blackx Deepens Bench Strength in Asia With Key Appointments Across Markets; Launches Operations in Japan

Singapore-based Music Fund blackx Deepens Bench Strength in Asia
With Key Appointments Across Markets; Launches Operations in Japan

  • Expands presence in Japan, Greater China and Singapore with senior industry hires
  • Creator-focused blackx is uniquely positioned to drive returns from Asia music industry’s continued exponential growth

 

SINGAPORE – 16 August 2023 – blackx, a leader in Asia music-related investments, today announced a series of senior hires across various growth markets – significantly strengthening its bench strength in Asia.

L-R: Hiroki Shirasuka, Catherine Chow, Chiou Chiou and Hudson Wong

Recognised as one of the most respected artist managers in the music industry, Hiroki Shirasuka joins blackx as Head of Japan. With extensive expertise in Japan as well as the UK as Co-Founder of Giant Artist Management, ESEA Music and EarthPercent, Hiroki is widely lauded for developing and delivering critically acclaimed, innovative and globally successful artists in the last 15 years. The veteran music executive has worked with some of Japan’s biggest artists such as Fujii Kaze and Daiki Tsuneta. Hiroki has been actively connectingAsian artists and the world and strives to improve Asian representation in the global music industry. As part of his role, he will also look to further extend blackx’s presence to other international markets such as UK and US.

In Greater China, Catherine Chow and Chiou Chiou have respectively joined blackx as Chief Financial Officer and General Manager, Acquisition & Commercial. A former representative in the Motion Picture Association and Taiwan’s anti-piracy / IP associations, Catherine brings to blackx over 22 years of extensive experience managing finance, acquisitions, distribution and IP from Twentieth Century Fox in Taiwan, where she was Finance Director.

Chiou Chiou is an industry veteran in Greater China with an unparalleled network of deep relationships, who brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles as Head of Greater China at ADA and VP of Content Development at KKBOX. At KKBOX, she has led on projects with renowned artists such as Eason Chan, MayDay, and ?te (pronounced Why-te) amongst many others. At blackx, both executives will work closely with Garand Wu, President of Greater China.

Hudson Wong, based in Singapore, rounds off the quartet of new hires as Head of Business Operations for blackx. With over 20 years of international banking, financial markets, treasury and risk management experience across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, Hudson was most recently Head of Corporate and E-Solution Sales for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Hudson has operating expertise in foreign exchange and derivatives sales and electronic foreign exchange trading, serving corporate and investment banking, project and structured financing, as well as private equity and credit fund clients.

“We’re beyond thrilled to welcome these highly talented and widely respected individuals from such diverse backgrounds and geographies, who share our vision here at blackx – it’s a real coup and we’re humbled by their belief in the cause. The unique strengths and experiences that each of them bring, coupled with their confidence in blackx and passion for the work we do here will undoubtedly spur our plans going forward,” said Mr Tan Chee Meng, CEO of blackx.

Mr Garand Wu, President of Greater China at blackx, added, “Greater China is a key region for blackx and one which represents immense opportunities, given the unprecedented growth of the digital music economy in recent years. We look forward to the added experience that Catherine and Chiou bring, which will be invaluable to our team strength as we continue to scale and grow blackx’s presence here.”

blackx Launches In Japan

The appointment of Hiroki Shirasuka as Head of Japan marks blackx’s official launch in the vast Japanese music market.

Mr Shirasuka said, “We’re thrilled to be launching blackx in Japan – a country renowned for its incredible musical history and heritage – at this exciting juncture. Fostering enduring relationships as a trusted, long-term partner for exceptional Japanese artists, songwriters and rights-holders, both from the past and those shaping the future, is key to us.

“We want to respectfully honour, celebrate and uplift their legacies and culture, to create thriving, collaborative partnerships, and further elevate Japanese artistry with audiences worldwide. We look forward to generating added value and IP opportunities for artists, songwriters and rights-holders alike.”

According to IFPI’s latest 2023 Global Music Report1 , Asia’s 15.4% growth in the recorded music industry in 2022 outpaced global growth by 9%.

China placed fifth on the list for top 10 global recorded music revenues in 2022 with a huge jump of 28.4%. Japan, in second place with a second year of consecutive growth of 5.4%, is potentially on the verge of an explosive growth cycle when streaming comes onboard.

Unlocking And Enriching The Value of Music With A Creator-First Approach

In May 2023, blackx announced its acquisition of a catalog comprising publishing rights to over 230 songs by renowned songwriter Frances Wang, as part of its creator-first approach to acquiring, creating and distributing IP and amplifying content.

Just last month, blackx inked another multi-year exclusive global music rights publishing partnership with Asian music icon Tanya Chua, to manage her entire repertoire of musical IP rights.

With its focus on acquisitions of catalogs, partnerships with top tier artists, as well as the incubation and grooming of emerging talent, blackx will work to enable creators to continue generating more valuable and compelling musical content.

