Founders of Taiwan’s first international record company — Sunrise Records
The late Chang Bi (張碧) and Lin Min-san (林敏三), co-founders of major record business Sunrise Records (上揚唱片), dedicated decades to recording and promoting outstanding Taiwanese artists, helping Taiwan's voices be heard around the world. Moreover, it was once said that, "If you can’t find that record at Sunrise Records, you won't find it anywhere else in Taiwan."
Sunrise Records was established in 1967 as Taiwan's first international record company. An important advocate for the publishing of Taiwanese music, it was also an early licensing partner of major overseas music vendors like DGG, Philips, and Columbia, introducing top-shelf global records to Taiwanese audiences.
In the 1980s, Chang was at the forefront of the transition in the music industry and turned her attention to Taiwanese composers, including recording Jiang Wen-ye's (江文也) orchestra piece "Formosa (臺灣舞曲)," which was a winner in the music competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, and Ma Shui-long's (馬水龍) masterpiece "Bamboo Flute Concerto (梆笛協奏曲)."
Sunrise has also systematically collected information on four centuries of development in Taiwanese folk music, compiling it into powerful symphonic poetry and publishing a series of records on Taiwanese folk music with orchestral accompaniment. Along with this, the record company also publishes scores, providing an invaluable educational resource for music schools and cultural organizations.
More recently, the company has produced the "New Taiwanese Forces (臺灣新勢力)" album for its 35th anniversary, uncovering new talents and providing a platform for Taiwanese musicians from classical, jazz, and pop music. In addition, through cooperation with international record companies, Sunrise has created channels for outstanding local records to be promoted abroad, helping Taiwan’s voices be heard around the world.
In recognition of Chang and Lin's contributions to Taiwanese music, the 2015 Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music offered a joint special contribution award in traditional and artistic audio publishing to honor her and her husband, as a tribute to their persistence and dedication.
Lin passed away in 2018, and Chang in 2019. Under the care of their eldest son, Sunrise Records still stands proudly at the intersection of Zhongshan North Road and Minquan East Road in Taipei today.