Zutter

Zutter
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Entertainment News
  • Weekly

Asian pop culture as an industry, from London. Each week, Zutter takes one story from the Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Thai or Filipino entertainment business, a contract, a label's strategy, a tour, a chart, and explains why it happened, with the numbers and the documents behind it. Who paid for it, who profits, and what everyone covering it got wrong. New episodes every Friday. Sources and companion articles at zutter.co.uk.

Episodes

  1. Oct 23

    The Longest Shot: The Full Story of Jay Park

    In September 2009, the leader of 2PM flew out of Seoul with most of the country telling him not to come back. Sixteen years later he has founded three labels, sold one to CJ ENM, launched a soju brand and built a K-pop boy band on purpose. This is the full story of Jay Park, and of who owns a career in Korean music.Paola walks through the MySpace scandal and the four days that ended his time in 2PM, the contract JYP terminated for a reason it never made public, the tyre shop, the bathroom cover that reached 2 million views in a day, AOMG, Show Me the Money, the sale to CJ ENM, Roc Nation, Won Soju, MORE VISION, and LNGSHOT, the group he is bringing to OVO Arena Wembley on 26 October.No dating rumours. No fan wars. Just the business.CHAPTERS0:00 Cold open1:09 Welcome to Zutter3:13 A b-boy from Edmonds6:48 Hot Blood and the birth of 2PM10:23 The MySpace posts15:37 JYP terminates his contract17:54 The tyre shop19:45 The bathroom cover that changed everything23:21 The comeback and SidusHQ25:28 AOMG: Above Ordinary30:05 "Mommae"32:11 Show Me the Money33:33 Selling 51% to CJ ENM35:37 H1GHR MUSIC and Roc Nation37:58 He quits39:13 Won Soju and MORE VISION42:59 Serenades & Body Rolls43:55 LNGSHOT45:33 SHOT CALLERS and "K-pop lost its romantic spirit"48:58 Sixteen years, and WembleyREAD MORE ON ZUTTERLNGSHOT explainer: four players, one coach → https://www.zutter.co.uk/news/2026/10/12/lngshot-four-players-one-coachJay Park + LNGSHOT at OVO Arena Wembley, 26 October → https://www.zutter.co.uk/whats-on/2026/10/26/jay-park-lngshot-wembleyEP. 01: BIGBANG 0 to 20 → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3qFdj2yuDwAlso on Spotify and Apple PodcastsSOURCESThe Korea Times, Korea JoongAng Daily, AFP, Bizhankook, Sports Kyunghyang, Soompi, Complex, i-D, AEG Presents, Live Nation Asia. Dates and figures are as reported by these outlets and the companies involved.Presented by Paola. Produced by Daily Matcha.Music video excerpts are used briefly for commentary and criticism.Zutter is a London publication covering Asian entertainment industries as businesses.www.zutter.co.uk#JayPark #LNGSHOT #KpopBusiness

  2. Oct 16

    MAD TSAI INTERVIEW: From TikTok to a Record Deal

    Labels offered him $1,000 for his masters after his first viral song. He said no, paid off his student debt with streaming royalties and spent five years building a pop career without a label. We sat down with Mad Tsai over tea in London, after the last show of his first European tour, to talk about the business behind the music: night shifts at a poke shop, a stolen song he never saw a penny from, why he finally signed with Rebellion Records, what K-pop taught him, and Mooncake, the backyard concert series for Asian artists he wants to turn into a festival. One hour, one pot of tea, and the full conversation. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 — Afternoon tea with Mad Tsai 0:39 — Who is Mad Tsai? His first UK show 2:19 — Writing songs at 13 on a first-gen iPad 3:31 — "Young Nights" goes viral 6:03 — How "Boy Bi" became the debut single 7:40 — UCLA by day, poke shop by night 8:59 — The $1,000 offers for his masters 10:55 — Investors vs labels 12:24 — "stacy's brother" and the scholarship money 14:04 — How streaming paid off his student debt 15:46 — Marketing without a plan 17:12 — Why every artist needs a manager and a lawyer 18:42 — The stolen song: "One Of The Boys" 21:07 — Generative AI in music 22:02 — Why he signed with Rebellion Records 23:56 — "Money? I'm half joking" 25:08 — Advice for a 19-year-old going viral 27:15 — Building the CANINES world 30:05 — The story behind "DIET" 32:55 — What K-pop taught him 35:19 — Taking the best of K-pop 36:19 — ATEEZ, San and 80 photo cards 37:18 — Lady Gaga and going theatrical 38:50 — An unreleased song 40:14 — Building his first headline tour 41:23 — How Europe found him 42:36 — Mooncake: the backyard concert series 47:48 — Could Mooncake become a festival? 49:04 — The debut album 50:08 — Five years from now 51:01 — A message to his fans 51:37 — Bonus: live at Oslo Hackney CREDITS Episode 2 — Mad Tsai Host: Paola PD: Daily Matcha Produced by Zutter 🎤 MAD TSAI — THE BITE BACK TOUR CANINES is out now. The tour heads to North America in November 2026. Follow Mad Tsai: @madsteaparty📖 Read the written interview: https://www.zutter.co.uk/news/2026/10/06/mad-tsai-interview-independent-record-deal📨 The Green Room (things land there before they're public, plus exclusive content): https://www.zutter.co.uk/join-membership-page🌐 zutter.co.uk📷 Instagram / TikTok: @zutter.co.ukABOUT THIS INTERVIEWRecorded in London on 30 September 2026, after Mad Tsai's show at Oslo Hackney. Edited for length and clarity. Corrections go in a pinned comment and on the site. If we've got something wrong, tell us and we'll fix it on the record.COPYRIGHTThe interview recording is © Zutter. Mad Tsai's music, recordings and imagery remain the property of Mad Tsai and his respective rights holders. No ownership is claimed or implied. If you are a rights holder and have a concern about any material in this video, contact us at contact@zutter.co.uk and we will respond promptly.Zutter is an independent London publication covering Asian entertainment as an industry. No label money, no agency access deals, no sponsored coverage in this video.#MadTsai #CANINES #BiteBackTour #IndependentArtist #MusicBusiness #RebellionRecords #Mooncake #ATEEZ #Kpop #ArtistInterview #Zutter

  3. Sep 18

    BIGBANG 0 to 20: Twenty Years of the Boys Who Became Legends

    This is the full BIGBANG story: the survival show, the song that changed what a Korean idol group was allowed to be, the Japanese dome years, the parts nobody wants to talk about, and the 20th anniversary comeback that's happening right now.No skipped chapters. No legend maintenance.

    BIGBANG 0 to 20: Twenty Years of the Boys Who Became Legends
  • 3 Episodes

About

Asian pop culture as an industry, from London. Each week, Zutter takes one story from the Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Thai or Filipino entertainment business, a contract, a label's strategy, a tour, a chart, and explains why it happened, with the numbers and the documents behind it. Who paid for it, who profits, and what everyone covering it got wrong. New episodes every Friday. Sources and companion articles at zutter.co.uk.

Information

  • Creator
    Zutter
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Zutter
  • Show Website
    Zutter