Asian Boys' Love takeovers to live music: The pop culture moments shaping Asia

The dynamic shifts in consumer preferences and cultural movements are reshaping the live entertainment and popular culture landscapes in Asia.

For marketers, the two key trends of the burgeoning demand for live music experiences post-pandemic and the rise of the Asian Boys’ Love (BL) genre as a pop culture phenomenon offer some valubale insights when reaching consumers.

Here are the two key opportunities these trends present for brands and authentic engagement strategies that will resonate with dedicated fan bases.

Revolutionising live music

Live is booming, thanks to a combination of post-pandemic (still!) consumer revenge, and the younger generation’s preference to spend on experiences and memories. 

New infrastructure additions like Sphere—as well as other venues in Asia such as Mohegan Inspire in South Korea—will also enable new forms of content and experiences, serving the ever-growing consumer quest for shared in-person experiences.

This cultural movement presents a massive opportunity for brands to build an ownable platform within live entertainment. Brands that authentically engage fans by celebrating, validating and facilitating their passion point will win much love.

Asian Boys’ Love takeover

Started in the 1970s by emerging women artists who were creating stories for women readers in Japan, the Boys’ Love (BL) genre has since been adapted by and popularised across various Asian countries, namely China, South Korea and Thailand. 

The popularity of Thai BL title 2gether coming out of the pandemic has been widely considered the tipping point that transformed BL from a niche subculture to a pop culture powerhouse; shining a light on the Asian BL genre. Since then, BL has been lauded as promoting inclusivity within conservative societies and leveraged as a strategic pillar to boost tourism.

The key lesson for marketers here? Everyone is familiar with how popular culture is an economic powerhouse—think K-pop—but now, niche cultures increasingly command sizable communities of heavily-invested fans that would be remiss of brands to ignore. The organic, fan-driven nature of niche subcultures like BL and other genres is an opportunity—fans that aren’t currently being catered to will jump at the chance to get even more immersed in their fandom, which means topline growth for brands.