The next K-pop? POPS founder Esther Nguyen hopes TikTok can make Southeast Asian music a global phenomenon

Esther Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American entrepreneur, has a story that may be reminiscent of the stereotypical journey of many in the tech industry. Raised in the Bay Area and born in Michigan, Nguyen felt a strong pull towards her family's homeland, Vietnam. She moved to Ho Chi Minh City in 2007 with the dream of creating "the Spotify of Vietnam" before a digital ecosystem existed in the region.

At the time, the local music industry was in a state of disarray. There was little understanding of digital rights, and artists signed contracts for CDs and DVDs that did not address digital distribution. In response to this, Nguyen founded POPS Worldwide – an entertainment company that produces, licenses, distributes, and monetizes digital content across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.

Over 19 years since her arrival, POPS Worldwide now oversees a portfolio of more than 45,000 recordings across various genres, with operations in Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Primary Wave, an independent publisher, recently invested in POPS Worldwide, with plans for a Tokyo listing in the works. Nguyen sees an opportunity for Southeast Asian music to become a global phenomenon as social media reshapes the pop culture landscape. She explains that people are increasingly drawn to music from Africa, South Korea, or Mexico and embedding it into their stories and reels, even if the language is not their own. The ultimate goal is to ensure that Southeast Asian music will also resonate globally.

When Nguyen first arrived in Vietnam, her Vietnamese was rudimentary, leading many local artists to dismiss her. However, with her Silicon Valley experience, she persevered, learning to educate the market "song by song, title by title." POPS Worldwide grew into one of Vietnam's largest music repertoires and became one of YouTube's first music partners in the region.

Moving beyond Vietnam, POPS Worldwide expanded to Thailand in 2016 and Indonesia in 2020. Nguyen emphasizes that Vietnam is their "home country," while Indonesia has a population of nearly 300 million people and Thai consumers have a high purchasing power. Together, these three markets form a powerhouse for the region.

Vietnam is also becoming a hotspot for a growing Vietnamese pop-culture scene. Vietnam's first listed media company reported a 60% revenue increase in 2025, thanks in part to formats like Call Me by Fire, a singing competition that drew crowds of up to 50,000 people per night. Major corporate players like Vingroup, a No. 26 company on the Southeast Asia 500, have recognized the importance of culture in their strategy, while Vietnam's government has set a target to grow the cultural economy by 10% annually, aiming for it to account for 7% of GDP by 2030.