“We’re in the new Golden Age of OPM. Now what?” Music industry experts discuss why it’s high time we treat OPM as the country’s signature cultural export.

Original Pilipino Music (OPM) is enjoying a renaissance. Beyond BINI’s performance at Coachella and SB19’s set at Lollapalooza—both history-making achievements—Filipino music is gaining more listeners, both outside the country and, more importantly, within it.

Music industry insiders have noticed it, from record label owners like CHEKE’s Justine Weineke to established musicians, such as National Artist Ryan Cayabyab. During his talk about maximizing the storytelling power of Filipino music at Ayala Museum last year, the latter even referred to a study done by the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, Inc. (FILSCAP) in 2024, which revealed that 80% of the music that Filipinos listen to through traditional broadcast channels is OPM tracks. In that same year, Spotify Philippines disclosed that 75% of the songs on its Top 50 Charts were by Filipino artists, signaling a similar development in digital channels. “During my time in the ‘70s, 85% of the share [of music listened to by Filipino audiences] went to foreign artists,” Cayabyab had shared. “Now, we’re almost closing the gap, and I don’t think this trend will be reversed in my lifetime.”

So what propelled the change?

Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) President Enzo Valdez credits it to a global consumer shift, aided by initiatives led by streaming platforms. Whereas audience listenership among different genres rarely overlapped (or, at least, was not viewed as culturally acceptable)  in previous decades, social media’s democratization of the process by which a song, an artist, or a sound becomes a trend blurred the segmentation. “If, before, it was unheard of to be a vocal fan of both, say, Linkin Park and Britney Spears, it’s no longer a big deal now,” Valdez says. “Kids nowadays listen to everything—rock, pop, hip-hop, P-Pop—thanks to social media trends, and that leads to genres getting the attention and respect they deserve.”

Artists are similarly blurring boundaries when it comes to the music they make, delving more into sounds that reference previous eras as well as regional music cultures: the ‘70s Manila sound, folk and traditional music, budots, etc. They’re also collaborating with musicians outside of their genres. For example, folk indie band Ben&Ben and P-Pop group SB19 collaborated on a performance video for the former’s song “Kapangyarihan” in 2022, bringing together the attention of two massive fandoms on a single project. “Connections like this make it easier for audiences to be fans of multiple artists and genres,” states Valdez. “Honestly, a lot of music acts now are genre-less; it’s no longer weird to produce music that transcends categories.”

Streaming platforms have also capitalized on Filipinos’ digital habits. Spotify Philippines, for one, launched campaigns catering to their tastes, such as the Pinoy Music Hub, which featured 50 playlists of OPM tracks; hip-hop- and P-Pop-centric playlists have been two of the bigger draws. This led to a surge of new listeners, which pushed higher consumption of local music. 

As commercially driven and targeted as the efforts of music-streaming apps have been, the local market’s response and the discussions it spurred are undeniably organic, catching the attention of foreign listeners. “As good as Filipinos are on social media, we’re also the best fans in the world,” Go Live Asia’s Marketing Director Ranice Faustino says, adding that once Filipino audiences love an artist, they are vocal about it, rallying behind the musician in different online spaces and building momentum for them. “That very visible pride in OPM has gotten other audiences curious about our music. If one Pinoy act can get global listeners to wonder, ‘What else can we hear from the Philippines?’ they’ll be impressed with what they’ll discover.”

P-Pop’s growing global acclaim a possible prototype

This is perhaps the best explanation for the promising trajectory of SB19 and BINI in the international scene: Both P-Pop groups took their respective acts globally only after they had secured a strong base at home. More importantly, they took care not to leave their Filipino audience behind while trying to woo newer markets.

During last summer’s music showcase and conference All Of The Noise (AOTN), Symphonic Distribution’s Guji Lorenzana lauded the way SB19 and BINI have been navigating the path to global expansion. “Our P-Pop artists are doing great because P-Pop is also doing well here.” While modeled after K-Pop, the genre has developed an undeniable Filipino DNA that keeps it authentic and resonant among local listeners. “It’s not a trend the local industry just jumped on; P-Pop artists understand who their main audience is and what they want, and they stay true to their brand, no matter their fandom’s size and where they go.” 

With P-Pop opening the door, there is now a great opportunity for the local music industry to be intentional in treating OPM as the country’s major cultural export. “We’re ready for the global stage,” Valdez affirms. “We’re good singers, we’re good performers, and, more importantly, we have a clear identity.”

The executive is cautiously optimistic, though, about “replicating” P-Pop’s success in other OPM sub-genres. For one, visuals are typically the starting point for idol groups when connecting with an audience—an important factor on video-driven platforms like TikTok and YouTube, but not so much on streaming apps. “Is focusing on P-Pop a sustainable way of growing? Is it the real OPM sound that the US would be interested in?”

