Sound City boss Pichilingi heads up Modern Sky USA

Dave Pichilingi, who launched Modern Sky UK in 2016, is expanding his role to take over operations at the company’s US division.

In his new role as chief executive UK and North America, Pichilingi will divide his time between Modern Sky’s Liverpool and London-based UK office, and the company’s Los Angeles home.

Founded by LiHui Shen in 1997, Modern Sky Entertainment is a multi-faceted entertainment company, operating across live, recording, publishing and video. Modern Sky is the largest independent record label in China and promotes music festivals in the country, under the banner of Strawberry Festivals and MDSK.

Pichilingi launched Modern Sky UK along with LiHui Shen as part of a partnership with Sound City, of which Pichilingi is founder and chief executive. Sound City is the company behind music conferences and showcase festivals in Liverpool, Manchester, New York and Seoul.

In his new role, Pichilingi will look to generate opportunities for Modern Sky’s Chinese repertoire for sync and publishing.

The Sound City boss will also work with US brands in conjunction with Modern Sky’s festival portfolio and video and streaming platform MNOW, which has over 42 million subscribers and an in-built ticketing service.

“We [Modern Sky] believe we’ve got the best pipeline for western businesses looking to make headway in the Asian market”

“Modern Sky is in a fairly unique position as the custodian of a large, excellent Chinese music catalogue, particularly in hip hop, contemporary folk, electronic and guitar genres,” says Pichilingi. “We’re seeing a big increase in the demand for Chinese repertoire and want to generate new opportunities for our artists.

“As far as working with brands in the US is concerned, we believe we’ve got the best pipeline for western businesses looking to make headway in the Asian market and communicate with a large, engaged and targeted young audience with plenty of disposable income and a keen interest not just in western music but in lifestyles and wider pop culture as well.”

Talking to IQ ahead of his promotion, Pichilingi discussed the potential of the Chinese music market, stating that approximately 550 million people consume popular music in the country.

“The level of opportunity in Asia in general is huge,” Pichilingi told IQ, “and it is still a relatively untapped marketplace.”

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