Believe Announces Greater China Executive Appointments, Eyes ‘Long-Term Investment in Asia’ As Privatization Plans Proceed

(l to r) Believe Greater China operations MD Rebecca Dong, CEO Denis Ladegaillerie, APAC president Sylvain Delange, and Greater China MD Charles Liu. Photo Credit: Believe

One week after an EQT-powered consortium took another key step on the road to privatizing Believe, the digital music company has made a major move in China.Paris-headquartered Believe today disclosed that move, the formal appointment of two execs to its Greater China leadership team, as well as an anticipated “long-term investment in Asia.”

While the mentioned consortium is just now closing in on its privatization goal – unexpected purchase interest delayed but didn’t derail the process – Believe has for some time expressed plans to keep on leaning into global expansion initiatives.

Said initiatives evidently include achieving a larger presence in the quick-evolving Chinese music market, which, according to IFPI data, turned in 25.9 percent year-over-year growth in 2023. At the top level, Believe, having planted a flag in China eight years back, has tapped Charles Liu to serve as its Greater China GM.

In the Beijing-based role, the former Sony Music China higher-up will report to Believe APAC president Sylvain Delange and work to improve revenue, spearhead M&As, bolster the domestic artist and label rosters, and develop “high quality relations with local digital services,” according to the announcement message.

Meanwhile, former Nielsen exec Rebecca Dong has been confirmed as operations MD – a post that will see her report to Liu and manage “DSP partnership, finance, legal and human resources” areas, the Sentric and TuneCore parent relayed.

Addressing his appointment in a statement, Liu struck an optimistic tone about pursuing commercial results in “the vibrant and challenging music market of Greater China.”“I am eager to leverage my professional skills to provide more assistance and create opportunities for a wider range of talented artists and their outstanding works,” proceeded the former Linfair Records China GM, “thereby contributing to the prosperity and growth of the music market in Greater China.”

And in comments of her own, Dong outlined a bigger-picture objective of fueling “the rise of a new generation of talented music executives, artists and labels across” the nation of over 1.4 billion residents.

Shifting the focus to Believe’s presence throughout the continent, the company has quietly made several high-profile moves in Asia during the past year or so – including the rollout of a Tokyo HQ in 2023 and the more recent launch of a hip-hop label in Japan.

Also during 2024, the Think Music owner scooped up the catalog of White Hill Music, reportedly including the rights to a number of well-known works from Indian artists. In 2023, India’s total on-demand streams were second only to those of the U.S., per consumption data.