HAMAMATSU, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 25, 2025--
Yamaha Music Innovations (hereinafter called “YMI”), a U.S. subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation, has started a collaboration with POPS, Southeast Asia’s largest entertainment company based in Vietnam. POPS has over 400 million users on YouTube, social media, and apps, managing various content businesses that involve music, anime and influencers. By leveraging its main strength in connecting with the digital generation, the collaboration will use POPS ’s strong digital infrastructure and network to carry out promotions in Indonesia and Vietnam, blending real-world experiences with digital amplification.
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“At POPS, our mission has always been to inspire joy and creativity by connecting audiences with meaningful experiences,” said Esther Nguyen, CEO at POPS. “Partnering with Yamaha Music Innovations allows us to blend the best of both worlds — real-world music engagement with the limitless reach of digital platforms. Together, we’re inspiring the next wave of creators and music lovers in Southeast Asia.”
“We are thrilled to collaborate with POPS, which boasts an overwhelming customer base in Southeast Asia,” said Scott Sugino, president and CEO at Yamaha Music Innovations. “YMI aims to forge deeper connections with creators and customer bases rooted in each region, creating new business opportunities. With POPS’s broad customer base ranging from Alpha Generation youth to creators, we anticipate more diverse collaborations aligned with YMI’s strategic goal. As our initial effort, we are developing a promotional model aimed at the Alpha Generation, combining both offline and online channels. We are confident that combining POPS’s strengths with Yamaha’s assets will contribute to the development of young creator culture in unprecedented ways.”
In Indonesia, Yamaha Musik Indonesia, a sales subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation, will host Pianica events for elementary school students in October 2025. Simultaneously, the company will broadcast influencer performance experiences through POPS’s broad network, aiming to reach Generation Alpha (under 15 years old). Additionally, in Vietnam, Yamaha Music Vietnam, a sales subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation, plans to run a promotional campaign from December 2025 through March 2026 that will use influencers to spread the joy of music to a wider audience. The goal of this initiative is to increase awareness and attract new students to Yamaha Music School.
YMI is dedicated to advancing music culture globally through collaborations with startups and platforms. This partnership with POPS allows us to connect with audiences that would otherwise be difficult to reach independently. The company sees this combination of both companies’ strengths — real-world experience paired with digital outreach — as a new promotional model for spreading music culture in the Southeast Asian market. YMI will continue its efforts to increase awareness of Yamaha Music School and boost demand for musical instruments.
About Yamaha Corporation
Founded in 1887, the Yamaha Group has established itself as a global leader in manufacturing musical instruments and audio products while continuing to engage in various business activities to grow services related to sound and music.
Yamaha Music Innovations Partners with POPS, Southeast Asia’s Largest Entertainment Company
WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado discussed her country's future with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, even though he has dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.
Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela and signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s No. 2. Along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations and was set to deliver her first state of the union speech Thursday.
In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. She also had sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been looking forward to the lunchtime meeting with Machado and called her “a remarkable and brave voice” for the people of Venezuela. But Leavitt also said Trump's opinion of Machado had not changed, calling it "a realistic assessment."
Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.
Leavitt went on to say that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.
Leavitt said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.
“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado," the press secretary said, other than to have a ”frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”
Machado spent about two and a half hours at the White House but left without answering questions on whether she'd offered to give her Nobel prize to Trump, saying only “gracias."
After her White House stop, Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate. Her Washington visit began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela.
It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.
Leavitt said Venezuela's interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and that Rodríguez's government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.
Rodríguez has adopted a less strident position toward Trump then she did immediately after Maduro's ouster, suggesting that she can make the Republican administration's “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, work for Venezuela — at least for now.
Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.
“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”
Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.”
Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize. She has since thanked Trump, though her offer to share the honor with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.
Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.
The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.
A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.
Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.
Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gestures to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado smiles on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)
