Two days in Boston. Connections that carried beyond them.

Three settings for one connected programme

The second Asian Music Industry Festival took place in Boston on November 15–16, 2025. Presented by the Global Center of Arts and Culture, it returned to the city where the first edition had begun in 2023.

Three venues gave the festival different but connected settings. The Sheraton Boston Hotel hosted industry forums. Citizens House of Blues Boston brought a cross-cultural lineup to the concert stage. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston welcomed the AM/IF Awards to its Shapiro Family Courtyard.

Together, these settings connected the professional structures around music with the work itself and the people being recognized for it. Participants could move from a conversation about creative careers to a performance, and from that performance to a broader account of the industry’s present and future.

The idea behind I AM IFs

The festival’s theme brought identity and possibility into the same phrase. In opening remarks, co-founders and presidents Jiaying Qian (Nicol) and Yang Yang thanked the creators, partners and judges who had contributed to the programme.

They described AM as the voices and achievements that had already made an impression on public life. IF represented possibilities still taking shape: new artists, new methods and new connections that deserved room to grow.

This relationship informed the two award divisions and the broader programme. Established influence and emerging potential were considered together, with attention to how each could support the other.

Understanding markets, and how music travels between them

Six broad themes structured the industry conversations: keynote perspectives, film and scoring, artist development, live performance and variety television, routes to wider audiences, and artificial intelligence in music.

The keynote discussions began with three markets. Sony Music China’s Jaco Zhang considered developments in China; DFSB Kollective President Bernie Cho examined the international circulation of Korean music; and Berklee’s Chris Wares addressed the United States. Each brought attention to the practical choices behind a musical career in a global setting.

The film and scoring strand connected creative decisions with production and business processes. Film executives and producers Yi Zhao, Li Peng and music producer Jiacheng Wang discussed work across film, television and music.

In Sound and Motion, China Australia International Film Festival Chair Shelly Yu and Vice Chair Yuming Zhang joined the AMIF co-founders for an MOU signing and the launch of an emerging-composer selection initiative. The reported aim was to turn a discussion about music and moving images into continuing collaboration across North America, Asia and Australia.

Joyce Lin of Warner Chappell and Esthy, whose work crossed Accidental Entertainment and Sony Music, offered a North American perspective on synchronization and brand partnerships. The conversation connected rights, creative suitability and the process of bringing a collaboration into production.

The people and structures behind an artist’s career

Artist development was considered through both A&R and independent practice. Gabi Kochlani of The Grey Administration, Sony Music Publishing’s Shaugnessy Elsroth and Chris Wares discussed the American market and how new artists were evaluated and supported.

The independent-artist roundtable brought together Benjamin Ezaki of 88rising, producer Adam Moseley, Wei Sheng Wan Xiang founder Zuo Ye and artist manager Ke Song. Their discussion connected positioning and creative identity with teams, resources and the practical work of sustaining a career.

The live-performance strand featured Midi Music co-founder Wei Shan, Mu Huo Tong Ming founder Ren Zhong, Buyi Culture CEO Xiaoxiao Wang and Zuo Ye. It examined the growth of China’s live sector and the conditions through which performances reached audiences.

Television producer Dikui Xie drew on work including Where Are We Going, Dad? and 50km Taohuawu to consider variety programming and the amplification of music through mass entertainment. The forum linked the intimacy of a live room with the scale of a national screen.

Reaching audiences while keeping a creative identity

A further set of discussions focused on the work of reaching new audiences. Symphonic Distribution’s Christine Su and Jiacheng Wang examined music marketing and the Chinese market. Jaco Zhang and Chris Wares discussed record-company strategy and market development.

Hye Rim (Leslie) Cho of Project Asteri Korea and Berklee’s Ralph Jaccodine addressed movement between Western markets, Korea and the wider world. Their conversation brought a practical view of publicity and communication to the question of international growth.

Producer Jae Chong and Berklee’s Valerie Orth explored songwriting and production through Hit Song Factory. Their discussion connected craft with collaboration, drawing on work across Asian and American music.

Across these sessions, the idea of breaking through was treated as a series of connected decisions. Creative direction, collaborators, timing, platforms and audience relationships all mattered.

New tools, with people still at the centre

The AI and music strand considered emerging tools alongside the responsibilities of their use. AutoTune’s Sherri Hendrickson, OpenArt co-founder and CEO Coco Mao, and Chris Wares discussed AI-assisted creative production.

A second roundtable brought together Rafael Valle, Helena Zhang, Gil Weinberg, Xinyu Yang, Ziyu Wang and Evelyne Li, connecting research, product development and artistic practice.

The conversations examined practical applications as well as creative judgment, identity and ethics. The question was how technology could expand an artist’s capacity while keeping the intention behind the work in human hands.

The conversation became a concert

At Citizens House of Blues Boston, six performers brought those wider ideas into a live setting. Akini Jing’s electronic and cyber-inspired stage language appeared alongside Nina Wang’s theatrical vocal presence and Himang’s combination of R&B, pop and dance.

Amiya brought R&B and soul informed by Bangladeshi musical experience. Ranger Liu introduced jazz piano into the programme, while Vietnamese singer-songwriter Alexis Cao connected an independent R&B practice across Boston and Ho Chi Minh City.

Different languages, backgrounds and genres met within one evening. The concert offered a direct experience of the creative plurality that the forums had explored through professional discussion.

Recognition, and a reason to keep building

The AM/IF Awards at the Museum of Fine Arts gave the programme a further cultural setting. Massachusetts State Auditor Diana DiZoglio attended and presented an official citation; the festival also received recognition from the Massachusetts Governor’s Office.

Industry guests and the co-founders presented awards across the AM and IF divisions, recognizing established influence alongside emerging work. The evening included artists, producers, an educational institution and a music-technology company, reflecting the range of contributions within a musical community.

Looking back on the festival, Nicol and Yang described its purpose as building a context in which Asian music could be encountered and understood internationally. Their emphasis was on lasting, practical connections between voices already being heard and possibilities still growing.

That idea links the festival’s three settings. Discussions, performances and recognition were different ways of bringing people into contact, with the intention that the relationships and creative directions begun in Boston could continue beyond the event.