Sony Music Entertainment Japan Explained

Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.
Former Name:CBS/Sony Records Inc. (1968–1983)
CBS/Sony Group, Inc. (1983–1991)
Type:Subsidiary
Native Name:株式会社ソニー・ミュージックエンタテインメント
Native Name Lang:ja
Romanized Name:Kabushikigaisha sonī myūjikkuentateinmento
Hq Location:4–5 Rokubancho
Hq Location City:Chiyoda, Tokyo
Hq Location Country:Japan
Key People:Toshiaki Muramatsu
Industry:Music
Entertainment
Genre:Various
Area Served:Japan
Products:Music
Num Employees:4,700
Parent:Sony Group Corporation
Subsid:See § Subsidiaries

, often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as SonyMusic), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is operating independently from the United States-based Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry.[1] Its subsidiaries include the Japanese animation production enterprise, Aniplex, which was established in September 1995[2] as a joint-venture between Sony Music Entertainment Japan and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, but which in 2001 became a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It was prominent in the early to mid '90s producing and licensing music for animated series such as Roujin Z from acclaimed Japanese comic artist Katsuhiro Otomo and Capcom's Street Fighter animated series.

Until March 2007, Sony Music Japan also had its own North American sublabel, Tofu Records. Releases of Sony Music Japan now appear on Columbia Records and/or Epic Records in North America.

Sony does not have the trademark rights to the Columbia name in Japan, so releases under Columbia Records from another country appears on Sony Records in Japan, but retains the usage of the "walking eye" logo. The Columbia name and trademark is controlled by Nippon Columbia, which was, in fact, the licensee for the American Columbia Records up until 1968, even though relations were officially severed as far back as World War II. Nippon Columbia also does not have direct relations with the British Columbia Graphophone Company (an EMI subsidiary), so the licensee for the British Columbia Graphophone Company was actually Toshiba Musical Industries.

With Sony Corporation of America's buyout of Bertelsmann's stake in Sony BMG, Sony Music Entertainment Japan stepped in to acquire outstanding shares of BMG Japan from Sony BMG, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Japan.[3]

History

Beginnings as CBS joint venture

The idea for a CBS/Sony joint venture came in 1967 from Harvey Schein, then President of Columbia Records International who had spent a decade traveling the world building CBS’s international company. In 1972 Schein would leave CBS to become the president of Sony Corporation of America.[4]

Sony Music Entertainment Japan was officially incorporated in March 1968[5] as a Tokyo-based 50/50 joint venture between Sony and U.S. conglomerate CBS to distribute the latter's music releases in Japan. The company was incorporated as CBS/Sony Records and with Sony co-founder Akio Morita as president.[6] [7] [8]

Norio Ohga, who himself was a musician, was part of the management team from the formation of the company and served as president and representative director since April 1970.[9] [10] In 1972, when CBS/Sony was generating robust profits, Ohga was named chairman and at the same time gained further responsibility and influence within Sony. He would continue to work for the music company one morning a week.[11] In 1980, Toshio Ozawa succeeded Ohga as president.[12]

In 1983, the company was renamed CBS/Sony Group.

Sony acquires The CBS Records Group in 1988

In January 1988, after more than a year of negotiations, Sony acquired the CBS Records Group and the 50% of CBS/Sony Group that it did not already own.[13]

In March 1988, four wholly owned subsidiaries were folded into CBS/Sony Group: CBS/Sony Inc., Epic/Sony Records Inc., CBS/Sony Records Inc. and Sony Video Software International.[14]

The company was renamed Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Inc.

Shugo Matsuo was named new president in January 1992, replacing Toshio Ozawa, who was appointed to the post of chairman.[15]

Overall sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1991, were 83.8 billion yen with a pretax profit of 9.2 billion yen.

In June 1996, Ryokichi Kunugi became the new president. Shugo Matsuo was named chairman.[16]

Shigeo Maruyama was appointed to the new post of CEO on October 1, 1997, and replaced Kunugi as president in February 1998.

In August 1998, the logo was changed from the original "Walking Eye" to the current one.

As of 2019, Mizuno Michinori is the official CEO of the company.

