Sony Music Entertainment is starting an outpost of RCA Records in mainland China.
From its base in Shanghai, the new label, RCA Records Greater China, will focus on signing artists in China and expanding the company’s presence in the region. RCA will invest in artists looking to “broaden their artistic and commercial opportunities” across streaming, gaming, virtual reality, NFTs and the metaverse, Sony said in a statement on Thursday (May 19).
In making the announcement, Sony Music said RCA Greater China had signed Chinese artist Jackson Wang and Taiwanese singer A-Lin.
The deal with Wang, who is also a member of K-pop group GOT7, is for one album in Chinese; he is signed to indie 88rising for his English-language productions and previously had exclusive album deals with Tencent Music Entertainment, a Sony Music spokesperson tells Billboard. RCA Records Greater China has already released the single, “Jackson Wang.”
A-Lin is a five-time Golden Melody Awards nominee, which are known as the “Mandarin Grammys.” Her deal with RCA Greater China is a multi-rights deal that replaces her earlier deal with Sony Music Taiwan, a Sony spokesperson says.
Sony Music named Kevin Foo, who had been overseeing Sony’s Taiwanese operations since 2019, as managing director of the new label. He launched the careers of several Asian artists, including Linying, Charlie Lim and The Steve McQueens, Sony Music says.
New York-based RCA Records, one of Sony Music’s four flagship labels, also has offices in the United Kingdom, Germany and France.
The new RCA Records office comes as Sony Music has been expanding and reorganizing its Asia operations. In 2020, the major label, which had been overseeing Asia from Sydney, Australia, for 12 years, divided Asia into four hubs — India and the Middle East, Greater China, South Korea and Southeast Asia. Then this March, Sony Music said it was opening a Singapore office to oversee Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.