Three months ago, Taihe Rye Music's former Chief Executive Officer Song Ke surprised many by opening the Long Joy Peking Duck restaurant. Now he has announced his new role as the managing director of Evergrande Music, a new music company opened by property developer Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd on June 18.

Another famous person in the Chinese music industry, songwriter-producer Gao Xiaosong, will join the new company as the managing director for music.

With an investment of 850 million yuan, the music company was first planned in October 2010 as the real estate group's attempt to enter the cultural industry. According to Song, the music company has already bought the copyright for more than 3,500 songs and will launch a series of concerts across the country to promote original Chinese pop music, including 10 by rock singer-songwriter Wang Feng.

Gao's main mission is to discover and train new voices. The first new singer signed by the company is 16-year-old Zhou Ziyan, who rose to fame by playing guitar and singing online. Gao says that four albums have already been conceived for the singer.

chennan@chinadaily.com.cn