(Yicai Global) Aug. 16 -- Universal Music Group, the biggest music company in the world, is to transform its China operations into a multi-label structure from its current single label one in order to sign on more local artists and make Chinese-language music more mainstream.

UMG will launch Republic Records China, the first international label of its US-focused Republic Records that represents artists such as Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande, the company said on its WeChat account today. It will also rebrand its labels PolyGram Records China, most known for its Canto-pop repertoire, Universal Music China, which represents international artists in China, and its century-old label EMI China, to have more of a focus on home-grown music.

The aim is to discover more rising stars in China and promote Chinese pop music to audiences around the world, said California-based UMG, which is 20 percent owned by internet giant Tencent Holdings.

Each label will operate independently with its own artist rosters and separate marketing teams, the company said. All four labels will report to Sunny Chang, chairman and chief executive of Universal Music China.

China was the world’s seventh largest music market last year and the second-fastest growing with a growth rate of 33.6 percent, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

Editor: Kim Taylor