Ken Opiña on Seeing Future Stars and Fostering P-Pop Talent

Between overseeing release schedules and content of trends online, Viva Records’ Ken Opiña’s role as music marketer rarely slows down. Opiña centers herself in a system that demands both important foresight and a quick reaction. And that has gotten her far. She recalls how she was able to see through the potential of indie music artists like pre-fame eras of Reese Lansangan, Arthur Nery, and The Benjamins, who are now Ben&Ben. 

In a label setting where multiple artists are being developed at once, longevity is the long-game goal. But it all starts with visibility.“It’s important for us to have a long-lead plan for an artist,” Opiña says. “It’s not just a one release. So, you need to strategize how we will make them visible. So, we plan everything in advance.” Social media campaigns for artists under her may be mapped out months ahead, depending on the kind of rollout they have envisioned. But with the industry, a lot of things happen suddenly. A viral moment, a controversy, or even a sudden spike in audience interest can change the whole momentum of the artist overnight. This is where anticipation is crucial.

Opiña and her team keep a close watch on metrics, audience behavior, and fan engagement — the bread and butter of today’s digital marketing teams as fans make or break careers with a single post. Opiña and her team keep a close watch on metrics, audience behavior, and fan engagement, constantly adjusting how an artist is presented without losing sight of the bigger plan. It’s all data at the end of the day, and Opiña takes advantage of this. The balance between structure and spontaneity defines most of her work with groups like Alamat and RAYA. 

Fostering Local Talent

Alamat, a six-member self-described singrap-dance boy group, debuted in 2021. What’s unique and easily marketable about the group is their diverse background. While most P-pop groups create a unified representation of Filipino identity to show the world, Alamat embraces its regional facets. Each member comes from different parts of the country: Taneo from Kalinga, Mo from Zambales, Jao from Pampanga, R-Ji from Eastern Samar, Tomas from Albay, and Alas from Davao del Sur. RAYA, meanwhile, is a nine-member girl group that debuted in 2025 but has since been one of the fastest-growing contemporary P-pop acts with over 60,000 monthly Spotify listeners despite only having a handful of tracks. Such potential is what Opiña banks on, and the promise of fresh talent amid a quickly growing movement. But this path is not without its roadblocks.

“Maybe the biggest challenge is the backlash. Mga bashing, ganon. The artists are affected,” she says. “With marketing, how will you fix those problems? What we do sometimes is really listen to the comments and feedback even if we know that some are stories that aren’t true. Just listen to them and then learn from it. So at least we know what we can do better next time.”

Handling that kind of pressure also means protecting the artist while still keeping them visible. It’s a careful line between responding and staying quiet, between shaping a narrative and letting it pass. For Opiña, the work extends beyond promotion; it’s about understanding how audiences react and using that to guide the next move.

“What’s good with Philippine pop now is, yes, we adapt to how other countries do their work. We learn how they promote their artists concept-wise — I still look for inspirations from K-pop, from Western, even Asian pop,” Opiña trails off. “But what’s unique with Philippine pop is that we know our mix. So, with our strategy now, we don’t just want to promote an artist who’s just showing a visual, just showing the music. But we [like to] know the artists’ stories. It’s not just the music that’s being sold, not just visuals, but their stories, their journey.”

This story is from the Rolling Stone Philippines Special P-pop Issue with SB19. Pre-order a copy from sarisari.shopping, or read the e-magazine now here.