Stories Worth Keeping: Selected Articles from 2025
A reflective selection of Music Press Asia stories from 2025 that continue to matter
A reflective selection of Music Press Asia stories from 2025 that continue to matter
As another year of cultural production moves behind us, much of what was written, released, and discussed in 2025 has already begun to fade from view. The pace of publishing rarely allows space to return, reconsider, or reflect. New stories replace old ones before we have time to understand what they offered in the first place.
This collection exists as a pause.
Rather than revisiting articles based on popularity or performance, Stories Worth Keeping highlights selected work from Music Press Asia in 2025 that continues to hold relevance beyond its moment of publication. These are pieces that asked careful questions, documented cultural shifts, or captured artistic processes with depth and restraint.
They are included not because they were loud, but because they remain meaningful.
Why We’re Revisiting These Stories
Independent cultural journalism carries a responsibility not only to report what happens, but to preserve what matters. In a region as diverse and rapidly evolving as Asia, many stories risk being overlooked once the immediate moment passes.
The articles gathered here reflect:
- Cultural contexts that benefit from time and rereading
- Artistic practices rooted in process rather than spectacle
- Conversations that remain unfinished, and therefore still relevant
This is not a ranking. It is a return.
How These Articles Were Selected
Each article featured in this collection was chosen based on a simple internal filter:
- Does the story still offer insight today?
- Does it contribute to cultural understanding rather than momentary reaction?
- Does it respect the people, communities, and practices it documents?
Some focus on artists and creators. Others examine ecosystems, institutions, or movements. Together, they form a partial record of the questions, tensions, and creative labour that shaped the cultural landscape in 2025.
An Invitation to Read Slowly
These stories were not written to be skimmed, shared quickly, or consumed in passing. They benefit from attention and, in some cases, from distance.
We invite readers to revisit them not as archived content, but as living material. Cultural work does not expire when the calendar turns. Often, it becomes clearer with time.
As Music Press Asia enters a new year of publishing, Stories Worth Keeping serves as a reminder that meaningful journalism is cumulative. It builds quietly, article by article, through observation, care, and patience.
These selected pieces from 2025 remain part of that ongoing conversation. We offer them again not as a summary of the past, but as a foundation for what continues to unfold.
Selected Stories Worth Keeping (2025)
Recommended Music Documentary: “The Last Repair Shop”
In a nondescript warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain over 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind.
Listening: 9 Must-Listen Podcasts on Music, Culture, and Arts in Asia
From the rhythms of traditional music to the voices shaping contemporary art and culture, these conversations offer unique insights into how Asia’s artists, musicians, and cultural thinkers are redefining creativity on the global stage.
Education: Want to be a music journalist? Here’s how to start!
So, you want to be a music journalist? Think of your words as instruments—crafted carefully, they shape how we hear and feel the music.
Interview: Behind the Making of Music Press Asia
Music, identity, and storytelling: How Monica Tong built Music Press Asia to champion Southeast Asia’s creative future.
New Tech & AI: How AI Affects Music Creation
From viral TikTok beats to chart-topping pop hits, artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how music is created, produced, and shared—and it’s happening fast.
Culture & China: Chinese Cultural Icon Ne Zha Develops VFX Talent…
Chinese film industry sees rapid growth in visual effects technology. A sequel to the 2019 hit “Ne Zha 1,” “Ne Zha 2” continues to build on the beloved Chinese mythology surrounding the character and has been celebrated as a milestone for Chinese animation.
Culture & China: SM Entertainment Celebrate 3 Decade of K-pop, Partners with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra
K-pop is seeing a new phase in its development as a genre. With an increasing audience maturing from their teens, it is no longer optional to only keep live performances in a stadium or festival.
Health: Music Training Boosts Brain Power
According to studies, music training creates more neural connections than any other known activity.
Food: Chocolate in Lyrics: 10 Songs to Satisfy Sweet Cravings
Happy Chocolate Day! Here’s a playlist of ten songs to celebrate every single chocolate desire, in various languages.
Asia-Focus: Why Asian Sopranos Bring Authentic Power to Madama Butterfly
Allowing Asian sopranos to interpret this role is not about exclusion but about respect, representation, and the enrichment of opera as a whole.
Live Music & Ecosystem: Hans Zimmer: The Maestro of Cinematic Soundtracks’ Screen to Stage Magic
Hans Zimmer is 67, but you wouldn’t know it. The man behind Interstellar, The Dark Knight, and Gladiator looks as sharp as his compositions sound. His secret?
Live Music & Ecosystem: Universal Music Launches Classical Music Label in China
Pianists Lang Lang and Yuja Wang, and Long Yu, acclaimed conductor and Music Director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra to serve as Artistic Advisors to DG China.
Industry & Ecosystem: 5 Ways Music is Winning with Beats, Branding & Streaming
Music is winning in many areas including worldwide distribution. But how is it making waves and is Asia catching up with the rest of the world?
Industry & Economy: The Unequal Pie: How AI and Tech Are Redrawing the Global Music Economy Between the U.S. and Asia-Pacific
As Asia-Pacific becomes the fastest-growing region in the global music industry, technology promises to level the playing field — but can it really make the business fairer?
Places & Practices: Will China Lead Music Business & Industry in the Next Decade?
As the world’s second-largest music market and home to some of the most advanced digital ecosystems, China is no longer just a participant in the global music industry — it’s becoming a driver of innovation, culture, and revenue.
Places & Practices: Tomorrowland Comes to Asia: Why Bangkok Secured a Five-Year Deal
Thailand’s hosting of the world’s largest EDM festival signals Southeast Asia’s rising soft power — uniting ASEAN through music, culture, and investment opportunities.
Places & Practices: SIFMA 2025 Merges Music, Culture and Conversation
It is not just a showcase; it is a platform that insists culture matters, and that the arts can be both celebratory and necessary.
New Music & Generation: The Rise of Hyperpop and Experimental Genres: How Gen Z and Millennials Are Redefining Mainstream Music
Themes of identity, queerness, digital culture, and social commentary often intertwine within hyperpop, making it a genre that speaks directly to the experiences of modern youth.
This collection will continue to grow as we revisit work that remains relevant over time.
