, often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in the country regarding music distribution. The company is responsible for marketing and distribution in Japan for Japanese releases under Universal. In 2021, Universal Japan CEO and President Naoshi Fujikura was included on '' Billboard's'' International Power Players list.

History

Early years

The company was founded as PolyGram Co., Ltd. (in 1990 with Koike Kazuhiko serving as president and CEO. In 1999, the company was restructured and renamed as Universal Music Co., Ltd.

2009–2013: Renaming to Universal Music LLC

In 2009, the company was renamed as Universal Music LLC. Kazuhiko stepped down as CEO and

Keiichi Ishizaka was a Japanese music industry executive who was the chairman of Recording Industry Association of Japan. Personal life Born in Saitama-ken, he learned the music of Japan while studying Business Administration at Keio University. He graduated in ...

became CEO and president of the company.

2013–2014: Restructure following EMI purchase

In 2011, EMI agreed to sell its recorded music operations to Universal Music Group for £1.2 billion ($1.9 billion) and its music publishing operations to a

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 ...

-led consortium for $2.2 billion. Among the other companies that had competed for the recorded music business was

Warner Music Group 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 ...

which was reported to have made a $2 billion bid. Universal Music Group completed their acquisition of

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 ...

on September 28, 2012. In 2012, Ishizaka became CEO of

EMI Music Japan , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

while Universal Japan was scheduled to hold a corporate swap in response of the merger. EMI Music Japan officially was absorbed into Universal Japan, became defunct as a company with EMI Records Japan as a successor to the EMI Music Japan label. Nine months after the merger, Ishizaka stepped down from his position of CEO from Universal Japan, and became a non-executive chairman. His successor, Naoshi Fujikura was appointed in 2014. In April 2014, Universal Japan was once again restructured. Many of its labels were rebranded and split multiple times, including EMI Records Japan which de-merged into two sublabels

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

and

Virgin Records 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 ...

of which the latter rebranded as EMI R and then merged with

Delicious Deli Records was a Japanese record label under Universal Music Japan. Founded by corporate executive and member of management committee and managing director of international, Kimitaka Kato, its headquarters are located in Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan. In August ...

to form

Virgin Music 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 worldw ...

2015–present: New business model, push for streaming and worldwide distribution

In December 2015, Fujikura announced that Universal Japan "is a new business" and that the company would adopt a new business model to strengthen business. These changes were effective as of January 1, 2016. A new label, Universal-W was established in December 2015 with Japanese company Warlock. In August 2016,

Radwimps is a Japanese rock band who debuted independently in 2003 and signed with Toshiba EMI in 2005. The band's name, Radwimps, was formed from two English slang terms, " rad" and "wimp". According to the band, the coined word had several meanings, i ...

released the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

for the 2016 Japanese animated film '' Your Name''. The album was a commercial success in Japan and in a rare feat, charted in the United States in 2017. In December of the same year, Universal Japan acquired , a music management agency (founded in 1992), and made it a fully-owned subsidiary; as a result, the latter's "Augusta Records" label became an affiliated label of Universal Japan. In 2017, the company announced it would relocate from Minato, Tokyo to the Jingumae Tower Building in Shibuya, Tokyo. The relocation took place from September 15, 2018, to October 9. In December 2017, Universal Japan announced they suspended the contract of

Hilcrhyme is a Japanese two member hip-hop group. The band's name is a pun on the Japanese pronunciation of hillclimb and the word rhyme. They are best known for their 2009 hit song "Shunkashūtō", which has been certified for 1,000,000 cellphone digital ...

member DJ Katsu following his arrest of possession of marijuana. He subsequently left the group following his arrest and the group lost their recording contract. In June 2018, Universal Japan announced an exclusive license agreement with Disney Music Group. In 2019, Universal Japan suspended the sales of Junnosuke Taguchi's discography and removed his releases from digital stores following his arrest of possession of marijuana. In 2020, Universal launched the Virgin Music Label and Artist Services. The service provides artists with global solutions and was launched in many Universal subsidiaries, including Universal Japan. In 2021, Yoshimoto Music signed a distribution deal with Universal Japan for future releases. In July 2021, CEO Fujikura was listed on ''Billboard's'' International Power Players list. In an interview with ''

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine ''Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence from ''Bi ...

'', Fujikura shared about his measures on increasing streaming revenue and strategies to have Universal Japan artists chart overseas. Universal Japan has since released previous releases of former and current artists under their labels worldwide digitally, including

Hikaru Utada , who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential, and best-selling, musical artists in Japan. Born in the United States to Japanese parent ...

Crystal Kay is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actress and radio host. After releasing her first single, "Eternal Memories" (1999), Crystal Kay gained fame for her third studio album, '' Almost Seventeen'' (2002), which debuted at number 2 on the Japanese ...

, Radwimps,

Mrs. Green Apple Mrs. Green Apple (stylized in all caps; Japanese: ) is a three-member Japanese rock music, rock band from Tokyo that made its major debut in 2015 with EMI Records. They are known for performing the fourth ending theme to the anime series ''Yu-Gi ...

, Che'Nelle and Ai. In 2022, Universal Japan CEO Fujikura was listed on ''Billboard's'' International Power Players list for a second year in a row. Fujikura became the first Japanese executive to appear on the list three times, including his first recognition in 2019. In an interview, Fujikura discussed plans for creating new marketplaces in Japan and developing them overseas, particularly in the United States. In September 2022,

Travis Japan Travis Japan is a Japanese boy band managed by Johnny & Associates. Their name is a tribute to the American choreographer Travis Payne, who assisted in their 2012 group formation during the production of stage show :ja:PLAYZONE#PLAYZONE'12 SONG ...

signed a record deal with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, with distribution and marketing being handled by Universal Japan. In October 2022, following the success of '' Uta's Songs: One Piece Film Red'', Ado signed a record deal with Geffen Records alongside her current record deal with Virgin Music.

Labels

Current labels

* Universal J * Zen Music * Universal Jazz * Universal Sigma * Lighthouse Music *

Universal D Universal D is a record label division under the Universal Music Group in Japan. Artists and projects *Ahn Jae-wook *Aira Mitsuki *Allen Kim *alpaca *Ayumi Shibata *Bananaman *BIRTH *Brand new vibe *Boys Republic *CNBLUE (distribution only) *coss ...

Universal International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

* Universal Gear *

* USM Japan * Augusta Records *

Universal Classics Decca Gold is a United States-based record label focusing on classical repertoire. It falls under the umbrella of Verve Label Group, owned by Universal Music Group. The label has a new roster of classical artists and partnerships, and was inspired ...

* UM & Brands * Def Jam Recordings * Mercury Tokyo

Former labels

* EMI Records Japan *

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

* Def Jam Japan * EMI R * Nayutawave Records *

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

* Universal Victor * Nippon Phonogram * Mercury Music Entertainment * Kitty Records * Zero-A * Far Eastern Tribe Records * Universal-W

References

External links

*
UMG History page
* * * * {{IFPI members in Japan Record label distributors 1990 establishments in Japan