Avex

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Avex Group Holdings

logo
legal form Kabushiki kaisha (joint stock company)
founding April 11, 1988
Seat Minato , Tokyo , Japan
management
Number of employees 1438 (as of December 2010)
sales 102 billion yen (April 2006-March 2007)
Branch Entertainment industry , record company
Website www.avex.co.jp

Avex ( Jap. エイベックス ), actually Avex Group Holdings KK ( エイベックス·グループ·ホールディングス株式会社, Eibekkusu gurūpu hōrudingusu Kabushiki Kaisha ), is a Japanese entertainment company and the familiar term for the Avex Group Holding Inc. , which also called Avex Entertainment Corporation or Avex Entertainment Inc. is known. The "Avex Group" is registered with company number 7860 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the Nikkei Index .

“Avex” is best known for the music label avex trax ( Japanese: エ イ ベ ッ ク ス ト ラ ッ ク ス ), from which the group emerged.

The word Avex is an abbreviation of the English words A udio, V isual and Ex pert. From 1992 to 2000, the “Avex” logo consisted of a black oval with an “a” in the middle. It has been blue since 2000 and consists of two different sized ovals.

history

1988 to 1993

The company was already registered by Masato "Max" Matsuura on June 1, 1973 and finally started operations in April 1988 as an importer and wholesaler for CDs under the name "Avex DD, Inc.". In 1989 Tatsumi Yoda took over the position of manager of the company. A year later in September 1990, "Avex DD" founded a sound and recording studio and the record company "avex trax" was born. "Musique Folio Inc.", also founded by "Avex" in 1990 and renamed "Prime Direction Inc." in 1993, acted as publisher for the products of "avex trax". Only three years after the founding of "avex trax" did the first band of the label TRF ( T etsuya Komuro R ave F actory) debut in February 1993 and celebrate great success with Euro-Dance sound.

Also in 1993, "Avex" founded a US subsidiary of the company called AV Experience America Inc. , which was primarily used for issuing licenses and as the operator of recording studios in the USA and was based in New York City . At the end of May 2007, however, the US subsidiary was dissolved again. A year later, in 1994, two branches for Great Britain were also created . The two labels, Rhythm Republic Ltd. and Avex UK Ltd. , mainly publish dance remixes by the great “avex” artists in Europe , mainly on records .

1994 to 1998

“Avex” experienced a significant boom when dance and trance music became increasingly popular in Japan in the mid-1990s . In 1994 the company opened the largest discotheque in Asia , the Velfarre , which had to be closed in early 2007 due to falling income. “Avex” triggered a real boom, the first hit singer Namie Amuro , who sold more than 10 million CDs between 1995 and 1997 with her dance pop.

In 1997, together with Sony , “Avex” opened a number of concert halls named Zepp across the country, where artists from both companies regularly perform. The company celebrated another success when they signed an agreement with Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records that "Avex" would in future handle all releases of the two record companies in Japan .

In April 1998 "Avex" celebrated its 10th anniversary and the previous company name "Avex DD" was changed to Avex Inc. due to the many restructuring measures in the previous years . Also in April 1998, the young Ayumi Hamasaki made her debut , who was discovered by Masato Matsuura in the Velfarre Club in 1997, and a little later rose to become the label's second female superstar after Namie Amuro . In addition, Avex Taiwan, Inc. was founded in July 1998 and has since released the albums and singles of “avex trax” in Taiwan as overseas versions.

1999 to 2003

At the beginning of 1999, Avex Mode also established its own animation studio , which has so far published the film Initial D : Third Stage . In December of the same year, the “Avex Group” finally went public and, as a new stock corporation, changed its logo to the blue “a” that we know today. In 2000 they also signed an agreement with the Korean record company SM Entertainment . Since then, "avex trax" has successfully published artists from SM Entertainment (e.g. BoA ) in Japan. Conversely, “avex trax” music CDs have been offered by SM Entertainment in Korea since 2004, exploiting an easing of the trade ban on Japanese entertainment products in Korea.

Later in 2001 “Avex” opened the “Avex Artists Academy”, a music and dance school, in Tokyo . That same year, the stock took off due to the tremendous success of Ayumi Hamasaki's A BEST album. After this peak, however, sales of the label declined significantly, which is why the first Japanese copy protection for CDs CCCD was introduced in March 2002 . However, this was so unpopular that it disappeared again in December 2004. At the beginning of 2002, Avex Asia Holdings Inc. , based in Hong Kong , was founded, which has since taken over the publication of "avex trax" in Hong Kong and other regions of Southeast Asia. Later in 2003 “Avex” opened its own classical music department .

2004

The most turbulent year for the “Avex Group” followed in 2004 when President Masato Matsuura and the management around Tatsumi Yoda were no longer in agreement and fell out. Yoda demanded the resignation of Matsuura, who however got backing from Ayumi Hamasaki , who announced not to extend her expiring contract with "Avex", should Matsuura have to leave. As a result, the company's stock threatened to crash, as Hamasaki was responsible for more than a third of the profits of "Avex" at the time. Eventually, Yoda was forced to resign by the shareholders and both Matsuura and Ayumi stayed with "Avex". As a result, the company was restructured again and the name of the current Avex Group Holding, Inc. changed.

