Japanese entertainment conglomerate
Avex Inc.
Logo used since 2017
|
|
Native name
| エイベックス株式?社
|
---|
Company type
| Public
KK
Industrial keiretsu
|
---|
| |
---|
Industry
| |
---|
Genre
| Various
|
---|
Founded
| April 11, 1988
; 36 years ago
(
1988-04-11
)
(as Avex D.D., Inc.)
*
|
---|
Founder
| |
---|
Headquarters
| ,
Japan
|
---|
Area served
| East Asia
|
---|
Key people
| - Max Matsuura
(Founder & Chairman)
- Katsumi Kuroiwa
(CEO)
|
---|
Products
| |
---|
Revenue
| ¥
46.3 billion (
US$
421.87 million) (2021)
|
---|
| ¥
2.6 billion (
US$
23.69 million) (2021)
|
---|
| ¥
1.6 billion (
US$
14.58 million) (2021)
|
---|
Owner
| |
---|
Number of employees
| 1,455 (as of March 31, 2017
[update]
)
|
---|
Subsidiaries
| see
Subsidiaries
|
---|
Website
| avex.com
|
---|
Avex Inc.
(
Japanese
:
エイベックス株式?社
,
romanized
:
Eibekkusu
kabushiki gaisha
, commonly known as
Avex
and stylized as
avex
) is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder
Max Matsuura
and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
[3]
Founded in 1988, the company manages
J-pop
talents like
Ayumi Hamasaki
[4]
and internet sensation
PikoTaro
.
[5]
It has also shifted into other business domains like anime, video games and live music events, partnering with
Ultra Music Festival
[6]
and hosting the annual
A-nation
.
[7]
The company is a member of the
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
(MUFG)
keiretsu
.
Name
[
edit
]
AVEX is an
acronym
of the English words
A
udio
V
isual
EX
pert.
[
citation needed
]
Since its foundation, its corporate name was Avex
D.D.
, Incorporated, and ten years later it was changed to Avex, Incorporated.
The current name, Avex Group Holdings, Incorporated, was adopted in 2004 as part of reconstruction process after
Tom Yoda
's resignation. Avex Group Holdings, Incorporated was used for the main subsidiaries, while the old name (Avex, Incorporated) was for entertainment components of the Group.
In 2005, Avex, Incorporated became Avex Entertainment, Incorporated, and stayed on as part of the Group.
History
[
edit
]
1988?1999: The early years
[
edit
]
Avex was registered June 1, 1973, as Avex D.D. Incorporated
(
エイベックス?ディ??ディ?株式?社
,
Eibekkusu Di Di Kabushiki Gaisha
)
, although it did not become established until 1988. They began as a CD wholesaler based in
Machida, Tokyo
.
[8]
In September 1990, they opened a recording studio and created
Avex Trax
as a music label. In the same year, they created "Musique Folio Inc.", a music publishing company, which became "Prime Direction Inc."
In 1993, they transferred to
Aoyama, Tokyo
and created a U.S. branch, called "AV Experience America Inc." The year also marked the first of Avex's yearly events. It was held in
Tokyo Dome
under the name "avex rave '93" and attracted 50,000 attendees. This led to the creation of the
Cutting Edge
label.
In 1994, they formed two UK subsidiaries, "Rhythm Republic Limited" and "Avex U.K. Limited". Later that year, they opened a disco, claimed on their website to be "the world's largest scale disco", named
Velfarre
.
[9]
In 1997, they opened a series of concert halls called "
Zepp
" with
Sony Music Entertainment Japan
. In early 1999, they signed an agreement with
Walt Disney Records
and
Hollywood Records
to handle the companies' Japanese CD releases. Later that year "Avex Mode", an animation company, was established. In December, the company was listed on the 1st section of the
Tokyo Stock Exchange
under the
ticker symbol
7860.
[10]
2000?2009: Times of unity and divisiveness
[
edit
]
In 2001, Avex opened the "avex artists academy" music school.
[11]
In 2002, they released the "
CCCD
", a type of copy-protected CD,
[12]
and opened their building in Aoyama, paid for by
Sumitomo Life
and worth 205 billion yen.
In 2003, they opened a classical music business (named Avex Classics).
[13]
In January 2004, they began selling Japanese music CDs in South Korea. In December of that same year, President
Max Matsuura
"spotted" former
idol
Ami Suzuki
performing live at the annual festival of their school,
Nihon University
. He subsequently signed her to the Avex label.
[14]
In 2005, Avex acquired distribution rights for
Aozora Records
' catalogue including all future
Hitomi Yaida
releases.
