88rising
1 known investors
American music and media company and record label founded in 2015 that develops and promotes Asian and Asian American artists.
Also known as 88 Rising Β· 88β¬ Β· 88rising Records LLC Β· CXSHXNLY
Investors Β· 1
Company profile
researched Aug 202688rising (stylized 88β¬, officially 88rising Records LLC, formerly CXSHXNLY, pronounced "cash only") is an American music entertainment and mass media company founded in 2015 by Sean Miyashiro and Jaeson Ma. Headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Los Angeles and Shanghai, the company operates as a record label and management company for Asian and Asian American artists, and also runs video production, marketing, merchandise, live events and digital content operations. Miyashiro, who serves as CEO, has described it as a hybrid management, record label, video production and marketing company.
The roster and collaborator list has included Keith Ape, Rich Brian, NIKI, Joji, Higher Brothers, Jackson Wang, Warren Hue, and early-stage artists Brian Puspos, Dumbfoundead, Josh Pan and Okasian; the company has also worked with KOHH, CL, DPR Live, Yaeji, Phum Viphurit, Verbal and Hikaru Utada. Beyond recordings, 88rising released the compilation album Head in the Clouds (2018), produced the soundtrack album for Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), runs the Head in the Clouds festival franchise, and operates the 88rising Radio channel on SiriusXM. Reported subsidiaries include Paradise Rising (Philippines), 88INFINITY (Japan), and China-based W8VES, SEVENATION, Sunrise Club, DAYDREAM, PLAYGROUND and NewSounds Family, plus House of Jade, FLUXGEN and Infinite Thrills. The company reported approximately 70 employees.
Founding story
Sean Miyashiro, of Japanese and Korean descent, grew up in San Jose, California, attended San Jose State University and organized club nights and parties before entering the music industry. In 2013 he helped launch Thump, Vice's electronic-music vertical, where he developed the content approaches and the concept for a media entity centered on Asian artists. In 2015 he launched the company β initially named CXSHXNLY β with co-founder Jaeson Ma, describing its start as being from the roof of a Bronx parking garage. The venture began as a small collective and management operation that identified emerging artists online and produced short-form music and culture videos for YouTube. The name 88rising draws on the symbolism of the number 88 in Chinese culture, where eighty-eight is associated with "double happiness" and resembles the character ε.
Business model
88rising combines recorded-music, artist management, publishing, live-events, merchandise and media-production activities. It signs and manages artists, releases and distributes their music (including through partnerships such as Warner Records credits and a Sony Music global distribution deal), produces video and film/TV content, and operates festivals, tours, a radio channel and consumer merchandise lines. It also operates regional subsidiaries and labels across Asia.
Revenue sources indicated across sources include recorded music and distribution, artist management, music publishing via a Kobalt partnership, merchandise sales, ticketed concerts and festivals such as Head in the Clouds, branded/soundtrack and film-TV production work, and media/marketing content production.
Traction
As of a 2021 report the company cited more than 90 million followers across global social media platforms and more than 40 billion total streams and views; a later account cited over 200 million followers and over 50 billion streams and views. Commercial markers include Rich Brian's Amen debuting at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 and topping the iTunes Hip-Hop Chart in 2018, Joji topping the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart and Spotify's Weekly Global Albums chart in 2018, sold-out North American shows in 2018, and the 2021 Shang-Chi soundtrack album.
Latest developments
Sony Music announced a global distribution deal with 88rising in 2023, and the company participated in a collaboration with Sony Music and The Orchard around Japanese music reported in 2024. Miyashiro executive produced a film that screened at Sundance in early 2023, following a 2021 development deal with Sony Pictures Television. 88rising curated a dedicated takeover stage at Coachella in 2024. Executive appointments reported by Music Business Worldwide include Mike Chuthakieo as Chief Revenue Officer (previously at Pinterest) and Sameen Singh as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Digital Officer, based in Los Angeles and reporting to Miyashiro. Co-founder Jaeson Ma launched the OpenWav app with Wyclef Jean, letting artists sell merch, tickets and exclusive content directly to fans.
βΈFull profile β market position, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
88rising is described as one of the most prominent platforms advancing Asian and Asian American artists in global music and youth culture, and as an Asian arts and music company that raised the profile of Asian artists outside of the K-pop system. It was named Label of the Year by NetEase in 2019 and was reported as the first label to receive its own billing on a Coachella lineup following its 2022 main-stage "Head In The Clouds Forever" medley.
The company positions itself around a pan-Asian, cross-cultural artist roster rather than a single national scene or a single flagship superstar, treating artists as collaborative partners; it pairs label functions with in-house video production, marketing, festivals and regional subsidiaries across Japan, China and the Philippines, creating a multimedia ecosystem across music, video, live events and digital content.
Go-to-market
The company built its audience through internet-native discovery and short-form YouTube video content combining Asian internet culture with Western hip-hop aesthetics, signing artists discovered online (for example Rich Brian after a viral single, and Warren Hue via Instagram direct message). It scales reach through collective tours, its own Head in the Clouds festival franchise in Los Angeles, New York, Jakarta and Manila, festival stage takeovers at Coachella, a SiriusXM channel, and partnerships with distributors, publishers and film/TV studios.
