2026 Women of Live: Weining Hung

Weining Hung
9 Kick | Founder / Director (Taiwan)

PHILOSOPHY THAT GUIDES HER CAREER | “Judgment is the real scarce resource. Opportunities are endless in this industry – tours, showcases, partnerships, funding – but not all opportunities are good ones.”

Weining Hung is the founder and director of 9 Kick, an “artist management & booking agency from Asia to Universe.” She’s also the co-founder of LUCfest, a showcase festival and conference in Tainan, Taiwan, that launched in 2017. Here, Hung explains about the decision to step back from the festival to concentrate on working with artists including Phum Viphurit, ADOY and WIM.

IN HER OWN WORDS
“The last year has been less about scale and more about precision.

After co-founding and building LUCfest into a recognized international showcase platform in Asia, I made the deliberate decision to step away from running the festival. LUCfest remains one of the projects I’m most proud of because it proved that a city-based, independent festival from Taiwan could become a trusted meeting point for artists, industry professionals, and international partners. It also demonstrated my belief that live music ecosystems are built over time, through consistency, credibility, and care — not just scale.

“On a business level, I’ve focused on strengthening long-term artist careers across Asia rather than chasing volume. That meant fewer but more intentional tours, deeper market development in places like Thailand, Korea, Japan and Europe, and saying no to projects that didn’t align with an artist’s long-term trajectory. Several of the artists I work with moved from “cult followings” to consistently selling out headline shows, which is always more meaningful to me than a single breakout moment.

“Personally, the biggest highlight has been clarity. After years of building festivals, showcases, and large-scale platforms, I intentionally stepped back to recalibrate how I want to contribute to the live ecosystem. That pause sharpened my judgment and allowed me to return to the work with more focus, better boundaries, and a stronger sense of authorship over my role in the industry.

“Across Phum Viphurit, ADOY, HYBS, and WIM, the throughline is deliberate career architecture. I don’t chase spikes — I build touring foundations. … My role is to ensure that each return to a territory is stronger than the last — and that growth is durable, not accidental.