Thailand's Creative Economy Agency has launched two music programmes for 2026, one placing Thai artists on international festival line-ups and one training the people working around them in business and rights.

The larger of the two, Music Exchange 2026, is supporting 33 Thai artists due to perform at 34 international festivals across 14 countries over the course of the year. The agency describes the aim as expanding Thai music onto the global stage.

Bookings already made through the programme this year include Head In The Clouds Tokyo in Japan, Playtime Festival in Mongolia and Round Festival in the Philippines.

The second programme, Music Lab, is aimed at industry personnel and covers business and copyright management. It includes a 32-hour intensive business development course for selected artists and a masterclass on IP management dealing with buy-out agreements and rights administration. Both programmes were developed alongside music industry specialists.

Direct funding also forms part of the package, with a total of 1.5 million THB, roughly £33,000, going to artists and record labels working to develop their creative skills and take their music to international markets.