Universal Music Hong Kong, home to Cantopop legends Jacky Cheung and Eason Chan, fires employees as part of global restructuring

Parent company Universal Music Group announced in February a “redesigning” of its organisational structure, which it said would generate US$270 million in annual cost savings via “a combination of headcount reduction and other operational efficiencies”.

The new plan would “achieve efficiencies in targeted cost areas” and strengthen its “capabilities to deepen artist and fan connections”, the group said.

But it did not reveal how many workers would be affected by the planned reduction of its global headcount of 9,992 employees at the end of 2022.

The insider said the sudden lay-off came as a shock to the firm and its stars, especially those who knew colleagues that lost their jobs.

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Singers such as Alan Tam, Andy Hui and Kelly Chen are among some of the biggest names in the firm.

The Post has contacted Universal Music for comment.

It is still uncertain whether the schedules of music industry powerhouse Jacky Cheung and Eason Chan, who recently went on a concert tour in mainland China, will be affected by the lay-offs.

The company had also planned a series of major initiatives, including concert performances for Yan Ting and P1X3L.

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Singer-songwriter Adrian Fu Chee-yat, co-founder and creative director of a blockchain-based music label GroundUp Studios, said the industry was undergoing a transformation where musicians could form teams on their own to navigate a world dominated by social media.

“They can create their own music and search for business opportunities as well as market themselves,” Fu said, adding that the music business was shifting “from a centralised authority to a more decentralised operation”.

Fu, a former recording artist with Universal Music Hong Kong from 2016 to 2019, also said that the industry failed to expand despite the labels’ various strategies for future planning and development.

“The focus of the Cantopop market in the past decade was limited to a population of only 7 million people. The Hong Kong music industry failed to seize opportunities to promote local artists beyond Asia or even globally,” he said.

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Associate professor of practice Edmond Tsang Yik-man of Baptist University’s Academy of Music said record labels were more likely to focus their resources on digital platforms.

“The promotional strategies of record labels have changed significantly compared to the past where Hong Kong radio stations played a vital role in promoting songs,” said Tsang, who was also a producer for Cantopop stars, such as Joey Yung, Andy Lau and Hins Cheung.

“Nowadays people are using Spotify through their devices. They do not necessarily listen to songs on the radio any more, making the efforts of the promotional team relatively less important.”

Tsang added that global competition from streaming platforms also made it more challenging for Hong Kong to carve out a niche and attract audiences, particularly because people got exposed to a wider range of content.

“Three decades ago, it seemed like major record companies monopolised the popular music charts. That is no longer the case. They now face the challenge of how to compete or collaborate with various independent labels,” he said.

Additional reporting by Sammy Heung