Sony Music Entertainment Japan

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Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.
株式会社ソニー・ミュージックエンタテインメント
Type Subsidiary of Sony Corporation
Founded 1968 as CBS/Sony Records Inc.
Headquarters Rokubancho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Japan
Key people Norio Ohga: Former Chairman
Industry Music
Revenue ▲ ¥162 billion
Employees 1,400
Subsidiaries SME Records Inc., EPIC Records Japan Inc., Ki/oon Records Inc., Sony Music Records Inc., Sony Music Associated Records Inc., BMG Japan, Inc., Sony Music Artists Inc., Sony Music Publishing (Japan) Inc., Sony Magazines Inc., Label Gate Co., Ltd., Aniplex Inc., etc.
Website sonymusic.co.jp
Sony Music Entertainment Japan headquarters

Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. (株式会社ソニー・ミュージックエンタテインメント Kabushiki gaisha Sonī Myūjikku Entateinmento?, often abbreviated as SMEJ and also known as Sony Music Japan for short) is Sony's music arm in Japan. SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Corporation and independent from the United States-based Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry.[1]

Its subsidiaries including the anime production enterprise, Aniplex, which was established in January 1997 as a joint-venture between Sony Music Entertainment Japan and Sony Pictures Entertainment, but which in 2001 became a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It was prominent in the early to mid 90's producing and licensing music for Anime such as Roujin Z from acclaimed Manga artist Katsuhiro Otomo and Capcom's Street Fighter anime 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 or Epic Records in North America.

Releases on Columbia Records in other countries appear on Sony Records in Japan because a competitor, Columbia Music Entertainment, owns the rights to the trademark there.

With Sony Corporation of America's buyout of BMG's stake in Sony BMG, Sony Music Entertainment Japan stepped in to buy outstanding shares of BMG Music Japan from Sony BMG, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Japan. Sony Music Japan will continue to operate the Sony and BMG record labels as separate brands in their market.

Contents

[edit] History

Sony Music Entertainment Japan was originally founded in 1968 as a 50/50 joint venture between Sony Corporation and CBS Records to distribute the latter's music releases in Japan. The company was named CBS/Sony Records Inc.[2][3] In 1988, Sony acquired CBS Records and the 50% of the joint venture that it did not already own. The company was then renamed Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Inc.

[edit] Labels and sublabels

[edit] Notable artists



[edit] References

  1. ^ "Sony Japan not part of BMG merger plan-Bertelsmann". Forbes.com. November 15, 2003. http://www.forbes.com/technology/futuretech/newswire/2003/11/15/rtr1149345.html. Retrieved on 2006-07-21. 
  2. ^ Sony and the Modern Age Sony Music UK. Retrieved on 6 August 2006.
  3. ^ CBS/Sony Records is Established in First Round of Capital Deregulation Sony History

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Music_Entertainment_Japan"
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