In May 2018, SMEJ, through its Sony Creative Products division, acquired a 39% stake in the Peanuts comic strip franchise from DHX Media.[17]

Unties

Sony Music Entertainment announced the launch of its first video game publishing label, Unties, in October 2017. Unties will publish indie games for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The name was selected by Sony as representative of helping to "unleash" the power of independent video game development and "unshackle" such developers from the traditional video game publishing process.[18]

Unties' first release was Tiny Metal, a turn-based tactics video game developed by Area 35, for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC. The game was first premiered at PAX West Indie Megabooth.[19] Published Azure Reflections, a side-scrolling bullet hell developed by Souvenir Circ., on May 15, 2018, for the PS4.[20] Published Touhou Gensou Wanderers Reloaded, a roguelike rpg developed by Aqua Style, for the PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.[21] Published Necrosphere, a platformer developed by Cat Nigiri, for the PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, and PSVita.[22] Published Midnight Sanctuary, a VR/3D Novel game developed by CAVYHOUSE, for the PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC.[23] Published Tokyo Dark, a visual novel mystery adventure hybrid developed by Cherrymochi, for the PC.[24] Published Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers, an arcade racing game developed by Pocket, for the Nintendo Switch on August 30, 2018.[25] Scheduled to publish on Last Standard, a 3d action game developed by I From Japan, intended for PC.[26] [27] Scheduled to publish The Good Life, a daily-life rpg developed by White Owls Inc., for the PS4 and PC.[28] Scheduled to publish Merkava Avalanche, a 3d cavalry warfare action game developed by WinterCrownWorks, for the PC.[29] Scheduled to publish Olija, an action adventure game developed by Skeleton Crew Studio, for the PC.[30] Scheduled to publish Deemo Reborn, a music rhythm and urban fantasy game developed by Taiwanese studio Rayak, for the PS4 with PSVR support. Scheduled to publish Giraffe and Anika, a 3d adventure game developed by Atelier Mimina, for the PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC.[31] Scheduled to publish 3rd Eye, a 2d horror exploration game, based on the Touhou franchise, for the PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.[32] Scheduled to publish Gensokyo Defenders, a tower-defense game developed by Neetpia, for the PS4 and Nintendo Switch.[33] In 2019, Unties was dropped from the Sony group and became the new company Phoenixx.

Increased competition

The company's leading role on the Japanese market was increasingly challenged by labels such as Avex (where SMEJ formerly owned 5 percent of shares).[34] [35] Net sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1997, were down 10% to 103 billion yen, while net income fell 41% to 7.7 billion yen. The market share at that time was less than 18%. In August 1997, Dreams Come True, until that point Sony Music Entertainment Japan's best-selling act, signed a worldwide multi-album deal with competing U.S. label Virgin Records America.[36]

Since then it was said that SMEJ ceded to Avex's challenge,[37] but SMEJ bounced back and regained leadership from its indie rival until 2012. SMEJ netted 22.4 billion yen for 1H 2012 and 14.3% of the market, second behind Avex (24.95 B yen, 15.9%).[38]

In May 2017, SMEJ, through subsidiary Sony Music Marketing (now Sony Music Solutions), acquired the physical retail and distribution rights to releases of another rival, Warner Music Japan.[39]

