While going down Meditation Walk this past week, many likely saw an ominous red square that read “October 23rd” in the same font used for Charli XCX’s “Brat” album cover. Along with the date was a QR code. 

For those who scanned it, they were taken to Rowan Music Group’s Instagram. There were two more of the same red squares with the words “tomorrow” and “something’s coming.” 

“The red square confused me,” freshman Adriana Dawdy said. “Yet I’m excited to see what RMG does next.” 

Rowan Music Group is a fully student-run record label at Rowan University. While at their core, the group was staying the same, there was still a major change on the horizon. 

Students anxiously awaited the news, with some thinking it could be new pop artists. Others didn’t think much of it. 

On Wednesday, as the clock struck 5:00 p.m., the group made their big announcement – a rebranding. 

No longer Rowan Music Group, they were now going to be called Red Oak Records. 

“We’re branching out to bigger and better things! Introducing Red Oak Records,” the group said via their Instagram. “Your new home for the most authentic sounds and rising talent.” 

While it may seem like nothing more than a name change, to the people at the label, this signals huge growth. They are going from a small college label to something more professional. 

“We wanted to kind of rebrand it, and make it its own thing,” said Red Oak Records’ social media manager Kevin Lynch. “For it to be kind of more professional.” 

When asked what inspired the “brat” theming, Red Oak Records cited how popular “brat” is, not just within the music industry, but with college students as a whole. 

“The Brat theme was really popular in general, especially college students,” Isabel Espinosa, who is a part of the Red Oak Records social media team, said. “We were like, ‘Okay well, mainly a lot of people outside the music industry didn’t really know of us.’ And we thought, ‘brat is really popular,’ and it really calls to attention.”

Red Oak Records also teased some new events coming up in the future, including one at Landmark celebrating potential artists the label may sign. The date is still to be announced. 

There are also talks of some new “big artists” that Red Oak Records is in the process of signing. 

“We have a couple of artists that we’re talking to that we can’t wait to announce.” Red Oaks Record marketing manager Jack Sheehan said. “When we officially sign them, it’s going to be big news.” 

Nicoletta Guliani is the lead singer of the new band “Polaroid Fade,” who signed with the label over a year ago. 

“Being signed to the label is very helpful,” Guliani said “We got a lot of cool gigs, it’s really fun working with everybody. Playing Hollybash this past year was so cool.” 

Overall, Red Oak Records is in an exciting time of change, with a rebrand, new artists, and a brand new aesthetic. 

For comments/questions about this story DM us on Instagram @thewhitatrowan or email arts@thewhitonline.com.