[15]
In early 2008, Avex partnered with
Victor JVC
to officially create the label
D-topia Entertainment
as a business partnership between the labels and its founder, Terukado Onishi, with the
sales promotion
handled by Victor while the area promotion handled by Avex. As part of the Avex Group's 20th anniversary celebration, a big project occurred with avex trax's "produced by avex trax" artists; the band
Girl Next Door
, formed and debuted in September 2008.
Avex Group launched its own
IPTV
service,
BeeTV
, May 2009 in partnership with
NTT DoCoMo
.
2004: Internal feud: Max Matsuura v. Tom Yoda
[
edit
]
In August 2004, a feud between Max Matsuura and co-founder Tom Yoda affected the group.
[16]
It started because of Yoda's ambition to expand Avex into other entertainment-related ventures, especially producing
movies
.
[17]
In addition, he accused
Ryuhei Chiba
, the company's executive director and president of Avex Inc. (now Avex Planning and Development), of pursuing personal profit from a few big artists.
[16]
July 30:
In a board meeting, Yoda introduced a
resolution
calling on Chiba to resign because of an alleged
conflict of interest
. A source says the disagreement arose because Chiba had signed an artist managed by a member of his family. The board backed Yoda's resolution in a 6-1 vote. However, Matsuura ? described by insiders as a close ally of Chiba ? introduced a second resolution demanding that Yoda step down due to "a difference of opinion in management principles". Matsuura's motion was defeated 5-2. He and Chiba resigned the next day.
[18]
August 2:
Matsuura and Chiba announced their resignations in a meeting with employees of Avex.
[19]
[20]
Chiba denied any fault, while Matsuura complained that Avex had lost its love of music and said he wanted to start over. They had the support of many staff who also said they would quit. More significantly, the label's top star,
Ayumi Hamasaki
, said she would leave.
[20]
As a result, Avex's stocks in the
TSE
fell by 16 percent that day.
[21]
August 3:
Due to pressure by employees and artists and to save the company from bankruptcy, Yoda resigned and was replaced by Toshio Kobayashi.
[8]
[22]
2010?present
[
edit
]
AGHD is listed at the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange
and
Borse Munchen
of Germany under the ticker symbol AX8.
[23]
More K-pop artists from other agencies continued to sign with Avex such as
SM Entertainment
's
TVXQ
(2006),
YG Entertainment
's
2NE1
(2010), S-plus Entertainment's
SS501
member
Kim Hyung Jun
(2011),
Pledis Entertainment
's
After School
(2011), NH Media's
U-KISS
(2011)
[24]
and Yejeon Media's
Shu-I
(2011).
[25]
On July 21, 2011, it was announced that Avex had paired with Korean management label YG Entertainment to form YGEX.
[26]
In 2012, the group began offering limited releases for sale, DRM-free for the first time within Japan on
Amazon MP3
.
[27]
Max Matsuura and Toshio Kobayashi, the company's top two individual shareholders, launched their own investment companies to anchor their shares in 2012.
[
citation needed
]
As a show of modernization, Avex Group moved to
Izumi Garden Tower
in
Roppongi
in October 2014. The company was designated to the 36th floor ? the former address of
DWANGO
.
On February 15, 2017, Avex Group discontinued all foreign exports of Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs published under their Avex Pictures label.
[28]
A spokesperson said the action was taken due to unspecified rights issues.
[29]
In 2022, Avex made a renewed attempt to expand into North America. Avex USA Inc. opened in a rented five-bedroom
West Hollywood
home, headed by Naoki Osada, an Avex veteran with experience in the American music business. Avex leadership gave Osada five years to find success in the U.S.
[30]
The home has been renovated to include four recording studios.
[31]
The label has partnered with
Sony Music Publishing
to administer its catalogue outside Japan.
[32]
Operations
[
edit
]
Subsidiaries
[
edit
]
In April 2010, the Avex Group corporation was re-structured to establish Avex Music Publishing Inc. as a consolidated subsidiary, in a corporate spin-off of music publishing division of Avex Group Holdings Inc. Thus the Avex Group became a pure holding company, with a corporate structure as follows:
[33]
Japan
[
edit
]
- Avex Entertainment Inc.
(
エイベックス?エンタテインメント株式?社
,
eibekkusu entateinmento kabushiki gaisha
)
- Avex Broadcasting & Communications
Inc.
(
エイベックス通信放送株式?社
,
eibekkusu ts?shin h?s? kabushiki gaisha
)
- Avex Management
Inc.
(
エイベックス?マネジメント株式?社
,
eibekkusu manejimento kabushiki gaisha
)
[34]
- Avex Music Publishing
Inc.
