Labels offered him $1,000 for his masters after his first viral song. He said no, paid off his student debt with streaming royalties and spent five years building a pop career without a label. We sat down with Mad Tsai over tea in London, after the last show of his first European tour, to talk about the business behind the music: night shifts at a poke shop, a stolen song he never saw a penny from, why he finally signed with Rebellion Records, what K-pop taught him, and Mooncake, the backyard concert series for Asian artists he wants to turn into a festival. One hour, one pot of tea, and the full conversation.