, 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 , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by

Sony Group Corporation , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

and is operating independently from the United States-based

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

due to its strength in the Japanese music industry. Its subsidiaries include the

Japanese animation is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening ...

production enterprise,

Aniplex is a Japanese anime, music production and anime licensee company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Established in September 1995, Aniplex has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime series, such as both ''Fullm ...

, which was established in September 1995 as a joint-venture between Sony Music Entertainment Japan and

Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan , abbreviated SPE or SPEJ, is a Japanese film studio, based in Minato-ku, Tokyo. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, with the majority of SPEJ's shares held by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Sony Pictur ...

, 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 is a 1991 Japanese animated science fiction action thriller film directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and written by Katsuhiro Otomo. The animation for ''Roujin Z'' was produced by A.P.P.P. in association with other companies including Movic, Sony ...

'' from acclaimed Japanese comic artist

Katsuhiro Otomo is a Japanese manga artist, screenwriter, animator and film director. He is best known as the creator of '' Akira'', in terms of both the original 1982 manga series and the 1988 animated film adaptation. He was decorated a ''Chevalier'' of th ...

and

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

's ''

Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...

'' animated series. Until March 2007, Sony Music Japan also had its own

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n sublabel,

Tofu Records was a US record label of Sony Music Entertainment Japan that was launched in 2003 to distribute Japanese Sony artists in the United States, and that closed in 2007. Their first signed artist was T.M.Revolution, and they used the anime fandom ...

. Releases of Sony Music Japan now appear on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

and/or

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. 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 , often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK C ...

, 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Nippon Columbia also does not have direct relations with the British

Columbia Graphophone Company Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. was one of the earliest phonograph, gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1917 as an offshoot of the American Columbia Records, Columbia Phonograph Company, it became an independent British-owned ...

(an

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

subsidiary), so the licensee for the British Columbia Graphophone Company was actually Toshiba Musical Industries. With

Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation SONAM, headquartered in New York City, manages the company's US-based businesses. Sony's principal U.S. businesse ...

's buyout of

Bertelsmann Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...

's stake in

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

, Sony Music Entertainment Japan stepped in to acquire outstanding shares of

BMG Japan Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music com ...

from

, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Japan.

History

Beginnings as CBS joint venture

Sony Music Entertainment Japan was officially incorporated in March 1968
Sony Music Entertainment Japan - History
' Retrieved September 15, 2010 as a Tokyo-based 50/50

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

between

Sony Corporation , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

and U.S. conglomerate

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

to distribute the latter's music releases in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The company was incorporated as CBS/Sony Records and with Sony co-founder

Akio Morita was a Japanese businessman and co-founder of Sony along with Masaru Ibuka. Early life Akio Morita was born in Nagoya. Morita's family was involved in sake, miso and soy sauce production in the village of Kosugaya (currently a part of Tokoname ...

as president.

Norio Ohga , otherwise spelled ''Norio Oga'' (January 29, 1930 – April 23, 2011), was the former president and chairman of Sony Corporation, credited with spurring the development of the compact disc as a commercially viable audio format. Biography Early ...

, 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. 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. In 1980, Toshio Ozawa succeeded Ohga as president. 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. 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. 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.Steve McClure: ''Sony Music Names Matsuo to Head Label in Japan'' In: Billboard, February 8, 1992. Page 4. 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.

Shigeo Maruyama (born 1941 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese businessman. He is best known for being the founder of Epic/Sony Records, former chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment and former CEO of Sony Music Entertainment. He is known for discovering artists su ...

was appointed to the new post of CEO on October 1, 1997, and replaced Kunugi as president in February 1998. As of 2019, Mizuno Michinori is the official CEO of the company. In May 2018, SMEJ acquired a 39% stake in the ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...

'' comic strip franchise from

DHX Media WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children ...

Unties

Sony Music Entertainment announced the launch of its first

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

publishing label, Unties, in October 2017. Unties will publish

indie game An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...

s for the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

PlayStation VR The PlayStation VR (PS VR, known by its code name Project Morpheus during development) is a virtual reality headset developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, which was released in October 2016. It is fully functional with the PlayStation 4 an ...

