Inside the Playbook: Tommy Brown on Why K-Pop Has Better Artist Development

The Manager's Playbook · Mar 30, 2026 · 11m

In this clip from The Manager’s Playbook, Tommy Brown breaks down why K-pop continues to win at artist development, and why its system still looks a lot closer to Motown than what much of the American music industry is doing today.

We get into Tommy’s work in Korea, the session that led to BLACKPINK’s “Ice Cream” featuring Selena Gomez, the group’s studio discipline, and what that level of perfectionism taught him about greatness, standards, and building global artists.

Tommy also talks about fan culture, physical album sales, team structure, and why moving fast, experimenting, and “rushing…