Global audiences for Asian and Asian American music and youth culture, particularly Asian and Asian American listeners in North America and audiences across East and Southeast Asia; on the supply side, Asian and Asian American artists, writers and composers seeking management, label and distribution services, plus film, television and brand partners.
Geography
Headquarters in New York City with additional offices in Los Angeles and Shanghai. Subsidiaries and imprints span the Philippines (Paradise Rising), Japan (88INFINITY), and China (W8VES, SEVENATION, Sunrise Club, DAYDREAM, PLAYGROUND, NewSounds Family). Festivals and tours have been staged in Los Angeles, New York, Indonesia (Jakarta), the Philippines (Manila) and China, with an early Asian tour covering nine cities across South Korea, China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.
History
Early inaugural artists included Brian Puspos, Dumbfoundead, Josh Pan and Okasian. Momentum came after Dumbfoundead introduced Miyashiro to Keith Ape's "It G Ma"; a remix featuring A$AP Ferg, Father and Waka Flocka Flame was released July 27, 2015 via OWSLA, with the video premiered by Complex. In 2016 the company connected remotely with artists across Asia, including Rich Brian, Joji and Higher Brothers, before they had relocated to the United States, and uploaded its first videos to YouTube under the 88rising name (May 2016 per one account). A Boiler Room collective performance took place in Los Angeles in May 2017, followed by a November 2017 nine-city Asian tour (Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Jakarta) and a sold-out debut North American tour in February 2018. Rich Brian's debut album Amen (February 2, 2018) charted at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 and topped the iTunes Hip-Hop Chart; the compilation Head in the Clouds followed on July 20, 2018, the same year the Head in the Clouds festival launched in Los Angeles. Later milestones include a 2019 Kobalt Music Group publishing partnership, NetEase Label of the Year in 2019, the SiriusXM 88rising Radio launch in 2020, a Sony Pictures Television deal in 2021, the Shang-Chi soundtrack album in 2021, Coachella billing in 2022 and a curated stage in 2024, a Sundance film in early 2023, and a global distribution deal with Sony Music in 2023.
Risks & controversies
The Wikipedia entry on the company carries an editorial notice flagging promotional content and a non-neutral point of view. Reported follower and streaming figures come from company-supplied statements and vary substantially between accounts. Early operations were constrained by artist travel and visa limitations, with Higher Brothers performing by live stream from Chengdu in 2017 because they could not travel to the United States.
Compiled by commissioned research from 5 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Timeline Β· 17
launches, deals, and filings88rising appointed Mike Chuthakieo as Chief Revenue Officer; he joined from Pinterest.
Sameen Singh was appointed Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Digital Officer, reporting directly to CEO and founder Sean Miyashiro and based in Los Angeles.
Sony Music announced a global distribution deal with 88rising.
88rising performed a main-stage medley titled 'Head In The Clouds Forever' at Coachella 2022, reported as the first time a label received its own billing on the festival lineup; the label also curated a takeover stage in 2024.
Miyashiro was given the 'Changemaker' award at the Unforgettable Gala, recognizing Asian and Pacific Islander leaders in arts, entertainment and culture.
88rising announced a deal with Sony Pictures TV to develop television series about Asian and Asian American culture, alongside a film project ('We Stan') about K-pop fan culture.
The label produced the soundtrack album for Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, executive produced and curated by Sean Miyashiro.
A partnership with SiriusXM created 88rising Radio, described as the first all-Asian artist music channel in North America.
NetEase, one of China's largest music streaming platforms, named 88rising Label of the Year.
88rising signed an exclusive global (excluding China) partnership deal with Kobalt Music Group, with plans to sign additional Asian writers and composers.
88rising released its first compilation album, a 17-track project titled Head in the Clouds.
The company staged its first North American tour at The Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, The Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles, and Terminal 5 in New York City, with sold-out shows and guest appearances including Charli XCX and Ski Mask the Slump God.
The annual Head in the Clouds music festival was founded in Los Angeles and later held editions in New York, Jakarta and Manila.
88rising announced a collective tour across nine major Asian cities β Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Jakarta β featuring Rich Brian, Joji and Higher Brothers, with Keith Ape at select shows.
The company published its first YouTube video content as 88rising, combining Asian internet culture and Western hip-hop aesthetics to introduce Asian artists to Western audiences.
A remix of Keith Ape's 'It G Ma' featuring A$AP Ferg, Father and Waka Flocka Flame was released via OWSLA, with the music video premiered by Complex.
The label received a seed round investment from Allen DeBevoise, founder of Third Digital Wave, after Sean Miyashiro was introduced to him by a mutual friend. No amount disclosed.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
βΈResearch sources Β· 5
primary sources listed
- 88rising - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org Β· web
5 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does 88rising do?
- American music and media company and record label founded in 2015 that develops and promotes Asian and Asian American artists.
- Who are 88rising's investors?
- 88rising's investors include East West Ventures EWV.