Scaling new heights
Airasia teams up with Universal Music Group to bring Asean music to the fore.
AIRASIA has launched a new route. Its destination? Music land.
The low-cost airline has teamed up with Universal Music Group (UMG) to start Redrecords, a music label devoted to discovering and grooming new talents in South-east Asia.
“The idea is to use the marketing power of Airasia to find talents in South-east Asia, make great music and help them break through in the global market,” said Airasia Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes during its launch in Kuala Lumpur last week.
“It’s a lofty dream. But if you never do it, you never know.”
In a bid to foster a global appreciation for Asean music, Fernandes shared the music of Redrecords will showcase the different native languages spoken in Asean countries as well as traditional instruments like the gamelan.
Chairman and chief executive officer of UMG Sir Lucian Grainge said in a video message: “Music today in the streaming age has no barriers. We’ve seen that with the music from Latin America, Europe and with K-pop.
“We think this partnership
between Airasia and Universal Music will be a phenomenal opportunity to introduce the best music from the (Asean) market.”
Fernandes shared the idea for Redrecords came about when he attended this year’s Grammys at Los Angeles.
While at Tinseltown, he visited various American record labels including UMG, with the intention of getting more international music acts to perform in Malaysia.
“During my discussion with Lucian, he said UMG would like to start a label with us,” Fernandes said.
Hassan Choudhury, formerly Warner Music UK’S international director, has been given the responsibility to helm Redrecords.
Fernandes gushed about the Redrecords chief executive officer: “Hassan used to come over here to promote UK music acts to South-east Asia. His passion, his energy and his love for South-east Asia is boundless. I believe he will push our artistes to their maximum potential.”
Redrecords’ first signed artiste is 19-year-old Thai-german singer Jannine Weigel.
“So far, we only have Jannine on our roster. We plan to keep our roster small so that we can really focus on developing their careers,” Fernandes said
Prior to joining the airline industry in 2001, Fernandes was a music executive at Warner Music.
“This day has been 18 years in the making. It’s a really special day for me to be back in the music business,” said Fernandes.