(
エイベックス?ミュ?ジック?パブリッシング株式?社
,
eibekkusu my?jikku paburisshingu kabushiki gaisha
)
(Formerly
Musique Folio Inc.
and
Prime Direction Inc.
)
Other
[
edit
]
Affiliates
[
edit
]
- Memory-Tech Corporation
- RecoChoku Co., Ltd.
[36]
- AWA
Music labels
[
edit
]
- Avex Casa (house music and electronica)
- Avex Classics (
classical music
)
- Avex Globe (
globe
's label; defunct since 2019)
- Avex Ideak (joint venture with
KADOMATSU.T
; defunct since 1998)
- Avex International (international releases)
- Avex IO
[37]
- Avex Trance (trance music)
- Avex Rush
- ZOOM FLICKER
- Avex Trax
(first record label of the group (1990))
- Avex Tune (dance music)
- Xgalx
- B-ME (joint venture with BMSG)
- Binyl Records (rock music)
- Blowgrow
[41]
- Commmons
(joint venture with
Ryuichi Sakamoto
)
- Cross-A
- Cutting Edge (second record label of the Group (1993.12))
- Dimension Point (
Namie Amuro
's label)
- Disc du Soleil
- Dois Irmaos (
Lisa Ono
)
- Espionage Records (joint venture with
Verbal
)
- Five-D Plus
- Foxtrot (joint venture with Rams Incorporated)
[42]
[43]
- FRAME (joint venture with
Level-5
; founded by the latter with
Up-Front Works
)
[44]
- Hach Entertainment (joint venture with
NTT SmartConnect
)
- Hi-BPM Studio
- HPQ (
Visual kei
)
- Idol Street
(for
idol
performers, launched October 2, 2010, by Tatsuo Higuchi
[45]
)
[46]
- Island Records
- J-Friends Project
- J-More
[47]
- Justa Music
[48]
- Locomusic (
Love-chan
's label)
- Love Life Records (
Hitomi
's label)
- Mad Pray Records (
Anna Tsuchiya
's label)
- Maximum 10
- MENT RECORDING (joint venture with
Johnny & Associates
)
[49]
- Motorod Records
- nakedrecords
- Oorong Records (joint venture with Oorong-sha Group)
- Rhythm Republic
- Rhythm Zone
(third record label of the Group (1999))
- Fluctus
- Riddim Zone
- Starz by Rhythm Zone
- Rising Records
- Sonic Groove
- Superb Trax
- Tachytelic Records (joint venture with
Taku Takahashi
)
- Tank Top Records
[50]
- Tearbridge Production
[51]
- The Six Dragons
- True Song Music (
Dai Nagao
's label)
- Velfarre Records
- YGEX
(joint label with
YG Entertainment
)
Entertainment ventures
[
edit
]
- Movies
- Artist Management
- Avex Management
- Platinum Productions
- Digital
- Avex Broadcasting and Communications (joint venture with
NTT docomo
)
- mu-mo.net
[54]
(Japanese) (own music store of the Group)
- Theater Company
Labels distributed
[
edit
]
- A stAtion
(
Ayaka
's own record label), since 2012.
[55]
- AKS Co., Ltd.
(
AKB48
's agency), since 2006. (Avex currently handles AKS'
DVD
releases.)
- Aozora Records
, since 2005.
- Armada Music
- avex-classics
[
ja
]
, since 2003.
- CAM Entertainment
, since 2008.
- D-topia Entertainment
, since 2008. (co-distributed with
Victor Entertainment
and
Universal Music Japan
)
- Danger Crue Records
, from 2006 to 2012. (now handled by
Sony Music Japan
)
- Disney Music Group
, from 1999 to present (co-handled with
Universal Music Group
from 2018 for albums when live converts are handled by Avex).
- Fluxus Entertainment
- Free-Will
- HATS Unlimited (
Taro Hakase
's label)
- Higashiyakena Soundbuilder (
HY
's label), since 2000.
- I Scream Records
, since 2010. (Japan only)
- Johnny & Associates
(Taiwan and Hong Kong only)
- Kontor Records
- P-Vine Records
(co-distributed with
Victor Entertainment
and
BMG Japan
/
Sony Music Japan
)
- Almond Eyes
- Kai-san Factory
- SM Entertainment
, since 2000.
- S2S Pte. Ltd.
(Japan only)
- Toy's Factory
(Taiwan only, since 2012)
- Vamprose, since 2008. (
Vamps
and
Monoral
's label)
- Vandit
- Yamaha Music Communications Inc.
