Virgin Music Group, Universal Music Group’s indie artist label and services arm, has appointed Cindy Gu to oversee Southeast Asia for the company.
As General Manager, Gu will oversee Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, Virgin Music said in a statement on Thursday (September 4).
Working alongside Gu will be Liza Fuady, Regional Director at Virgin Music Group SEA, who has headed the region’s commercial strategy and business growth for the past 15 months.
Fuady will continue to be based in Jakarta and will report to Gu, who will be based in Virgin Music Group’s Singapore offices.
Gu comes to Virgin from Fabled Records, a joint venture between Live Nation and UMG’s Astralwerks Records, where she served as Managing Director, leading artist signings, strategic growth initiatives and overall operations.
She has also held senior leadership roles at Astralwerks and Warner Music Group’s Spinnin’ Records.
She brings to Virgin more than a decade of experience in electronic music, both at major labels and at indies, and “has been a driving force behind some of Asia’s most globally successful releases, championing regional talent with world-class resources,” Virgin said.
He portfolio includes the Indonesian hit Lathi by Weird Genius (500 million streams) and the Indo-Thai crossover Future Ghost by Weird Genius & Violette Wautier (50 million streams), as well as Falling Back, Singapore producer MYRNE’s collaboration with US chill house mainstay Shallou, along with K-pop/dance hit Way Back Home by Sam Feldt, SHAUN, and Conor Maynard (2 billion streams).
“[Cindy] knows firsthand what it takes to build successful independent music businesses and will be a valuable partner to entrepreneurs in one of the world’s most important high growth regions.”
JT Myers, Virgin Music Group
“Cindy has a long track record of building successful businesses throughout Asia,” Virgin Music Group Co-CEO JT Myers said.
“An entrepreneur herself, she knows firsthand what it takes to build successful independent music businesses and will be a valuable partner to entrepreneurs in one of the world’s most important high growth regions.”
“Virgin Music Group is an incredible global brand and a powerful partner to independent labels and artists.”
Cindy Gu
Gu added: “Virgin Music Group is an incredible global brand and a powerful partner to independent labels and artists.
“I am excited to work with [Virgin Co-CEO] Nat [Pastor], JT, [Virgin MD for Africa, Asia and Middle East] Michael Roe and the rest of the Virgin leadership team to further establish the company’s influence and success throughout the Southeast Asia region.”
Gu’s appointment follows a number of high-profile hirings at Virgin over the past year, including Mark Robinson’s appointment as EVP, Global Business and Legal Affairs last December, Adrian Pope joining Virgin as EVP, Digital Business and Global Partner Relations in March, and Hannah Thompson-Watt’s promotion to SVP, Commercial Strategy in April.Music Business Worldwide
