Pathé Records (China)

Shanghai Pathé Record Company
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Music, record label
Predecessor	Pathé Records (French origin)
Founded	1908
Founder	Labansat
Fate	Integrated into Universal Music Hong Kong after EMI dissolution in 2012
Successor	Universal Music Hong Kong
Headquarters	Shanghai (original), later Hong Kong, Republic of China (original), later British Hong Kong
Area served	Asia-Pacific
Key people	Ren Guang (director during EMI period)
Products	Peking Opera recordings, Mandarin popular songs, Cantopop records
Owner	Originally French Pathé Records, later EMI Group, then Universal Music Group
Parent	EMI Group (until 2012), then Universal Music Group

The Shanghai Pathé Record Company () was a prominent record label based in Shanghai, Republic of China, which later moved its headquarters to colonial British Hong Kong following the founding of the People's Republic of China. It functioned as the Asia-Pacific branch of the French-origin Pathé Records and subsequently operated under the EMI Group umbrella until EMI's dissolution in 2012.

History

At the beginning of the 20th century, French businessman Labansat initiated phonograph record exhibitions in Shanghai, tapping into the rising enthusiasm for recorded music locally. By 1908, with assistance from a French engineer and a helper from Ningbo, he founded "Pathé Orient" (東方百代), also referred to as "Pathé Asia." The company initially concentrated on producing Peking Opera recordings but soon broadened its catalog to include Mandarin popular songs, distributing these through retail outlets such as Shanghai’s Wing On stores.

In 1930, Columbia Records acquired Pathé’s manufacturing plant in Shanghai to produce Odeon and Beka records under the name "China Record Co. Ltd," while distribution remained under the Pathé Orient brand. Later, British-owned EMI took control, seeking to capitalize on gramophone record sales along The Bund. Under the leadership of director Ren Guang, Pathé-EMI focused on leftist proletarian music until Japanese military occupation in 1937 resulted in Ren’s removal and the return of Japanese-operated factories to Nippon Columbia.

By the late 1930s and through the 1940s, Pathé held rights to approximately 90% of mandopop repertoire. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Pathé's operations in Shanghai were accused of spreading pornography and were compelled to halt production by 1952 due to Mao Zedong’s prohibition on pre-1952 popular music, derogatorily termed Yellow Music.

Following these developments, Pathé shifted its main office to British Hong Kong and recommenced record production there, having previously relocated manufacturing facilities to India around 1950. It formed a joint venture with the state-owned China Record Corporation to distribute records produced in India into communist Mainland China under the Shanghai Pathé label.

After the communist takeover of Mainland China, Pathé also set up operations in Taipei after the Kuomintang retreated there. During the 1960s, faced with competition from Diamond Records, Pathé Hong Kong transitioned its focus from Shanghainese pop towards Cantopop, which gained substantial appeal in Mainland China during the early 1970s.

Eventually, Pathé Hong Kong was rebranded as EMI Hong Kong while maintaining its original Chinese name. Following the breakup of EMI Group in 2012, Pathé was integrated into Universal Music Hong Kong, part of Universal Music Asia-Pacific.

References

History

See also

References