Chugg Music Opens New Office In Asia: 'We're Having Pretty Good Success'

With the likes of Sheppard, Lime Cordiale, Mia Rodriguez and other Chugg Music artist experiencing growing success in Asia, the company has opened a new office in the region.

The new office will be headed by Australian ex-pat and music industry executive Michael “Mick” De Lanty, now based in Bangkok, who spent 15 years with Sony Music Australia and has also worked with indie labels locally and throughout Asia and the UK.

“We’ve got some fantastic acts and we’re getting interest from all over the world, and Asia is close… we’ve been dabbling up there for years, but we just thought it was time to really get a bit of a profile going," Michael Chugg told The Music.

Chugg explained that the way Aussie acts break into the Asian market has changed over the past 10 years, which is why now is the perfect time to open a new office in the region.

“Traditionally, right from the beginning, the only way an Australian act would be able to break into Asia was to have a hit in England or America - the whole radio situation up there was all based around what was going on in England and America,” he said.

“But over the past 10 years or so, a lot of Australian acts have been able to go over to Asia and play festivals without having hits through England or America. Some of the more adventurous managers, record label and publishers have started to get in there and try break that mould, and we’re having pretty good success.”

One of the outcomes that will result from the new office opening is more collaborations like Sheppard and Taiwanese artist Sammy's version of Somebody Like You.

“At the moment, we’re looking at Lime Cordiale and we’re talking to a big Japanese rapper about writing a song and doing a collaboration. Sheppard are talking to a Japanese artist and a K-Pop artist at the moment about writing some songs and doing things.

“We’re getting inquiries for jingles and we’re getting inquiries for syncs – I mean, Sheppard have had three syncs in Japanese movies – and so by having [De Lanty] on the ground up there, who knows all the label people, who knows all the publishers… when you’ve got someone on the ground, it’s like being there yourself.”