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ALLYSON ORTEGA TOY

Hi there! I'm Allyson, a values-driven creative technology leader with over 12 years of experience across the US and Asia. Get to know my story below!

I started my career in the music business where I got to navigate the industry’s shift to digital, be a pioneer in the onset of social media and creator tools and platforms, and sit at the forefront of influencer marketing in its earliest days.

In the late 2010’s, I spent two years working in Shanghai representing artists and falling in love with China’s dynamic online communities, particularly in gaming and social e-commerce. 

In early 2020, I joined Twitch as one of its first music industry hires to lead expansion efforts into music and non-gaming sectors. I spearheaded the organization’s first-ever music deals and scaled creator programs for emerging entertainment verticals (podcasting, lifestyle, fashion, etc.)

I also led Twitch’s Asian ERG through times of unprecedented anti-Asian hate, advocating for internal and external action with Twitch executives, building cross-cultural coalitions, and recruiting and managing a committee leadership team that significantly increased internal DEI data transparency.

Outside of work, I am a passionate advocate for the AAPI community. I have DJ’ed for 17 years in over seven countries, am a board member of Women’s Audio Mission, an avid chef, cultural explorer, and dedicated language learner speaking Spanish, French, and Mandarin! 如果有兴趣, veuillez continuer à lire. ¡Gracias!

WHERE I’VE WORKED

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MARKETING & CREATOR PROGRAMS

Don’t forgot to visit the Events & Culture section below for event-based marketing highlights!

HIGHLIGHTS

TWITCH NON-GAMING ACCELERATOR+ PROGRAM

Led scaled creator acquisition and support efforts for Twitch’s main growth bet: non-gaming creators in music, podcasting, lifestyle & more.

Spearheaded new vertical and product marketing efforts, scaled education programs, creator community-building programs, and transitioning creator engagement strategies from 1:1 to 1:many.

 

TWITCH MUSIC CREATOR INCENTIVE DEALS

Served as primary liaison and dealmaker for musicians & industry in Twitch’s first-ever strategic music partnerships, contributing to 500%+ growth in <12 months.

Pioneered and refined innovative deal models based on performance metrics and market trends. Streamlined deal pipeline process and implementation amidst 300%+ expansion in staff.

 

TWITCH CREATOR RELATIONS & COMMUNITY EVENTS

Developed bespoke content, social media, and monetization plans and strategies with 100+ qualified creators with millions in earnings.

Created and organized tens of community-building charity livestream events raising over $100k for St. Jude, MusiCares, National Alliance on Mental Health & more.

WARNER MUSIC GROUP: #SpotlightAAPI

Concepted and marketed an AAPI artist music discovery program in partnership with WMG and Topsify, WMG’s playlist brand and streaming label.

Initiative included 500+ songs submitted by independent musicians, which were reviewed by myself and WMG A&Rs. Top 60 songs were included in Topsify’s flagship playlists and upstreamed to WMG A&Rs for signing opportunities.

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CONTENT

 

It’s king, right? I’ve had the opportunity to concept and produce a wide range of original, editorial, commercial and branded content, including brokering many brands’ first ever artist/influencer-led branded content efforts in the early 2010’s.

 

LIONS SHARE - ORIGINAL CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS

LIONS SHARE was co-founded by myself and Cathleen Cher and was sold to JADED in December 2023. We were previously a US and China-based music, culture and media consultancy and original content production house for East-West crossover projects, cultural events, and content.

 

LIONS SHARE PODCAST

60% of the globe is Asian, making us the lion’s share of the world, but we’re still underrepresented on music’s global stage. The LIONS SHARE podcast strives to change that by highlighting the music and creativity of Asia and the Asian diaspora in a Spotify-exclusive music+talk podcast sharing music from emerging artists and themed episodes led by special guests and artists.

Browse my favorite episodes below!

 

THE LION AWARDS

A 3-day peoples’ choice charity awards show including 12+ categories honoring Asian creatives across multiple disciplines.

Talent: Eugene Lee Yang, MC Jin, Yuna, Tim Chatarangsu, Tway da Bae, Kelly Mi Li & more

Co-presenters: Live Nation, Asian Hustle Network, MAMA, Asian Podcast Network & more

Sponsors: Amazon

 

LIONS SHARE LIVE

A 5-day 6hr+ daily fully live virtual charity variety show highlighting AAPI talent of multiple disciplines

Talent: Eugene Lee Yang, Laufey, Kyler Murray (NFL), Kinjaz, Jenny Yang, Joseph Patel, Donnie Kwak & more

Sponsors: Twitch, ABSOLUT, MAKKU, US Census

 

BRANDED CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS

BEATS BY DRE x BOHAN PHOENIX “JALA”

90sec bilingual fully animated short artist profile

BEATS BY DRE | BACK TO CHENGDU 

bilingual mini-doc profiling artist’s return to China

RED BULL “3-2-1” SERIES

short Q&A series for social ft. Khalid

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EVENTS & culture

From promotion to production, talent buying to programming, emcee’ing or DJ’ing, I’ve touched just about every aspect of events. These days, I find my sweet spot at the intersection of impact, community building, and uplifting underrepresented voices.

