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This issue of Billboard's Asia Pacific Quarterly contains a series of reports on emerging artists from throughout the region. Artist: Dadawa Current Album: 'The Ballad Of Lhasa' Label: Warner This […]

As the recording industry sees it, Japan has never really been part of 'Asia.' Although it is the world's second-largest record market, the island nation has always been viewed as […]

'I certainly do not envisage our industry unleashing on China a flood of only Western music, which is not our intention. Rather, our companies seek primarily to meet the vast […]

Ask anybody who's tried, and they will tell you -- eventually. More than a decade since China first 'opened up' to foreign music, licensing Western pop product into the world's […]

Hong Kong -- everybody's thought about it. No one likes to talk about it much. But the question dogging major Asian record companies is universal: How long Hong Kong? Consensus […]

HONG KONG - The war against CD piracy in China is far from over, say many software industry insiders. Although U.S. sanctions against China were averted June 17 after a […]

WARNER MUSIC INTERNATIONAL announced July 21 the appointment of Samuel Chou as managing director of Warner Music Taiwan, effective immediately. Chou was managing director of EEI Records, a joint-venture company […]

A desire to counter the waning popularity of ballad-driven Cantopop has led Sony Music Hong Kong to challenge local convention with baby act Yi Yan Man Chun, which translates as […]

WALT DISNEY RECORDS has inked a distribution pact for its animated film soundtracks and children's music catalog with Sony Music Asia for Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. Sony will organize […]

UNIVERSAL MUSIC TAIWAN has signed veteran Mandarin singing star Tracy Huang to a five-album deal. Huang has 49 albums to her credit, each of which her new company estimates have […]

Local IFPI Arm Debates Suspension HONG KON--Taiwan's national sales charts continue to be plagued by controversy, 18 months after their launch by the labels group there. Local industry efforts to […]

The Music-Loving City-State Leans Toward Chinese And International Repertoire, And There's Not Much Room For Local Talent SINGAPORE - Visitors to this fair city may well notice that music is [...]

Economic Turmoil Lowers Profit HONG KONG - Growth may not spring eternal in Asia, but, as Nietzsche said, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. A late-year 'vox pop' poll […]

HONG KONG - Multinational music publishers operating in Asia are formulating plans to audit their sister record companies in a number of key markets. The goal is to quantify mechanical […]

HONG KONG - When President Clinton proposes a renewal of China's most favored nation (MFN) status to Congress in the coming months, intellectual property in the country may be one […]

HONG KONG - As a means of establishing and testing ties within China's sprawling, underdeveloped recording industry, the 'representative' or 'liaison' office is becoming an increasingly valuable tool for international […]

This story was written by Geoff Burpee in Hong Kong and Steve McClure in Tokyo. HONG KONG - Premier Japanese musician, songwriter, and producer Tetsuya Komuro's various recording projects have […]

HONG KONG-MCA Music Entertainment International has a new leader in the Pacific Rim. The name's Bond -- Peter Bond. Bond takes over the post of senior VP for MCA Asia/Pacific, […]

HONG KONG - Bucking a business trend in Asia, Sony Music has appointed an American, Matthew Allison, as its head of Chinese repertoire development in the region. Other multinational record […]

HONG KONG - The hunger of Asian markets for local-language versions of Western songs has opened a Pandora's box of royalty headaches for songwriters, publishers, and record companies. Long driven […]

HONG KONG - MCA Music Entertainment International has signed a licensing deal with Schtung Records, purveyors of 'pan-Asian hip.' Schtung, the first Hong Kong company to affiliate with MCA, is […]

Many Labels Had Exposure To Fullee; Other Distributors May Follow Hong Kong--The crowded distribution market here is still picking up pieces from the earthquake of the collapse of Fullee Records. […]

GRAMMY ENTERTAINMENT CO. LTD., the dominant force in Thailand's music business, has announced that longstanding president/CEO Paiboon Damrongthaitam is stepping aside from day-to-day operations to take the role of chairman. [...]

HONG KONG-The funky, tropical vibes of Philippines trio Kulay are set to hit dancefloors worldwide, as Sony's Dance Pool division prepares its global game plan for the act. The style-conscious […]

Polygram Far East has increased its stake in Taiwanese record company What's Music from 25% to approximately 70%, according to a source. The What's Music family includes companies in Hong [...]

HONG KONG - In Asia, 1997 was all set to be remembered as the year Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule. But devastation across the board in currency, property and […]

SINGAPORE - A seizure of suspected pirate audio CDs is highlighting the resurgence of black-market product here. In a raid July 11, officers from the International Federation of the Phonographic […]

This story was prepared by Geoff Burpee in Hong Kong and Steve McClure in Tokyo. BMG Entertainment International has strengthened its competitive stance on local repertoire in Asia. The multinational's […]

Reports that the soundtrack to the motion picture `Titanic' has sold one million copies in both mainland China and the People's Republic of China (Taiwan). How this feat is unprecedented; Reasons why the soundtrack was marketed so well in Taiwan; The importance of the soundtrack's classification as international repertoire; Distribution laws in foreign countries. INSET: Majors' designs on China include local music.

Discusses the efforts of Virgin Records officials to remedy the ban of singer Janet Jackson's album `The Velvet Rope' in the Asian city-state of Singapore because of risque lyrical content as of October 25, 1997. Comments from Virgin officials; Details about the appeal process.

Discusses 1997 legislation on parallel import music recordings in Hong Kong. The effect of the legislation, such as rising compact disc costs; Why the law is a necessity, according to BMG senior vice president Asia-Pacific Michael Smellie; Details of the law.