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

, 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. 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. Published ''Azure Reflections'', a side-scrolling bullet hell developed by Souvenir Circ., on May 15, 2018, for the PS4. Published Touhou Gensou Wanderers Reloaded, a roguelike rpg developed by Aqua Style, for the PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Published ''Necrosphere'', a platformer developed by Cat Nigiri, for the PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, and PSVita. Published ''Midnight Sanctuary'', a VR/3D Novel game developed by CAVYHOUSE, for the PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC. Published Tokyo Dark, a visual novel mystery adventure hybrid developed by Cherrymochi, for the PC. Published ''Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers,'' an arcade racing game developed by Pocket, for the Nintendo Switch on August 30, 2018. Scheduled to publish on ''Last Standard'', a 3d action game developed by I From Japan, intended for PC. Scheduled to publish ''The Good Life'', a daily-life rpg developed by White Owls Inc., for the PS4 and PC. Scheduled to publish ''Merkava Avalanche'', a 3d cavalry warfare action game developed by WinterCrownWorks, for the PC. Scheduled to publish ''Olija'', an action adventure game developed by Skeleton Crew Studio, for the PC. 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. Scheduled to publish 3rd Eye, a 2d horror exploration game, based on the Touhou franchise, for the PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Scheduled to publish Gensokyo Defenders, a tower-defense game developed by Neetpia, for the PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Increased competition

The company's leading role on the Japanese market was increasingly challenged by labels such as

Avex is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

(where SMEJ formerly owned 5 percent of shares).Steve McClure
"CEO Maruyama Steps Up as New SMEJ President".
In ''Billboard'', February 28, 1998.Steve McClure:
SMEJ's Other Announcements, "Komuro's Sony Deal Won't Hurt Avex Relations" - Maruyama.
' In: Billboard, February 28, 1998. 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 Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

. Since then it was said that SMEJ ceded to Avex's challenge, 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%). 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 Warner Music Group's labels include the following. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Records Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * Nipsey Hussle, All Money In * Mike Caren, Artist Par ...

Labels and sublabels

Active

A-1 Pictures is a Japanese animation studio founded by ex-Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata and it is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex. History The studio was established by SMEJ's animation production division, ...

**ANIPLEX.EXE **

Aniplex of America Aniplex of America Inc. or Aniplex USA is the U.S. distribution enterprise of Aniplex, an anime and music production company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It was established in March 2005 in Santa Monica, California, with the goal o ...

**Aniplex Shanghai **Boundary **

CloverWorks is a Japanese animation studio that was rebranded from A-1 Pictures' Kōenji Studio. It is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex. Establishment On April 1, 2018, A-1 Pictures rebranded its Kōenji Studio ...

Crunchyroll, LLC Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American Entertainment#Industry, entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's A ...

(co-owned with

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...

) ***

Crunchyroll UK and Ireland Crunchyroll Ltd., trading as Crunchyroll UK and Ireland, is a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founded in 1987 as Island World Communications, the company operated as Manga Entertainment Ltd. until ...

***

Madman Anime Crunchyroll Pty. Ltd., trading as Madman Anime, is an Australian distribution company focused on anime and Japanese media. The company handles licensing and distribution of anime in Australia and New Zealand. Originally part of independent film ...

*** Crunchyroll EMEA **** Crunchyroll SAS **** Crunchyroll SA **** Crunchyroll GmbH *** Crunchyroll Studios *** Crunchyroll Games, LLC ***

Right Stuf Right Stuf Inc. (formerly known as The Right Stuf International Inc.) is an American video publisher and distributor of video programming that specializes in Asian entertainment (anime and live action films). The company since 2022 is owned by ...

**** Nozomi Entertainment **** 5 Points Pictures **** RightStufAnime.com **Peppermint Anime GmbH (co-owned with Peppermint Anime) **Quatro A **Rialto Entertainment * Sony Music Labels ** Sony Music Records *** Sony Records - formerly known as CBS/Sony since 1968 *** gr8! records (read "G-R-eight") – founded April 2003 *** MASTERSIX FOUNDATION *** N46Div *** Niagara Records – private label of

Eiichi Ohtaki Eiichi Ohtaki (July 28, 1948 – December 30, 2013) was a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He first became known as a member of the rock band Happy End, but was better known for his solo work which began in 1972. ...

Epic Records Japan Epic Records Japan is a Japanese record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Its founder was Shigeo Maruyama. Between 1978 and 1988 the label operated as a wholly owned subsidiary: Epic/Sony Inc. () was established in August 1978

– formerly known as Epic/Sony since 1971 **

Ki/oon Music is a Japanese record label, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Artists Their artists include L'Arc-en-Ciel, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Home Made Kazoku, Puffy AmiYumi, Polysics, Supercar, Pushim, Chatmonchy, Denki Groove, Tomoe ...

– launched as Ki/oon Sony Records on April 1, 1992''International - Newsline.'' In: Billboard, April 25, 1992. Page 36 ** SME Records – founded 1998 and taken over the Japanese anime television series "Pocket Monsters" since 2013. ** Sony Music Associated Records *** onenation – joint venture with LDH **

Ariola Japan , is a Japanese record label that is part of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It is the successor of BMG Japan. History *2008 – Ariola Japan becomes a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. *2009 – Ariola Japan becomes a full-on record label ...