HIGHLIGHTS

THE LION AWARDS

SPONSORSHIP - PROGRAMMING - PRODUCTION - PROMO

Talent: Eugene Lee Yang, MC Jin, Yuna, Tim Chatarangsu, Tway da Bae, Kelly Mi Li & more

Co-presenters: Live Nation, Asian Hustle Network, MAMA, Asian Podcast Network & more

Sponsors: Amazon

LIONS SHARE LIVE

SPONSORSHIP - PROGRAMMING - PRODUCTION - PROMO

Talent: Eugene Lee Yang, Laufey, Kyler Murray (NFL), Kinjaz, Jenny Yang, Joseph Patel & more

Sponsors: ABSOLUT, MAKKU, US Census, Twitch


WESTFIELD VALLEY FAIR LUNAR NEW YEAR

PROGRAMMING & BOOKING - PRODUCTION - EMCEE

FEBRUARY 2024 - SAN JOSE

LUNAR NEUE YEAR @ NEUEHOUSE DTLA

SPONSORSHIP - PROGRAMMING: MUSIC, PANEL, VENDORS

FEBRUARY 2023 - LOS ANGELES

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DJing & music curation

As a lifelong music lover, I’ve refined my curatorial ear across two decades of rigorous classical piano study and 17 years as a DJ. I grew up in the Bay Area and was inspired to start DJ’ing by two pioneers right in my backyard: DJ Q-Bert and DJ Shadow.

When I moved to NYC at age 18, I started learning the craft at The Scratch DJ Academy, paid my NYU college tuition through gigs, and started my music industry career with its help. When I moved to China, DJ’ing was my gateway to friends, exploring 15+ cities across Asia, and so many rich cultural experiences I wouldn’t have otherwise had. Music has always been my global compass.

From club nights to corporate events, DJ’ing for rappers or weddings, I love it all! These days, I find my sweet spot in partnering with purpose-driven events, celebrations, or brands to bring vibrant experiences to life through sound!

TwitchCon San Diego

click to listen

Everything Everywhere All At Once SXSW Premiere Party w Michelle Yeoh

NOTABLE RECENT PERFORMANCES

March 2024 MAMA Night Market, presented by Honda & the Bruce Lee Foundation

May 2023 The Recording Academy SF Chapter’s AAPI Month celebration

Oct 2022 TwitchCon San Diego @ Petco Park opening for Megan Thee Stallion & Kim Petras (9K attendees)

April 2022 California Academy of Sciences Annual Fundraising Gala

March 2022 Everything Everywhere All At Once A24 SXSW Premiere Party for cast and crew

CLIENTS

Alibaba

Bruce Lee Foundation

Kitsuné Maison

Gold House

MAMA Night Market

Red Bull

Soho House

Twitch

W Hotels

A24

Amazon

California Academy of Sciences

Grammy’s (Recording Academy)

Lowell Farms

Nobu

Southeast Asian Community Development Center

The Standard

Westfield Group

OPENING SETS

Tierra Whack

A$AP Ferg

Higher Brothers

Ghostface Killah

Rita Ora

Megan Thee Stallion

Kim Petras

Low End Theory

Keith Ape

Vic Mensa

COUNTRIES

China, HK, Taiwan

France

Japan

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

USA

Canada

SAMPLE WORK

 

Live recording of TwitchCon San Diego opening set for Megan Thee Stallion and Kim Petras

Live set featuring global sounds for nonprofit Upwardly Global's annual virtual charity fundraising gala. Upwardly Global is a 501(c)3 dedicated to assisting educated immigrants and refugees restart their careers in the US.

Live set celebrating women artists for Babydolls, an all women crew of community builders in Decentraland (metaverse).

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MUSIC

Get acquainted with my past work in music across creative strategy, artist management, touring, talent buying, A&R, and public relations.

CHINA LOCALIZATION STRATEGY

A solid localization strategy is as crucial as it is challenging for international artists entering China. While living in Shanghai, I represented numerous Western artists and helped them navigate China’s uniquely dense homegrown social, streaming and e-commerce platforms, its cultural nuances, touring, and vastly different media landscape.

