Singapore-based music fund blackx has expanded its presence in Japan, Greater China and Singapore with a string of senior industry hires.
Headed up by founder and Group CEO Chee Meng Tan, blackx launched in September 2022, with an initial raise of USD $100 million.
Chee Meng Tan was previously appointed to lead Asia expansion plans for ADA, Warner Music Group‘s independent label and artist services arm.
Prior to ADA, he was Spotify‘s first employee in Singapore and its most senior industry-facing executive, responsible for the subsequent launch of the streaming service in all the markets in Asia.
The appointment of Hiroki Shirasuka as Head of Japan marks blackx’s official launch in the Japanese music market.
blackx says that Shirasuka has “extensive expertise” in Japan as well as the UK as Co-Founder of Giant Artist Management, ESEA Music and EarthPercent.
The veteran music executive has worked with Japan-based artists such as Fujii Kaze and Daiki Tsuneta.As part of his role, he will also look to further extend blackx’s presence to other international markets such as UK and US.
Meanwhile, 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 Chow 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 previous roles as Head of Greater China at ADA and VP of Content Development at KKBOX. At KKBOX, she has led on projects with 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.
Elsewhere, Hudson Wong, based in Singapore, rounds off the quartet of new hires as Head of Business Operations for blackx.
Wong has over 20 years of international banking, financial markets, treasury and risk management experience across Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
The exec was most recently Head of Corporate and E-Solution Sales for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Wong 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 thrilled to be launching blackx in Japan – a country renowned for its incredible musical history and heritage – at this exciting juncture.”
Hiroki Shirasuka
Hiroki 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.
Added Shirasuka: “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.”
“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.”
Tan Chee Meng
Tan Chee Meng, CEO of blackx, said: “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,”
‘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.”
Garand Wu, 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.”
This latest news from blackx follows the news in May that the company had acquired the catalog of Taiwanese songwriter, Frances Wang (Zhong Yan), spanning over 230 songs.
In July, the company signed a global music rights publishing deal with Singaporean singer-songwriter Tanya Chua.Music Business Worldwide