressing how popular social platforms are in Indonesia, especially Tik Tok, Instagram and Facebook.
“Singapore also skews heavily to American platforms. Malaysia also skews similarly. So I think platform use is one of the better kinds of lenses to apply in this space to understand exactly where the different countries are on the media spectrum.”.
What about China? Are external companies looking at expanding into what is potentially the biggest media market on the planet?
Alan argues that it is too complex and too risky for most to contemplate that move now.
“With China, it’s hard to figure out where the lines are drawn in how far you can push the use of the Internet. AI is a regulated space in China, for example. And then of course you’ve got the question of media freedom. Journalism in China is fraught with risks. And so for a lot of media companies trying to expand and get a footprint in China is a risky strategy.”
Niche media growth in the region
Over the last few years there has been a lot of growth in niche media with legacy companies and startups focusing on monetising audiences bound together by a passion or an interest in a certain sector.
I wondered if this was also being repeated in Asia.
“Absolutely,” responds Alan. “We are witnessing the same trends that you’re seeing in the US and Europe and a large part of that is because the platforms themselves have made this increasingly possible and a lot easier. The barrier to entry for a lot of niche media players is somewhere between free and maybe $10 a month to get something going. So especially in the b2b space, we’ve seen a lot of similar types of trends around newsletters, podcasts, and even WhatsApp groups. All of these trends are very similar to what you have in the Western media.”
“When it comes to b2b media, I think a lot of that tends to be cross-boundary just because it’s not about who lives within the boundaries of a country, but who has a specific interest in that particular topic for example. So if you’re talking about finance or investment, b2b types of news, all of that is cross-boundary. So that’s one of the benefits I think of focusing on b2b.”
Ongoing tech innovation
In a region that has witnessed the birth of a huge number of technological innovations, I wonder how Web 3.0 and AI were impacting the plans of Asia’s publishing executives?
“Maybe not so much Web 3.0,” says Alan. “I haven’t seen very much of that in the media space. That’s still waiting for a problem to solve.”
“In the case of AI, I mean, this is a conversation that everyone’s having right now. Everyone’s trying to figure out how to simplify workflows, how to automate workflows, and trying new ways to make this happen with AI. So I think there are very different and varying interests when it comes to using AI. There are those who are trying to create more efficiencies within the workflow or maybe creating higher levels of accuracy.I think we’re still in early stages, but all of these tools are currently out there.”
Finally I asked Alan to pick one thing that characterises the media in Asia? What makes it distinctive and unique from Europe and the US.
“That’s really hard to say just because this region is so massive. But I would say that one of the biggest differences is that in Europe the EU is way better at regulating Internet use and the way it develops than we are in Asia. We don’t quite have the same capabilities in this region just because it’s such a huge spread and very distinct in its own requirements. So I think that’s one of the big things you know, the EU has been really impactful in making decisions about the media and how people use the internet.”
Meet Alan in Barcelona
Alan will join us at Mx3 Barcelona, along with various other media industry leaders. Meet them on 12-13 March in Barcelona.
Our discounted pre-agenda offer is available until this Thursday, 7 December. You can now take a peek at the draft agenda on the website.