In 2004, "Avex" President Matsuura Ami Suzuki , who enjoyed great success at Sony until 2000 and who competed with Ayumi Hamasaki in 1999 , offered a contract after he saw her perform at the annual festival of her former university in Tokyo.

2005 to 2009

In mid-2005, after further restructuring, the name Avex Entertainment Corporation was created , although this was not adopted as the company's official name. At the same time, developed by "Avex" went online - Download portal mu-mo at the start, since not only downloads, but also merchandising of "Avex" artists offering. In addition, other portals such as iTunes added “Avex” music to their offerings. In September 2005 it was also announced that it would take over all releases of the Aozora Records label , including stars like Hitomi Yaida .

Successes were celebrated in 2006 with the new discovery Ai Ōtsuka and with the two best-of albums by Kumi Koda , which was recorded in 2000 on "avex trax". In September of the same year, the "Avex Group" began a supporting cooperation with the Chinese talent agency Chengtian Entertainment Group International Holding Company, Ltd. , from which the branch Avex China , based in Beijing, arose, which is to become a solid pillar for Avex in the Chinese market.

Despite success, “Avex” had to accept a profit loss of over 30% in the stagnating music market in Japan in the 2006–2007 financial year compared to the previous year with an increase in sales of 13%. Therefore, the company is currently trying to open up new markets. For example, since April 2007 the newly founded Avex Marketing Inc. has been responsible for all promotion and marketing of the “Avex” artists and is also the publisher of all publications. In addition, as of October 2007, more and more releases will be switched from DVD to Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD and the format of the digital single will be tested for success. Thus, Ayumi Hamasaki's song Together When ... in December 2007 released exclusively as a download while Ai Otsuka's concert Love Is Born: 4th Anniversary 2007 is sold in January 2008 on Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. In addition, relationships and business in the Asian region outside of Japan will be further expanded.

On July 30, 2008, Namie Amuro released her compilation "Best Fiction", which sold over 1,840,000 copies, which gave Avex a boost again. In addition, she released her eighth studio album "Past <Future" at the end of 2009, which was another success.

Since 2010

Namie Amuro sold "Past <Future" over 575,000 copies and reached number 6 in the Orion Yearly End Charts , making it the best-selling album on Avex in 2010. Tohoshinki released their compilation "Best Selection 2010" in February 2010, which they included the 7th best album 2010 in Japan reached over 570,000 sales.

On November 24, 2010, SM Entertainment announced that they would renew their contract with Avex, otherwise the contract would have expired. Stars like BoA , Tohoshinki , Tenjōchiki , Super Junior , J-Min or f (x) would otherwise no longer be under contract with Avex.

Group structure

The Avex Group Holding consists of a number of sub-divisions that carry out various business activities of the company.

Avex Entertainment Inc .:

Responsible for the production and planning of music and videos for the artists. Avex Entertainment also takes over the management of all stars. The department also includes Velfarre Entertainment Inc. , which is responsible for the management of the discos and restaurants belonging to "Avex" , and M! DEA Inc. , which is responsible for planning video software.

Avex Marketing Inc .:

Responsible for the planning, production and distribution of the “avex trax” CDs and DVDs . In addition, Avex Marketing runs the online portal mu-mo and takes care of other Internet distribution of music and videos, the homepages of the artists and the fan clubs as well as merchandising .

Avex Live Creative Inc .:

Takes over the planning, production and implementation of all live events and concerts of the artists and of "avex trax" itself.

Avex Planning & Development Inc .:

Responsible for checking the content of the publications and developing the artists (image, appearance, ...).

Avex Management Service Inc .:

Provides advice and assistance in the area of ​​management and leadership for all subsidiaries of the “Avex Group”.

Avex events

Since 1993, "Avex" has organized live events with the most important "avex trax" artists every year. Since 2002 there has even been a Japan- wide tour called a-nation every summer .

  • 1993 : avex rave '93
  • 1994 : avex rave '94
  • 1995 : avex dance Matrix '95
  • 1996 : avex dance net '96
  • 1997 : avex dance carnival '97
  • 1998 : avex non-stop 150 h in velfarre
  • 1999 : avex summer festival '99
  • 2000 : avex summer paradise 2000
  • 2001 : avex rave 2001
  • since 2002 : annual a nation tour

Well-known artists (selection)

Some artists who are under contract with Avex Trax and its associated sub-labels (in alphabetical order) are:

Avex labels

In addition to "avex trax", the following record labels belong entirely to the "Avex Group":

See also

References

  1. ↑ a b c d Archive link ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.avex.co.jp
  2. ↑ Avex Financial Report 2007 page 7  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.avex.co.jp  
  3. ↑ http://company.nikkei.co.jp/index.cfm?scode=7860&ba=1
  4. ^ Reuters report
  5. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / theses.lub.lu.se
  6. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.avex.co.jp
  7. ↑ http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-retail-stores-not/4391338-1.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.allbusiness.com  
  8. ^ Reuters report
  9. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from November 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.avex.co.jp

Web links