Taiwan’s Forward Music, established 22 years ago, was sold on Sept. 1 in a surprise deal confirmed by former company chairwoman and TV show hostess Swallow Chang. The company was reportedly sold to Tony Huang, former general manager of the Gold Typhoon Group.
Forward Music was jointly founded by Chang and her late husband Peng Kuo-hua in 1995. Chang wrote in a letter to the staff, “I had no choice but to sell the company due to accumulating debt. . . It was a painful and heartbreaking decision.”
Artists on the label have included pop diva Chang Hui-mei, also known as A-mei, hit singers FeiFei Ouyang, Julie Sue, Stella Chang and late singer Tom Chang. Sources in the music industry estimate the deal is worth between NT$300 million and NT$500 million. The rights to A-mei’s early songs are the company’s most valuable assets.(Liberty Times, translated by Eddy Chang)
Photo: Hu Shuan-shiang, Liberty Times
照片︰自由時報記者胡舜翔
成立二十二年的台灣唱片公司豐華唱片，驚傳已在九月一日易主。在前豐華董事長、知名電視主持人張小燕確認賣掉豐華後，現在傳出新的經營者為黃家勤，他曾是金牌大風集團的總經理。
豐華是張小燕和亡夫彭國華於一九九五年所創立，張小燕在給員工的信件上寫著：「不得不讓自己放手，來使債務止血…我的決定是痛苦的、痛心的。」
過去豐華旗下藝人包括天后張惠妹（阿妹）、歐陽菲菲、蘇芮、張清芳、張雨生等大牌歌手。音樂界人士也推估，豐華這次交易金額應該有三到五億新台幣，在其資產中，最值錢的則是阿妹早期歌曲的版權。
（自由時報）
The US-Israeli war with Iran, which began on Feb. 28, has killed thousands of people, destabilized the Middle East and rocked global energy markets by effectively closing the strait. WHAT IS THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ? Lying between Oman and Iran and linking the Gulf north of it with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond, the strait is 33km wide at its narrowest point, with a shipping lane just 3km wide in either direction. Perhaps the world’s most important energy shipping channel, the waterway is about 167km long. Following through on an old threat, Tehran effectively closed the strait
Have you ever found yourself desperately feeding coins into a claw machine just because you’ve already spent so much trying to win that stuffed animal? Or maybe you’ve continued watching a boring movie simply because you already paid for the ticket? If so, you’ve experienced the “sunk cost fallacy.” A sunk cost refers to time, money or effort that has already been spent and cannot be recovered. This psychological trap is surprisingly common. You might keep playing a video game you no longer enjoy because you’ve invested countless hours in building your character, or maintain a toxic friendship because you’ve known
A: Which TV drama series have been global hits so far this year? B: The US drama “Stranger Things 5,” South Korean drama “Can This Love Be Translated?” and Chinese megahit “Pursuit of Jade” are all popular lately. A: Isn’t “Pursuit of Jade” the costume idol drama about the romance between a charming marquis and a pig-slaughterer? Actor Zhang Linghe and actress Tian Xiwei are both so attractive. B: Plus, Netflix’s Korean-Japanese gay romance drama “Soul Mate” — starring Korea’s Ok Taec-yeon and Japan’s Hayato Isomura — is set to premiere in May. A: These hit international dramas
When you twist open a bottle of carbonated water, bubbles rush out with a hissing sound. This drink is simply water infused with carbon dioxide (CO2) under pressure, giving it that fizz on your tongue. But this basic description barely scratches the surface of the carbonated water family. Although all carbonated waters are bubbly, slight differences set them apart. Seltzer is just plain water with artificial CO2—no minerals, no extras. Club soda includes added minerals such as sodium bicarbonate, which creates a slightly salty flavor. This makes club soda suitable for mixing with fruit juices. Sparkling water, on the
RSS