In 1988, when Yang was 28, he and two other friends founded Music China, the forerunner to Wind Music. It was at the time both a music store and a record company. Starting such an operation was a great risk, but for Yang, this was the only road worth taking. “I decided that if I could not fulfill my boyhood dream of becoming a musician, at least I could have a career associated with the arts,” he said.
The firm began selling albums featuring classical Chinese music, but in doing so, almost went bankrupt. “The traditional Chinese albums we imported were excellent, but there were already too many similar record stores doing the same thing,” Yang said.
To survive, the company needed extra funding and a new direction. Yang turned to his family for financial backing and decided to leave traditional Chinese music behind and start exploring religious music.
This move led to the label’s first commercial success. “In 1991, we released a Buddhist music album and surprisingly it emerged as a hit,” Yang said. “The reason for its popularity might have to do with the sense of spiritual loss people were experiencing after their brushes with the high-flying stock market.”
The experience taught Yang a valuable lesson that still guides him today. “Our previous failures and subsequent successes taught me that it is not enough to produce music that I like. The most important thing is to release songs that people want,” he said.
The numbers indicate that Yang is on the right path. With annual sales worth more than NT$16 million (US$490,000) and several local and international awards under its belt, the company is undoubtedly the most successful independent record label in Taiwan. Despite the global economic downturn, the firm still released more than 30 albums last year.
Another lesson Yang learned was that sometimes it pays to be unconventional. After his first success, Yang continued exploring unusual genres of music. “If you want to grow a beautiful garden, you have to cultivate various kinds of plants,” he said, comparing himself to a master gardener.
But with so many kinds of music, Yang needed help to diversify the company’s catalogue. “In order to develop these products, I invited professionals from various fields to come in and lead the way,” he said.
One of the earliest acts of collaboration came about almost by accident. As head of the Department of Traditional Music at Taipei National University of the Arts, aboriginal music expert Wu Rong-shun had visited every one of Taiwan’s indigenous tribes, in an attempt to preserve their musical legacies. In 1992, Wu met Yang during an academic conference and invited the record label boss to accompany him on a visit to the Bunun tribes. Yang was so impressed by the music he heard that he agreed to support the scholar’s preservation efforts. Between 1991 and 2008, Wu produced 30 aboriginal music albums for Wind Music, covering all the indigenous tribes on the island.
“Producing ethnic music is difficult and one cannot expect much profit. But there are other rewards,” Yang said. For example, he noted, the album “Songs of Kavalan” helped the tribe become officially recognized as the 11th aboriginal group in Taiwan in 2002.
He was also inspired to record the sounds of nature. “Indigenous music is in danger of disappearing, but so is the chirping of birds and the croaking of frogs,” Yang said. Judy Wu, an American-educated music major and Wind Music employee, was entrusted with the task of developing the company’s environmental music catalogue.
“I agreed because it sounded like a fun and romantic assignment,” Wu said, “But recording the sounds of nature is actually very difficult, because you need to know how to interact with animals.”
One of the most fascinating albums Wu produced is “Swimming Joyfully with Whales and Dolphins,” released in 2005. The producer and her team spent two years recording the sounds of these mammals that live off the coasts of Hualien and Taitung counties and set them to music. This is the first and only recording of dolphins in Taiwan so far.
Yang’s concern for the planet also resulted in cooperation between Wind Music and environmental activist musician Matthew Lien. Spotting Lien’s album “Bleeding Wolves” in France, Yang invited the artist to take a round-the-island journey in Taiwan. He produced Lien’s “Voyage to Paradise” album based on the trip in 1998. Combining his own compositions with aboriginal and folk music, Lien’s recordings convey how the musician was deeply moved by the beauty of the island. At a later date Lien’s music would become more than an enjoyable experience. After the Sept. 21, 1999 earthquake, he held concerts to raise funds for the reconstruction efforts. With support from Wind Music, Lien’s music helped to heal the minds and spirits of those traumatized by the disaster.
Ever since the establishment of Wind Music, Yang has focused on using his music to help bring comfort to the human soul. The company has released a considerable number of albums that are conducive to physical and spiritual health. “Patients and their families come to us and request recordings to treat a range of disorders including learning difficulties, poor attention spans and susceptibility to illness,” said Yang Yi-mei, a Wind Music saleswoman.
“We developed this line of products based on scientific research,” Yang said. The company collaborated with Wu Shen, adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the University of Hawaii, who integrated traditional Chinese medical science with the ancient five-tone musical system in his album “The Song of Five Tones.” Earlier this year, the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan conducted experiments on the efficacy of the company’s health-music albums. The results showed that they helped increase alpha brain waves and decrease beta waves, meaning they have the effect of balancing human emotions.
In the last 10 years, Wind Music has put more emphasis on homegrown artists in an attempt to energize the local music scene. Sales figures and critical reviews demonstrate that the efforts have been successful. For example, You Xue-zhi’s first album “Ocarina in Wonderland” has sold more than 200,000 copies since its release two years ago. In addition, composer Lee Cin-yun’s “Fantasia of Tuscany” received the best instrumental music album in the 2008 Golden Melody Awards, one of the many award-winning albums released by Wind Music. “When you treat the music as more than just a business and insist on quality, talented people will come to you. Kindred spirits find each other,” Yang said.
Despite the increasing availability of music online and the prevalence of the downloading culture, Yang is not as worried as others in the music industry. “It is inevitable that one form replaces another,” he said. “Wind Music will launch an online music store and we believe consumers will still be loyal to our brand.”
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Wind Music, the company released a two-CD album containing some of its greatest hits. Its eclectic choice of music serves as a fine introduction to what the company is about. The sounds of ambient, ethnic, fusion, New Age, religious and traditional Chinese music drift forth, composed and performed by 32 different artists. “This is my garden of music,” Yang said. Indeed, the medley of songs resembles nothing so much as a beautiful flower garden sprinkled with silver bells and cockleshells.
In summing up what he and his company are all about, Yang is succinct but to the point. “Music is a friend to accompany people for their whole life,” he said, “That is the only message that I want to send to the public.”
Write to Amber Wu at amber0207@mail.gio.gov.tw