EXPERTISE

social media management press/public relations show/tour promotion tour management DSP distribution deal management DSP native social timeline management DSP marketing and promotion DSP playlisting

CLIENTS

Bohan Phoenix Flosstradamus Lauv mtheory REZZ


A&R PROJECTS

My international music network and 17+ years as a DJ and curator have helped me identify rising talent early and tee them up for forward thinking international collaborations that resonate at home and abroad.

HIGHER BROTHERS - 88RISING SIGNING

Discovered and signed China’s biggest overseas rap supergroup to 88rising in 2016, prior to any western exposure or press. A&R’ed debut album Black Cab, including breakthrough hit “Made In China” (prod. Richie Souf) and Isabellae.

 

Anik Khan - “Oh My” ft. Burna Boy (prod. Sango)

Paired rising independent South Asian artist seeking a global sound with notable baile funk-influenced producer Sango and Nigerian pop sensation Burna Boy for feature.

BOHAN PHOENIX x MAKJ - “ALL THAT” ft. VAVA

Arranged sessions between rising Chinese-American rapper and veteran LA producer seeking traction in China. Secured a feature and music video participation from China’s #1 female rapper Vava, sans fee.

Single and music video set for release August 2019 via Empire.



Bohan Phoenix x Howie Lee - FOREIGN EP

Facilitated collaboration between young NYC-based rapper Bohan phoenix and China’s most notable underground music producer and Do Hits labelhead Howie Lee at the height of his fame in 2015. The collaboration lead to a 6-city tour with Howie and VICE, jumpstarting Bohan’s China career credibly.


PRESS & PROMOTION

In the past, I leveraged a strong network and culture media background to help artists, brands, and organizations tell stories that cross cultural boundaries.

WHERE

USA: PIGEONS & PLANES VICE BILLBOARD DAZED THE FADER HIGHSNOBIETY NOISEY 88RISING BOILER ROOM

ASIA: MTV ASIA i-D CHINA MIXMAG CHINA BILLBOARD ASIA BLOCK.FM (JP) BANDWAGON (SG) SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (HK) TIME OUT HONG KONG JUICE (SG) TOKYO VITAMIN (JP) NEOCHA HITFM #LEGEND (HK) MAEKAN (HK)

clients

MURA MASA REZZ LAUV FLOSSTRADAMUS SUBOI NAOMI WATANABE BOHAN PHOENIX


TOURING

I began my career in the live music world at the start of my career at WME and CAA, eventually moving on to handle talent buying and selection for The FADER, Red Bull, and more. I have also acted as an independent agent representing artists in both the US and Asia.

HIGHLIGHTS

TALENT BUYING

Red Bull Music Academy NYC (2017) The FADER FORT at SXSW (2014, 2015, 2016) vitaminwater #uncapped series (2015)

TOURS

Bohan Phoenix’s “JALA” Asia Tour - 16 cities including China, Japan, Singapore, Philippines

Bohan Phoenix’s “OVERSEAS” China Tour - 9 cities - Mainland China

FESTIVALS

Clockenflap Modern Sky Strawberry Festival Concrete & Grass WR/OC Jiangsu Fest D-Day Festival

BRAND PARTNERS

Adidas Drink Magazine FENDI FILA Foot Locker Huawei Kitsuné Maison Skullcandy SOFITEL SONOS Taobao W Hotels WeWork


AGENCY EXPERIENCE

CAA (ASSISTING CARA LEWIS)

Tour + Festival Highlights

Chance The Rapper Social Experiment Tour (2013)

Kanye West x Governors Ball (2014)

Client Highlights

Eminem

PARTYNEXTDOOR

Travis Scott

WME (ASSISTING SAM KIRBY)

Tour + Festival Highlights

Björk Biolphilia Tour (2012-13)

Swedish House Mafia One Last Tour (2012-13)


Client Highlights

FKA Twigs

LCD Soundsystem

M.I.A.


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PRESS | FEATURES, writing + speaking

HIGHLIGHTS

featured in Variety’s Ten AAPI Music Executives Making an Impact in 2023 (May 2023)

https://variety.com/lists/10-aapi-music-executives-making-impact-2023/

An Open Dialogue on Violence Against the AAPI Community with Twitch co-founders Kevin Lin and Justin Kan, artist mxmtoon, and Twitch Sr. Account Manager Sue “Smix” Lee. (March 2021)

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/937179774

PANELS

MIDEM | Music Promotion in China

A3C Festival | Hip Hop Music Promotion

Pistahan Festival 2023 | Innovation in DEI

Variety

Complex

Hypebae

#legend (HK)

Forbes

The FADER

DAZED

Hypebeast

WRITING

Banana Magazine

LEVEL

City Weekend

Hotel Radio Paris

Shanghai Community Radio

Musonomics | China Music Distro

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CONTACT

allyson.toy[at]gmail[dot]com

LinkedIn - Instagram - Mixcloud