– formerly known as

until October 2009. **

Sacra Music Sacra Music (stylized as SACRA MUSIC) is a Japanese record label subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The record label was established on April 1, 2017, specializing in anison music. On September 25, 2021, SACRA MUSIC started an official ...

–

anison , also shortened to , is a genre of music originating from Japanese pop music. Anime songs consist of theme, insert, and image songs for anime, video game, and audio drama CD series, as well as any other song released primarily for the anime mar ...

label since 2017 ** Sony Music Direct – founded as Sony Music House in 1996. Continues to use "Walking Eye" logo. Became part of Sony Music Labels in 2022. * Music Ray'n * Sony Music Solutions – Overseas distribution of labels which have a distribution and contract with SMEJ. Formerly known as Sony Music Distribution until 2014 and as Sony Music Marketing until 2019.

Defunct

* Dohb Discs (1994–2000) * Antinos Records was launched in 1994 with Sony Music director

as its president. The first releases on August 21 were a mini-album by indie group Confusion and singles by the groups Aniss, Neverending Story, and Ginji Itoh.Steve McClure: ''Sony Bows Two Japan Subsids.'' In: Billboard, October 15, 1994. Page 53. (1994–2004, merged into

) *

Studioseven Recordings Studioseven Recordings was a Japanese record label founded in 2006 which was a subsidiary of Sony Music Records. After its dissolution in 2010, many of its artists were moved to Sony Music Records' gr8! Records label. History The label first ca ...

(2006–2010, merged into

gr8! records , 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 oper ...

) *

(US Sublabel, 2003–2007) * DefSTAR Records – (2000–2015, merged into

SME Records , 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 oper ...

) * Pikachu Records - (1997–2012, merged into SME Records & Sony Music Labels) * VVV records *

OKeh Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

was launched in 1994 and headed by Sony Music deputy president Hiroshi Inagaki. * Former sublabels of Sony Music Associated Records ** TRUE KiSS DiSC - private label of

TETSUYA KOMURO is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of the ...

** tributelink - Temporary label in 2001 ** TERRY DOLLAR RECORD$ - formerly private label of

Oreskaband is an all-female ska band from Sakai, Japan. As well as performing regularly within Japan, they have toured in North and South America, as well as Europe. History Origins (2003-2006) Oreskaband began in 2003 when the members were still in mi ...

** Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Records - (2005–2010) * Former sublabels of Ki/oon Music ** Fitz Beat ** Haunted Records ** Ki/oon Records2 ** NeOSITE ** Siren Song - formerly private label of

X Japan was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...

** Trefort

Other services

* Monogatary.com – Named after a stylized romanization of , a

social networking service A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...

about creative writing and illustrations founded in October 2017. Has collaborated with SMEJ artists, most notably

Yoasobi Yoasobi (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese music superduo formed by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, composed of Vocaloid producer Ayase, and singer-songwriter Ikura. Represented by the slogan "novel into music", the duo has released songs ba ...

, which was initially formed to create music based on selected stories on the site. * Sony Creative Products - Character licensing, usually working with overseas characters, such as the

franchise and

Pingu ''Pingu'' is a stop-motion children's television series co-created by Otmar Gutmann and Erika Brueggemann. It was originally produced from 1990 to 2000 by Swiss company The Pygos Group (originally called Trickfilmstudio) for SF DRS in Switzerl ...

Notable artists

Actors

Actress

Key people

* Toshio Ozawa * Shugo Matsuo * Ryokichi Kunugi *

* Takashi Yoshida† (died 2010, transferred to

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

before death.) *

ViViD Vivid may refer to: Music * Vivid (band), a Japanese rock band * "Vivid" (song), by Electronic, 1999 *"ViViD", a 2016 song by Loona from '' HeeJin'' Albums * ''Vivid'' (Vivian Green album), 2015 * ''Vivid'' (Crystal Kay album), 2012 * ''Vivi ...

Hiroshi Inagaki was a Japanese filmmaker best remembered for the Academy Award-winning '' Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto'', which was released in 1954. Career Born in Tokyo as the son of a shinpa actor, Inagaki appeared on stage in his childhood before joining t ...

(now on

Avex Group is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

) * Naoki Kitagawa * Kazutomo Enomoto * Yaz Noya (

founder) * Nozomi Sasaki

Notes

References

External links

Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. official website
* {{Authority control Music Entertainment Japan Japanese record labels Record labels established in 1968 Entertainment companies of Japan Mass media companies based in Tokyo IFPI members Chiyoda, Tokyo Japanese companies established in 1968