UMG TAKES A FLYER ON A-POP

Universal Music Group is flying into Asia with RedRecords, a label partnership with travel and lifestyle company AirAsia Group. The focus is on signing, developing and breaking new Asian artists and elevating A-Pop globally.

Hassan Choudhury, Head of Music for AirAsia Group, will take on the role of CEO of RedRecords which will be based in Kuala Lumpur and Los Angeles. In addition to artist development and A&R, the label will provide distribution and marketing, as well as management and agency services.

“The worldwide success of Latin and K-Pop has demonstrated that in the streaming era there are no barriers to great music regardless of language,” UMG Chairman & CEO Sir Lucian Grainge said. “Together with the combined strategic marketing reach and resources of AirAsia and UMG, we can provide Asian artists an exciting opportunity to truly go global.”

The first signing is Thai pop artist Jannine Weigel, whose releases have received more than 600m views and 3.3m followers on YouTube.