At the same time, the team will support them in nurturing the value of their IP through the pursuit of creative and commercialisation efforts, such as artist and repertoire management, publishing, marketing and promotion.

As one of the first in Asia to offer qualified investors access to songs and associated musical intellectual property rights, blackx is in a unique position to capture opportunities as the region’s music industry continues to burgeon and flourish.

“Asia’s music industry is slated to grow exponentially, and ultimately, our Asian operations are strategic nodes which will dovetail with our strategy of ensuring we continue to provide opportunities for both artists and investors to benefit from each other’s successes,” said Mr Tan.

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Hudson WONG, CFA, CAIA, ERP, FDP, SCR

Head of Business Operations

With over 20 years of international banking, financial markets, treasury and risk management experience across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, Hudson was most recently Head of Corporate and E-Solution Sales for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Hudson has operating expertise in foreign exchange and derivatives sales and electronic foreign exchange trading, serving corporate and investment banking, project and structured financing, as well as private equity and credit fund clients.

Catherine CHOW

Chief Financial Officer, Greater China
Catherine brings extensive experience in Finance, acquisitions, distribution and IP, having served as Finance Director of Twentieth Century Fox (Taiwan) where she managed distribution, acquisitions and collaborations for 22 years. She was also a compliance officer and business partner in TCF’s Taiwan management team, and represented the company in the Motion Picture Association as well as Taiwan’s anti-piracy / IP associations.

Hiroki SHIRASUKA

Head of Japan

With extensive expertise in Japan as well as the UK, Hiroki has established himself as one of the most respected artist managers as Co-Founder of Giant Artist Management, ESEA Music, and EarthPercent. Widely recognised for consistently developing and delivering critically acclaimed, innovative, and globally successful artists in the last 15 years, the veteran music executive has worked with some of Japan’s biggest artists such as Fujii Kaze and Daiki Tsuneta. Hiroki has been actively connecting Asian artists and the world and strives to improve Asian representation in the global music industry.

Tanya Chua

Producer / Singer-songwriter

Renowned as Asia’s award-winning music icon, Tanya Chua is the only artist ever to be awarded Taiwan’s Golden Melody Award a record-breaking 4 times, and her multiple wins at the 2022 GMAs for “Album Of The Year” and “Best Mandarin Album” for her “DEPART” album also mark a first in the Awards’ history.

Frances Wang, Zhong Yan

Songwriter

An influential figure in the Chinese music industry, Taiwan-based Frances is highly sought after for her signature blend of poetic prose that showcases complex emotions.

Chiou Chiou

Head of Acquisition, Greater China
Chiou is an industry veteran in Greater China with an unparalleled network of deep relationships, who brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles as Head of Greater China at ADA and VP of Content Development at KKBOX. At KKBOX, she has led on projects with renowned artists such as Eason Chan, MayDay, and ?te (pronounced Why-te) amongst many others. At blackx, both executives will work closely with Garand Wu, President of Greater China.

Garand Wu

President, Greater China

Garand is a renowned veteran musician and former Managing Director of Universal Music (China), the world’s largest record company where he was responsible for whole-of-China business. During his tenure, he significantly expanded the company’s presence throughout China and led major initiatives, including Universal Music (China) being the first international major music company to launch multi-label operations in China.

With over 25 years of experience in senior industry roles that span live entertainment, media and music across Asia, Garand has extensive and vast knowledge of strategic music marketing and label management in Asia, particularly in the Greater China region. A senior A&R executive producer who has built connections between the East and West as well as brought domestic artists into the global arena, Garand has personally signed artists such as Ouyang Nana, Guo Ding, and Tanya Chua.

Garand is also an experienced IP creator, with expertise in copyright development and digitisation. He has led the development of innovative revenue channels that have reshaped the industry landscape and accelerated the trend of artists’ monetising content through direct engagement with fans. Today, he is widely recognised for his contributions to the digitisation and copyright development of the music industry in mainland China.

Originally from Taiwan, he was part of the founding team with UFO Records and has held senior positions in international companies such as EMI and MTV. 

Chee Meng Tan

Founder and CEO

Chee Meng has over 25 years of experience in senior roles across media, technology as well as both independent and major labels. Possessing unique insights and deep understanding of the music industry from all perspectives, Chee Meng brings expert knowledge of Asian cultural nuances and business practices. Chee Meng also led Spotify’s launch of the global streaming service in all the markets in Asia. 

With a proven track record in shaping the digital music landscape in Asia and driving explosive industry growth across the region in recent years, Chee Meng is the first and only Singaporean in history to appear twice on Billboard Magazine’s International Power Players List.

A sought-after industry thought leader, Chee Meng has spoken widely at events such as MIDEM (Cannes), Music Matters (Singapore), Golden Melody Awards Conference (Taiwan), Mu:Con (Korea). Today, he also advises several music and tech start-ups, both in Asia and internationally.