Thailand’s entertainment sector is moving in the right direction and has a positive outlook, says a leading player in the sector.
A talented younger generation and the ongoing success of the Thai entertainment industry are attracting potential overseas investors. The industry will be worth an estimated 643.2 billion baht by 2023, according to the PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019-2023.
Kahabodee Kaljareuk, advisor to Board of Directors of M Flow Entertainment, is confident about the industry’s future, and the role his company is playing in shaping it.
“M Flow Entertainment was established to support the young generation and help them develop their talents to the same level as K-Pop artists and bands,” he says. “My business partner, Kunphat Phonpawiworakul used her experience from working in the Korean entertainment business for over 10 years to educate and train our artists, and they are sent to South Korea for additional training as well.
“Not only are we specialised in developing singers, M Flow Entertainment also develops actors for online series too. I come from a family that has been in the entertainment business for a long time so I have extensive experience in TV/series production, whereas Phonpawiworakul is all about the music industry. Since our working styles are similar, we decided to work together.”
Having good connections with key people in the industry and investing in training are key to M Flow’s success.
“I believe we are the only company with artists that have received similar training as K-Pop artists, and we have been able to bring Thai artists to perform on the stage in South Korea. Phonpawiworakul is a Thai artist who launched her solo career after being in a successful girl band, so we have strong connections within the Korean entertainment industry, and that is our strong point.
“In my opinion, Thailand has always been a regional entertainment hub, but what has changed is the audience and their perception. Streaming media over the internet was not available in the past and the audience didn’t have much choice either. Advanced streaming technology has forced the industry to change. Creating content for a mass audience, like in the past, is not effective anymore. We now have different groups of audience with different interests.”
The challenge for the Thai entertainment industry now is how to use this opportunity to create content that appeals to international audiences.
“From my experience, content created by Thai artists has been well received by Japanese, Chinese or even South Korean entertainment businesses. Thailand is also well-known for its movie production capabilities with talented Thai artists and production teams. These are the core strengths of the industry but we have to keep improving and moving forward, as well as encouraging the younger generation to step up and give them the opportunity to engage and collaborate as well.”
Kaljareuk was positive about the DITP’s M.O.V.E (Multimedia Online Virtual Exhibition), which was held in May 2020.
“It was a great experience,” he said. “M.O.V.E was an effective business platform, where I met potential clients and business partners from many countries, who showed a keen interest in what we can offer. It served as a stage for Thai companies to showcase their talents to an international market.”
Words by: Manisa Phromsiripranee, Photos courtesy of M Flow Entertainment