, since 2006.
[56]
Promotional projects
[
edit
]
IFPI membership
[
edit
]
The Group is a member of the
IFPI
for Hong Kong and Japan.
[57]
A-Nation
[
edit
]
Each year since 2002, Avex has hosted a summer concert tour around Japan, "A-Nation", featuring the company's most successful acts. It is held every
weekend
in August in different Japanese cities. Top Avex acts like
Ayumi Hamasaki
,
Kumi Koda
,
AAA
,
Ai Otsuka
,
BIGBANG
,
BOA
,
Do As Infinity
,
Hitomi
,
TRF
,
Every Little Thing
and
TVXQ
perform to major crowds each year. In 2008,
Namie Amuro
made her first appearance at A-Nation and performed on all dates that year.
[58]
[59]
For the first time in 2012, Kumi Koda did not perform due to her pregnancy.
Festival sponsors include
Joe Weider
and his Weider fitness products,
Seven & I Holdings Co.
,
NTT DoCoMo
,
Mizuno Corp.
,
Nissay
(through its You May Dream! Project), and others.
International partners
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Avex Group ? Board Members"
. Avex. October 31, 2012. Archived from
the original
on April 3, 2013
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
"AXEV INC. (7860)"
.
MarketScreener
. Retrieved
March 16,
2023
.
- ^
"エイベックス株式?社"
.
avex.co.jp
.
- ^
"Ayumi Hamasaki Announces 20th Anniversary Tour: See the Dates"
.
PopCrush
. March 24, 2017.
- ^
"
'PPAP' goes the world: How Pikotaro became a viral smash ? The Japan Times"
. November 4, 2016.
- ^
"Avex Live Creative Confirms Dates for Ultra Japan 2015"
(Press release). December 17, 2014.
- ^
"Who was music being made for in 2014? ? The Japan Times"
. December 23, 2014.
- ^
a
b
ja:エイベックス?グル?プ
Avex Group's article on the Japanese Wikipedia.
- ^
"Avex Group"
. Avex Group
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
"7860:Tokyo Stock Quote - Avex Group Holdings Inc"
. Bloomberg
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
ア?ティストアカデミ?
[Artist Academy] (in Japanese). Avex Group. Archived from
the original
on July 16, 2011
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
"コピ?コントロ?ルCD"
[Copy Control CD] (in Japanese). Avex. Archived from
the original
on November 7, 2007
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
"avex-CLASSICS"
(in Japanese). Avex Group. Archived from
the original
on January 10, 2013
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
Robert Poole (2005).
"What Does The Development Of Independent Female Artists Mean For The Japanese Music Industry?"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on March 29, 2007
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"Start of Commission Sales of the Aozora Records Catalogue"
(PDF)
(Press release). Avex Group. September 15, 2005. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on September 27, 2007
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"Japan Entertainment News"
. Japan Zone. August 2004
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
Retail stores
allbusiness.com
[
dead link
]
- ^
Peter Serafin (September 4, 2004).
"Japanese Industry Awaits Avex Fallout"
.
Billboard
. Archived from
the original
on April 3, 2008
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
"Avex Founder Steps Down"
.
Japan Zone
. Retrieved
June 1,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
"Avex in Chaos"
.
Japan Zone
. Retrieved
June 1,
2019
.
- ^
Steve McClure (December 28, 2004).
"Import-export issues mark J-pop year"
(PDF)
.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on March 23, 2006
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
"Takuro Ailing Again"
.
Japan Zone
. Retrieved
June 1,
2019
.
- ^
"AX8:Munich Stock Quote - Avex Group Holdings Inc"
. Bloomberg
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
"Seoul Central District Court dismisses both of SME's injunctions against JYJ"
. OMona They Didn't. February 17, 2011
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
"Shu-I (シュ?アイ) - Japan Official Site"
(in Japanese). Shu-i.jp. Archived from
the original
on January 15, 2013
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
Neefa (July 21, 2011).
"YG Entertainment and avex announce the creation of 'YGEX'!"
. 6Theory Media
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
"MP3ダウンロ?ド"
[MP3 Download] (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Archived from
the original
on February 18, 2013
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
"Avex pictures enforces export ban on Blu-rays, DVD, and CDs"
. Arama Japan. February 14, 2017
. Retrieved
March 4,
2017
.
- ^
Japan, Arama! (March 3, 2017).
"Avex Pictures releases statement on export ban"
.
ARAMA! JAPAN
. Retrieved
July 5,
2023
.
- ^
Barrionuevo, Alexei (October 14, 2022).
