Universal Music Group (UMG) has appointed Cindy Gu as Head of Astralwerks Asia, the company’s label division dedicated to electronic music within Asia, effective immediately.
Astralwerks Asia was launched in September 2019 at the All That Matters conference in Singapore.
The news coincided with the launch of Def Jam SEA, Ingrooves and Spinnup, as well as the opening of the new UMG SEA Singapore based regional headquarters.
Gu will head up the label’s operations across Southeast Asia, Korea and China and will be based within UMG’s regional headquarters in Singapore, working closely alongside Astralwerks GM, Toby Andrews to generate opportunities for Astralwerks artists throughout the continent.
An experienced marketeer and specialist in electronic music, Gu joins UMG from Warner Music Asia, where she served as Regional Marketing Manager & Dance Music Product Manager, spearheading all priority music campaigns across the genre.
Over the past two years, Gu was responsible for the launch and expansion of Spinnin’ Records into Greater China, Korea and across Southeast Asia.
In this role, she worked with artists such as KSHMR, Galantis and Cash Cash, whilst also creating new opportunities for domestic dance artists in the region.
Most notably for K-pop producer SHAUN, whose Way Back Home single featuring Sam Feldt & Conor Maynard reached No.1 across Asia and has generated more than 1 billion streams to date.
Gu joins Evan Baker, Director Astralwerks Asia, who over the past six months has spearheaded label activity within Asia, building campaigns to break tracks including; Surf Mesa’s ily (I love you baby) and Marshmello & Halsey’s Be Kind in the region.
Baker will continue to be based in the US and will work alongside Cindy to build the future of the label worldwide.
Prior to joining Astralwerks, Baker worked for ATM Artists, working across management clients including; DJ Snake and Axwell /\ Ingrosso amongst others.
In addition to the appointment of Cindy Gu, Astralwerks Asia has also announced details of its first artist signing from the region, with popular Indonesian EDM group, Weird Genius joining the global Astralwerks roster.
Since founding in 2016, Weird Genius has accumulated hundreds of millions of streams across all platforms.
Their current release LATHI has already been streamed in excess of 100 million times, having found popularity across social and streaming platforms.
The track reached No.1 on Spotify’s main chart in Indonesia and No.2 on their Global Viral 50 Chart, as it continues to grow in popularity across Southeast Asia.
“I am delighted to have joined the global Astralwerks family and am committed to bringing the best electronic music to fans across Asia, starting with the signing of Weird Genius.”
Cindy Gu
Cindy Gu said: “I am delighted to have joined the global Astralwerks family and am committed to bringing the best electronic music to fans across Asia, starting with the signing of Weird Genius.
“I look forward to working alongside Toby, Calvin, Adam, Evan and the teams throughout the region to create innovative and groundbreaking campaigns that will help establish Astralwerks and our artists throughout Asia and beyond.”
“Cindy is a true dance music enthusiast and this great passion for electronic music, combined with her proven history of executing successful artist campaigns will be vital to establishing Astralwerks Asia as the trusted home for the genre in Asia.”
Adam Granite, EVP, Market Development at UMG, added: “Since we announced the launch of Astralwerks Asia at Music Matters in September, we have been looking for the right person to lead and execute our vision for further developing dance music across the region.
“Cindy is a true dance music enthusiast and this great passion for electronic music, combined with her proven history of executing successful artist campaigns will be vital to establishing Astralwerks Asia as the trusted home for the genre in Asia.
“What better way to start than with the biggest viral dance record to come out of the region in years. We are very excited to have Weird Genius join the Astralwerks family and look forward to hearing much more from them in years to come.”
“Cindy’s experience across the electronic music space is a perfect match for us and we’re looking forward to watching her bring projects like ZHU, Surf Mesa and others to life, across South East Asia, Korea and China.”
Toby Andrews, Astralwerks
Toby Andrews, GM, Astralwerks, said: “We’re very excited to have Cindy join the Astralwerks team, as we continue to expand our presence within Asia.
“Cindy’s experience across the electronic music space is a perfect match for us and we’re looking forward to watching her bring projects like ZHU, Surf Mesa and others to life, across South East Asia, Korea and China.
“I look forward to building our ongoing and now heightened collaboration with Calvin, Adam and the teams across the region and welcome Weird Genius to our roster.
“Lathi is the hottest record to come out of Southeast Asia in recent months and we are excited to help them reach new audiences around the world, both now and across future releases”.
“It is an honor to become the first act from Asia to sign with Astralwerks and join their great roster of global dance artists.”
Weird Genius
Weird Genius’ said: “It is an honor to become the first act from Asia to sign with Astralwerks and join their great roster of global dance artists.
“We are excited to partner together with Cindy, Toby and the team to release new music, and to help our music reach new fans around the world.”