Besides, it’s not just P-Pop making inroads in foreign markets. Singer-songwriter Janine Berdin’s emotive pop-rock single “What if I miss you for the rest of my life?” has been streamed 13 million times by global Spotify users by June 2026, according to the Cebuana singer herself. When the R&B song “Pano” became a viral hit across Southeast Asia in 2023, thanks to TikTok, it introduced Zack Tabudlo to new audiences. Similarly, Cup of Joe’s synth-rock track “Multo” earning a spot last year in international music charts—Billboard Global and Spotify Global, specifically—marked the first time that a Tagalog song made it to Western-dominated spaces. Looking beyond these numbers, the number of non-Filipinos doing covers of trending OPM tracks signals the growing global regard for Filipino music, heretofore unseen since Freddie Aguilar’s “Anak” made international waves in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. 

The Filipino diaspora also plays a role in choosing a market to target. While Western validation still carries a huge pull, capturing different segments of the Asian audience has become an increasingly attractive goal. According to Valdez, PARI has already done its research on Southeast Asia’s viability, particularly the community of listeners that Filipino acts can build in the region and then, subsequently, rely on when foraying further abroad. 

Lorenzana has the same perspective, stating that Southeast Asia is the next powerhouse that has the global music industry watching and listening. “A lot of artists want to be like BINI and aim for Coachella right away, but focusing on what’s happening in our own scene and then doing more within Southeast Asian communities can let us go further than we can imagine.”

So what steps can be taken?

A collaborative approach, such as what Ben&Ben and SB19 did, is a great exploratory step. “Record labels must encourage artists to start thinking of organic ways to market themselves in a new market beyond playing gigs and touring,” said Yoke Ming Chang, founder of the international music consultancy company Modern Doberman, during the same AOTN conference. “Southeast Asia is a great target, not just because of its proximity but also because of how active Southeast Asians are on social media.” An OPM act can then try approaching other artists and content creators in the region for collaborative content so they’d show up on more people’s timelines and feeds, plus get a firsthand experience of how a specific market operates. “Just spend 5 to 10 minutes checking out the playlists featuring artists and sounds new to you to discover something to like. An intentional approach can help you realize your expansion plans.”

Indeed, a comprehensive export strategy goes a long way—much longer than simply scoring a singular big-ticket performance in an international music showcase. Another AOTN panelist, David Siow of Steady State Records and the AXEAN music festival, suggested meeting with the media, attending local artists’ gigs and shows, and engaging with music lovers on social media when entering a new market. “Get the maximum knowledge you can about a specific overseas audience so you return to your country able to say that you’ve expanded your base by five new fans,” he said. “That’s better than nothing, and a more responsible way of spending limited resources on promotions.”

Musicians should also look beyond what’s currently trending among their target international audience. “Ideally, there should be a 12-month plan in place,” Lorenzana advised. “Is Spotify or Apple big in, say, Thailand? What about YouTube? Knowing this can help them formulate their plans based on a specific timeline and with specific targets.” Approaching international distributors is helpful since they have regional presence and a wide network of artists and companies that can be tapped. “Talk to distributors, talk to promoters,” Chang recommended. Aside from benefiting from their respective networks, the conversations can lead to creative promotion solutions, such as partnerships with esports companies for video game music. 

The government, naturally, is an integral player in the Filipino music industry’s expansion plans. It’s the only social institution with the capacity to facilitate the creation of a supportive infrastructure for Filipino artists, from financial safety nets and stronger copyright protection to “small things” like paperwork. “Even world-class artists like SB19 experience difficulties in getting a visa for overseas performances,” Lorenzana remarked. “They even wrote a song about it.” The good news is that the Philippine government has taken one major stride—the passage of the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act (PCID) into law in 2022—and followed it with much smaller steps, such as organizing the CREATEPhilippines x Manila International Performing Arts Market (MIPAM) 2026. The three-day event, which happens on Sept. 11 to 13, combines the vibrancy of a performing arts festival and the strategic networking of a marketplace to promote and prime the Philippine performing arts sector for international expansion.   

All the experts agree that at every stage of the music export process, studying the data is crucial: what worked, what didn’t, what showed promise. “Our artists who have broken through into the global scene and are taking the opportunity to work with foreign producers bring home what they’ve learned from that cultural exchange,” says Valdez. “They can analyze what’s different when working in a new market, and that’s helpful in defining what our next steps would be to get the global audience to embrace OPM.”

“It’s an exciting time for the Filipino music industry,” Faustino affirms. “If all the players, the visionaries, and the leaders come together, with the right support, OPM will produce the next global superstar in the next few years.” P-Pop, rock, contemporary pop, RnB, Pinoy hip-hop—the genre won’t matter because the artist and the music will undoubtedly be excellent. “We have the goods to succeed globally collectively, and we’ve already taken baby steps to get there.”

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Catch some world-class Filipino music talents at CREATEPhilippines x Manila International Performing Arts Market 2026: Showcasing Asia to the World, happening on Sept. 11 to 13 at the Likhang Filipino Exhibition Halls and the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). 

The event is organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and the CCP, and is co-presented by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).