Labels and sublabels

Active

Defunct

Other services

Notable artists

Actress

Key people

See also

Key rivals

External links

Notes and References

  1. Sony Japan not part of BMG merger plan-Bertelsmann . https://web.archive.org/web/20071114103203/http://www.forbes.com/technology/futuretech/newswire/2003/11/15/rtr1149345.html . November 14, 2007 . Forbes.com . November 15, 2003 . July 21, 2006.
  2. https://www.aniplex.co.jp/eng/history.html Corporate History | Aniplex | アニプレックス オフィシャルサイト
  3. News: Acquisition of Shares in BMG Japan Inc. by Sony Music Entertainment Japan Inc. (Japanese) . Sony Corporation . October 2, 2008 . December 31, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110722095052/https://www.sony.co.jp/SonyInfo/IR/news/qfhh7c00000jbz2m-att/081002_SMEJ.pdf . July 22, 2011 .
  4. Sony History, Chapter 18, The Strong-Willed Schein
  5. Sony Music Entertainment Japan – History Retrieved September 15, 2010
  6. Kimio Kase, Francisco J. Sáez-Martínez, Hernán Riquelme: Transformational CEOs: Leadership and Management Success in Japan. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005, . Page 16.
  7. Web site: Sony and the Modern Age . September 14, 2017 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20010217164509/http://www.sonymusic.co.uk/uk/history.php . February 17, 2001 . . Sony Music UK, Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
  8. CBS/Sony Records is Established in First Round of Capital Deregulation. Sony History. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  9. Press release: Chairman of the Board Norio Ohga Retires as Director of Sony Corporation. Sony Corporation, January 28, 2003. Retrieved September 15, 2010
  10. John Nathan: Sony. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2001, . Pages 146–147.
  11. John Nathan: Sony. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2001, . Page 147.
  12. The Joy of Creating Something New. Sony History. Accessed September 17, 2010.
  13. The Acquisition of CBS Records and Columbia Pictures. Sony History. Accessed September 27, 2010.
  14. CBS/Sony to Take Over 4 Subsidiaries. Jiji Press Ticker Service, February 12, 1988
  15. Steve McClure: Sony Music Names Matsuo to Head Label in Japan In: Billboard, February 8, 1992. Page 4.
  16. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-05-03-ca-137-story.html Attorneys Launch Entertainment-Focused Firm
  17. Web site: Sony Music Entertainment Japan pays $185m to buy 39% in Snoopy cartoon company Peanuts – Music Business Worldwide. May 14, 2018.
  18. Web site: Sony to release indie game on Nintendo Switch . Tom . Phillips . October 17, 2017 . October 17, 2017 . .
  19. News: A new Sony label's publishing a Nintendo Switch game. Polygon. November 21, 2018.
  20. News: Sony Publishing Label Unties Games Rains Bullet Hell Down on PlayStation 4 Today with Release of Azure Reflections. November 21, 2018. en.
  21. News: Unties announces PAX West 2018 lineup – Gematsu. August 22, 2018. Gematsu. November 21, 2018. en-US.
  22. Web site: Cat Nigiri. www.catnigiri.com. November 21, 2018.
  23. Web site: The Midnight Sanctuary: Guide Side -Home-. www.carpefulgur.com. November 21, 2018.
  24. Web site: Cherrymochi. www.tokyodark.com. November 21, 2018.
  25. Web site: Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers. Metacritic. en. November 21, 2018.
  26. Web site: I From Japan. I From Japan. ja. November 21, 2018.
  27. Web site: UNTIES Games for everyone. UNTIES Games for everyone. en. November 21, 2018.
  28. Web site: The Good Life. Kickstarter. en-US. November 21, 2018.
  29. Web site: Merkava Avalanche[メルカバ・アバランチ]│OFFICIAL SITE]. Merkava Avalanche[メルカバ・アバランチ]│OFFICIAL SITE. ja. November 21, 2018.
  30. Web site: Skeleton Crew Studio – Work. Skeleton Crew Studio. en. November 21, 2018.
  31. Web site: ジラフとアンニカ Giraffe and annika ジラフとアンニカ公式 ３Dアドベンチャーゲーム. ジラフとアンニカ Giraffe and annika ジラフとアンニカ公式 ３Dアドベンチャーゲーム. ja. November 21, 2018.
  32. News: 3rd eye. November 21, 2018. en.
  33. Web site: Gensokyo Defenders. Neetpia. neetpia.sakura.ne.jp. November 21, 2018.
  34. Steve McClure: "CEO Maruyama Steps Up as New SMEJ President". In Billboard, February 28, 1998.
  35. Steve McClure: SMEJ's Other Announcements, "Komuro's Sony Deal Won't Hurt Avex Relations" – Maruyama. In: Billboard, February 28, 1998.
  36. Virgin's Dreams Come True. In: Billboard, August 20, 1997.
  37. http://www.cnngo.com/tokyo/none/kana-nishino-gyarus-favorite-new-singer-444774 Kana Nishino | CNN Travel
  38. Web site: Avex tops total sales ranking for the first half of 2012. Oricon. July 20, 2012. August 15, 2012.
  39. Web site: ワーナー、CD/DVD等パッケージ商品の小売販売・流通業務をソニー・ミュージックマーケティングへ委託. Warner, outsources retail sales and distribution of packaged products such as CD / DVD to Sony Music Marketing. May 31, 2017. Musicman. ja. July 10, 2022.
  40. International – Newsline. In: Billboard, April 25, 1992. Page 36
  41. https://www.sme.co.jp/en/company/history/ History | Company Information | Sony Music Group Corporate Site
  42. https://musicrayn.com/ ミュージックレイン
  43. https://www.sme.co.jp/company/groupcompanies/mra/ Sony Music Group Company Site – グループ会社情報
  44. Steve McClure: Sony Bows Two Japan Subsids. In: Billboard, October 15, 1994. Page 53.
  45. Web site: Nadeshiko Nakahara . Project Anime . 20 October 2023.
  46. Web site: monogatary.comのコンテスト「モノコン2019」開幕。90日後に、ホラードラマやコミック、オーディオブック等の原作者が誕生。 . June 22, 2022 . プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1｜PR TIMES.
  47. Japan . Billboard . July 1, 2020 . Rising J-Pop Duo YOASOBI Reveal Influences From Anime to Folk: Interview . June 22, 2022 . Billboard . en-US.
  48. Billboard . Nielsen Business Media . February 28, 1998 . December 31, 2012 . 9 . 110 . 85 . 0006-2510.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sony Music Entertainment Japan".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.