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AVEX is anacronym of the English wordsAudioVisualEXpert.[citation needed] Since its foundation, its corporate name was AvexD.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 afterTom 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.
The Avex Building, finished in 2002 and funded by Sumitomo Life, in Minami-Aoyama, TokyoThe headquarters of the company until 2021Avex Group logo used from 2000 to 2017
Avex was registered June 1, 1973, as Avex D.D. Incorporated (エイベックス・ディー・ディー株式会社,Eibekkusu Di Di Kabushiki Gaisha), although it did not become established until 1988. They began as a CD wholesaler based inMachida, Tokyo.[9] In September 1990, they opened a recording studio and createdAvex 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 toAoyama, 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 inTokyo Dome under the name "avex rave '93" and attracted 50,000 attendees. This led to the creation of theCutting 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", namedVelfarre.[10]
In 1997, they opened a series of concert halls called "Zepp" withSony Music Entertainment Japan. In early 1999, they signed an agreement withWalt Disney Records andHollywood Records (record labels both owned byThe Walt Disney Company) to handle the companies' Japanese CD releases, after WDC had taken a small stake in Avex the previous year. Later that year "Avex Mode", an animation company, was established. In December, the company was listed on the 1st section of theTokyo Stock Exchange under theticker symbol 7860.[11]
In 2001, Avex opened the "avex artists academy" music school.[12]
In 2002, they released the "CCCD", a type of copy-protected CD,[13] and opened their building in Aoyama, paid for bySumitomo Life and worth 205 billion yen.
In 2003, they opened a classical music business (named Avex Classics).[14]
In January 2004, they began selling Japanese music CDs in South Korea. In December of that same year, PresidentMax Matsuura "spotted" formeridolAmi Suzuki performing live at the annual festival of their school,Nihon University. He subsequently signed her to the Avex label.[15]
In early 2008, Avex partnered withVictor JVC to officially create the labelD-topia Entertainment as a business partnership between the labels and its founder, Terukado Onishi, with thesales 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 bandGirl Next Door, formed and debuted in September 2008.
Avex Group launched its ownIPTV service,BeeTV, May 2009 in partnership withNTT DoCoMo.
In August 2004, a feud between Max Matsuura and co-founder Tom Yoda affected the group.[17] It started because of Yoda's ambition to expand Avex into other entertainment-related ventures, especially producingmovies.[18] In addition, he accusedRyuhei 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.[17]
July 30: In a board meeting, Yoda introduced aresolution calling on Chiba to resign because of an allegedconflict 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.[19]
August 2: Matsuura and Chiba announced their resignations in a meeting with employees of Avex.[20][21] 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.[21] As a result, Avex's stocks in theTSE fell by 16 percent that day.[22]
August 3: Due to pressure by employees and artists and to save the company from bankruptcy, Yoda resigned and was replaced by Toshio Kobayashi.[9][23]
On July 21, 2011, it was announced that Avex had paired with Korean management label YG Entertainment to form YGEX.[27]
In 2012, the group began offering limited releases for sale, DRM-free for the first time within Japan onAmazon MP3.[28] 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 toIzumi Garden Tower inRoppongi in October 2014. The company was designated to the 36th floor – the former address ofDWANGO.
On February 15, 2017, Avex Group discontinued all foreign exports of Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs published under their Avex Pictures label.[29] A spokesperson said the action was taken due to unspecified rights issues.[30]
In 2022, Avex made a renewed attempt to expand into North America. Avex USA Inc. opened in a rented five-bedroomWest 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.[31] The home has been renovated to include four recording studios.[32] The label has partnered withSony Music Publishing to administer its catalogue outside Japan.[33]
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:[34]
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 everyweekend in August in different Japanese cities. Top Avex acts likeAyumi Hamasaki,Kumi Koda,AAA,Ai Otsuka,BIGBANG,BOA ,Do As Infinity,Hitomi,TRF,Every Little Thing andTVXQ perform to major crowds each year. In 2008,Namie Amuro made her first appearance at A-Nation and performed on all dates that year.[53][54] For the first time in 2012, Kumi Koda did not perform due to her pregnancy.
^マーティ・フリードマンが選ぶ!レーベル第1弾リリースはニコニコ動画ユーザーから誕生!! [Marty Friedman chooses! The first release from label born from Nico Nico Douga user!] (in Japanese). Binylrecords. RetrievedJanuary 1, 2013.
^"シシド・カフカ、avexの新セクション「JUSTA MUSIC」に移籍決定!女優デビューも!" [Kavka Shishido moving to new Avex sub-label Justa Music! Also debuting as an actress!] (in Japanese). mFound. September 30, 2014. RetrievedSeptember 30, 2014.
¥46.3 billion (US$421.87 million) (2021)
¥1.6 billion (US$14.58 million) (2021)
