Robert Stigwood explained the inspiration for ‘akabeko’ logo in a 2001 interview for Billboard:
I was in Japan with The Who and decided to set up RSO as an independent label. I had designers working on a logo, but I didn’t like any of them. Some Japanese friends gave me a papier-mâché cow, which is a symbol of good health and good fortune. It was on the mantelpiece in my office, and I thought, ‘Good health and good fortune, that’s appropriate. Just write RSO on it.
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