Red Star shines bright in anniversary revival

Zhan Hua, CEO of Taihe Rye Music. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Back in 1994, 24-year-old Zhan Hua, a die-hard music fan who has a bachelor's degree in tourism management from Tianjin's Nankai University, got his dream job: working in the promotion department of Red Star Productions, a Beijing-based indie record label.

Zhan's first task was traveling around the country with Chinese rock singer-songwriter Zheng Jun and promoting the artist's debut album, Naked. As the first artist signed by Red Star Productions, Zheng achieved immediate success with that album, which sold more than 200,000 copies in a month. Within three years, Zhan had been involved with all of the label's best-selling albums, including rock singer-songwriter Xu Wei's first album, Elsewhere, and pop singer Tian Zhen's Perseverance. Red Star Productions I and Red Star Productions II, two albums that are a collection of hits performed by singers under the label, were then milestones of China's music industry.

Twenty years later, Zhan still gets asked about his experience with Red Star. He's not surprised. Now 44, he is the CEO of Taihe Rye Music, one of the biggest indie music labels on the Chinese mainland that bought all the music copyrights held by Red Star when the old label shut down in 2004.

On a wave of Red Star nostalgia, Zhan recently launched a series of events to mark the label's 20-year anniversary. An album titled Red Star Productions 20 gathered 10 young Chinese pop and rock singer-songwriters and bands to perform classic hits from the old label, including Zheng's Cinderella and Return to Lhasa, and Tian's Wild Flower. A documentary was made to showcase the history of the label, and there are also commemorative performances scheduled for 2015.

Some of the singers Zhan toured with are now the biggest stars in China, while some have long withdrawn from the spotlight. But Zhan says that Red Star Productions remains one of those iconic music brands, which continues to define the music scene in China during the '90s.

"Some of the most valuable and memorable days of my life, and so many others', are attached to Red Star Productions," Zhan says. "I want to hold those events not only to conjure up the good memories but also to share with young music fans today about the best songs we had then."