Bangkok, Thailand – Wednesday 27 February 2019
The National Innovation Agency (NIA) of Thailand partners with Fungjai and NYLON Thailand to officially launch ‘Bangkok Music City’
The National Innovation Agency (NIA) of Thailand has held a press conference to announce the partnership with Fungjai and NYLON Thailand to bring 4 MAR-tech startups and 3 bands from Thailand to attend South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festival 2019 held in Austin, TX, USA and will also support the first edition of Bangkok Music City Conference and Festival (BMC) focused on MAR-tech and the creative industries to be held in the Chareonkrung area of Bangkok between 2-3 November 2019.
The National Innovation Agency (NIA) of Thailand is a government organization committed to developing innovative programs to produce the next generation of entrepreneurs, grow the startup ecosystem and make Thailand the next startup hub of Southeast Asia. Due to the continuous growth in the arts and recreational industries, such as live music, visual arts, online gaming and tourism, etc, NIA plans to focus on the development and acceleration of the MAR-tech (MAR = Music, Arts & Recreation) ecosystem starting in 2019, and will be one of the main topics in their annual tech-conference this year – Startup Thailand 2019.
In addition to Startup Thailand, NIA will be working with Fungjai – a music platform, and NYLON Thailand – a lifestyle online publication whom are both experienced music event organizers, to help further develop the MAR-tech ecosystem by collaborating in ‘Bangkok Music City’ – a project that aims to establish Bangkok as a global music tourism destination and boost Thailand’s MAR-tech and the creative industries. Bangkok Music City will consist of 2 main elements: an annual conference and festival inviting delegates and artists from all over the region and the world to connect, build networks and share their contents; and a way-finding mobile application for finding local concerts, gigs and events all over Bangkok.
The first step in the partnership is to bring 4 Thai MAR-tech startups, i.e. MYBAND, Local Alike, Cookly and ZipEvent to exhibit their businesses; and 3 Thai bands, i.e. Yellow Fang, Chanudom and DCNXTR to showcase their talents all-in-all representing the startup and music scenes of Thailand to a global audience at SXSW 2019 between 10-13 March 2019. Then, at Startup Thailand 2019 held between 30 May till 1 June 2019, Fungjai and NYLON Thailand will help curate content in the MAR-tech conference and music festival, and also pre-select startups and bands to be featured in Bangkok Music City Conference and Festival – BMC 2019 between 2-3 November 2019. The cycle would then be completed with bringing Thai MAR-tech startups and bands selected from Startup Thailand 2019 and BMC 2019 to be featured at SXSW 2020. NIA understands that developing the MAR-tech ecosystem is a long-term endeavor, thus hopes to continue this cycle for many years to come.
“For 2019, NIA will focus on supporting startups in the fields of music, arts and recreational technology or what we call MAR-tech to be the bridge connecting the tech-startup ecosystem and the MAR industries. NIA will be working with Fungjai and NYLON Thailand to develop Bangkok Music City, which will be an important platform to enhance the competitiveness of Thailand’s MAR-tech in the global market.” says Dr. Pun-Arj Chairatana – Executive Director of NIA.
“Apart from its main goal of enhancing the competitiveness of Thailand’s music, arts and recreational industries, Bangkok Music City also has a goal of promoting music tourism, creative tourism and exporting creative products to increase the country’s revenue both directly and indirectly. This November, Bangkok Music City Conference and Festival will be the country’s first international conference focused on music and entertainment and we hope to welcome about 10,000 attendees from all over Thailand and the world.” says Pongsiri Hetrakul – Director of NYLON Thailand.
For those of you attending SXSW 2019, be sure to see them at the below events.
- SXSW 2019: Thailand Tradeshow Booth – Bangkok Music City @ Austin Convention Center, 10-13 March 2019.
- SXSW 2019: Thailand Networking Party @ Mai Thai Restaurant, 12 March 2019.
- SXSW 2019: Mongolia x Thailand joint-showcase @ Valhalla, 12 March 2019.
Bangkok Music City 