Rock Records
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Contents |
History
Rock Records, also called Rock Asia is a Taiwanese record label with the sublabel Magic Stone Records, that signed early Chinese rock bands.
From its beginnings in 1981, Rock has been able to discover and develop quality music. During its early years, Rock was one of the first companies in Taiwan to develop innovative, original rock and pop in a region flooded with Western music and Japanese cover songs. In doing so, it changed the face of the industry to create a new sound that would quickly gain popularity all over the Chinese world - Mandarin pop.
Artists such as Lo Tayu, Sarah Chen, Jonathan Lee, Chao Chuan and Emil Chou became household names; and with them Rock became recognized as a pioneer in the music industry. Rock was not merely producing music, it was reflecting rapid changes in Taiwan's society, putting forth a bold agenda that spoke directly to a new generation of Chinese. In 15 years Rock has evolved from a skeleton staff of 7 into the island's largest record company, with over 200 persons on the payroll.
In 1991 Rock Records' internationalization began in earnest with the creation of its office in the highly competitive market of Hong Kong. Though the majors already had a firm grip on the territory, Rock pushed forward to quickly establish itself as a potent force, to a point where it now competes with the majors for the top spot. During that time, the Hong Kong staff grew from 12 to 60 persons and revenue jumped over 100 percent annually. The full-function Hong Kong branch has also expanded into signing and developing Hong Kong artists. Within a few years it has signed a hot roster of Hong Kong artists and made their popularity grow even more, among them Beyond, Jackie Chan, Alex To, Sandy Lam and Leslie Cheung.
With its expansion into Hong Kong, Rock brought with it new concepts - quality music, creativity and high production values. Their efforts once again made them a pioneer - this time in a new territory. Hong Kong was just the first step in Rock's regional plan. Next came Singapore, Malaysia, mainland China and finally South Korea. Over the past five years, Rock Records has spread from its solid base in Taiwan to establish a network that spans the Asia-Pacific region from Korea to Malaysia.
In 1992 Rock went on to establish branches in the important markets of Singapore and Malaysia. Like Hong Kong, Singapore had also been dominated by the majors, but it wasn't long before Rock made its influence felt. In the three years since its establishment, the Singapore office staff has grown over 75 percent per year. Malaysia is a similar story, with an office staff growing from 8 to 30 persons and revenue increasing at an average rate of over 100 percent per year.
Rock also has a strong presence in mainland China. With a licensing office in business since 1989 and with production offices now up and running in Beijing and Shanghai, Rock has a deep understanding and thorough penetration of this up-and-coming market. Rock has also been a leading force in the development of mainland Chinese artists through its Magic Stone label, which has been signing and producing artists since 1989.
In 1993 Rock proved to the world that it could overcome language and cultural barriers by establishing a branch in the non-Chinese speaking Republic of Korea. Though the market has proven tough to crack, Rock is determined to continue its present course of development. As of now, Rock's commitment to Korea has been increased with the assignment of two top executives to the country to further develop international labels and sign local talent.
With the exception of mainland China, all of Rock's branches are full function record companies engaged in distribution, publishing, marketing and promotion. In the mainland, distribution is left to government-owned record companies, as is their policy.
This network of branch offices not only plugs Rock's existing products in these diverse territories, but also discovers and develops local talent in each area for potential expansion into the massive Asia-Pacific market.
Further information
Official pages
- Former website at Way Back Machine
- Rock Records official homepage
- Rock Records Taipei Channel@YouTube
- Official Japanese site