"Japanese Label Avex Looks to Conquer U.S. Market From New LA Hub"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
"Studios"
.
AVEX USA
. Retrieved
July 5,
2023
.
- ^
King, Ashley (February 21, 2022).
"Avex USA Inks Global Administration Deal with Sony Music Publishing"
.
Digital Music News
. Retrieved
July 5,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"Avex Group - History"
. Avex Group. March 31, 2012
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
"avex management"
. Avex Group
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
- ^
"艾?股?有限公司"
[Avex Corporation Ltd]. Avex Group. 2008. Archived from
the original
on July 10, 2008.
- ^
?社?要 | レコチョク
[Recochoku Co., Ltd. - Company Profile] (in Japanese). RecoChoku. Archived from
the original
on January 15, 2013
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"avex io"
(in Japanese). avex. 2010
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"dive in! disc - Home"
(in Japanese). dive in! disc
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
マ?ティ?フリ?ドマンが選ぶ!レ?ベル第1?リリ?スはニコニコ動?ユ?ザ?から誕生!!
[Marty Friedman chooses! The first release from label born from Nico Nico Douga user!] (in Japanese). Binylrecords
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"BLABBERMOUTH.NET - MARTY FRIEDMAN Launches Record Label"
. Roadrunnerrecords.com. October 18, 2010
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"blowgrow"
. blowgrow. Archived from
the original
on January 12, 2013
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"Foxtrot"
. Foxtrot-music.com. Archived from
the original
on April 25, 2013
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"Foxtrot (@Foxtrot_Foxtrot) Op Twitter"
. Twitter.com
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"FRAME(フレ?ム)Official Site"
(in Japanese). Avex Group
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
Tatsuo Higuchi
on
Facebook
- ^
"iDOL Street"
(in Japanese). Avex Group
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"J-More Official Website"
(in Japanese). Avex Group
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"シシド?カフカ、avexの新セクション『JUSTA MUSIC』に移籍決定!女優デビュ?も!"
[Kavka Shishido moving to new Avex sub-label Justa Music! Also debuting as an actress!] (in Japanese). mFound. September 30, 2014
. Retrieved
September 30,
2014
.
- ^
"キスマイ&Snow Man、ジャニ?ズとエイベックスの新レ?ベルに所?"
(in Japanese). Nikkan Sports
. Retrieved
August 24,
2022
.
- ^
"Tank Top Records"
(in Japanese). Avex Group. 2011
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"tearbridge records"
. TearbridgeRecords
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"Elephant Picture"
(in Japanese). Avex Group. Archived from
the original
on February 12, 2010.
- ^
"Pix Inc"
(in Japanese). Pix Inc. 2008. Archived from
the original
on August 24, 2008.
- ^
mu-mo.net website
[
dead link
]
- ^
"The Beginning Ayaka"
. Neowing. September 26, 2012
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
Yamaha Music Communications Inc.
- ^
"LINKS - IFPI Member Record Companies"
. Ifpi.org. September 1, 2005
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"a-nation Charge Go! ウイダ?inゼリ? musicweek & stadium fes"
(in Japanese). A-nation.net. Archived from
the original
on September 18, 2012
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"a-nation navi (@anation_navi) op Twitter"
. Twitter.com
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"Our Service"
. Morganrichonline.com. Archived from
the original
on March 19, 2012
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"Welcome to GMMInternational"
(in Thai). Grammy International. October 13, 2011. Archived from
the original
on January 29, 2013
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
"上海中唱-首?"
[Shanghai sing - Home]. China Record Shanghai Corp. 2004. Archived from
the original
on January 16, 2013
. Retrieved
January 1,
2013
.
- ^
Billboard
. Vol. 110. Nielsen Business Media. February 28, 1998. p. 85.
ISSN
0006-2510
. Retrieved
December 31,
2012
.
External links
[
edit
]
Avex Group
related articles
|
---|
|
---|
- Avex D.D., Inc. → Avex Inc. →
Avex Group Holdings Inc.
→
Avex Inc.
- Max Matsuura
- founder and CEO
| Avex Entertainment
|
- Avex Live Creative
- Avex Music Creative
- Avex Alliance & Partners
- Avex Management
- Avex Music Publishing
- Avex Classics International
- Avex Technologies
- Avex Fan Marketing
- Avex Clan
- Avex Styles
- Avex Creator Agency
- Avex Management Agency
|
---|
Avex Pictures
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- Avex Animation Labels
- Avex Film Labels
- Anchor
- Flagship Line
- The Anime Times Company
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Avex AY Factory
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Avex International Holdings
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Other assets
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