To celebrate Rock Records' 30th anniversary, dozens of artists, including Bobby Chen, Mayday, Wu Bai, and Wakin Chau, performed for fans at the Taipei Arena. (courtesy of Rock Records)

The world is filled with famous rocks, but only one has music in its soul. Taiwan's Rock Records has been a recording industry mover and shaker for 30 years.

Founded in 1981, the label has profoundly influenced Taiwan's pop music scene. It has also dominated the Chinese-language music market, creating Taiwanese-flavored hits that have been etching themselves into the minds of Chinese-speaking music fans the world over for the last 30 years. But the world's music industry has changed profoundly in the last decade, affected by new technologies and the growing popularity of online music. Even Rock hasn't been immune to the industry's troubles. Battered by the evolving technological terrain and afflicted with internal management troubles, Taiwan's iconic record label has been quietly losing its voice.

Rock chairman Johnny Duan says that just as Rock was shaped by the times, it is now being challenged by them. In an exclusive interview with Taiwan Panorama following the label's 30th anniversary concert, Duan described how his company got to where it is today. That interview follows:

Q: Rock Records is an iconic figure on the Taiwanese pop music scene. You once said, "Rock's fate was shaped by the times." What did you mean?

A: I often say that every step Rock Records has taken, from its birth and development to the present day, has been a surprise. Everything's happened by chance and been arranged by Fate. That's not modesty. If Rock records hadn't emerged when it did, I'd have been managing a small local record company. That Rock would be able to work with so many great singers and producers was totally unexpected.

At the most basic level, we were lucky. It was the times that gave us the opportunity to be a part of Taiwanese pop music. We founded Rock Records in 1981. Prior to that, my little brother Sam and I were publishing a rock-and-roll magazine that focused primarily on Western pop. We were listening to all kinds of American music, which we really loved, and naturally were also very interested in the recording business. The campus folk music movement was really taking off in Taiwan at the time, so we began to cover young folk singers, too. That's where we got the idea to set up our own label. All told, six of us invested in the company, including me, Sam, Wu Chu Chu, and Peng Kuo-hua.