eplus Inc. is the operator of eplus, a ticket agency specializing in mail-order sales. A consolidated subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment, it operates one of Japan’s largest ticket reservation and purchasing websites, with more than 22 million members.
Credited On
- The Gazette - TOUR11-12 VENOMOUS CELL FINALE OMEGA LIVE AT 01.14 YOKOHAMA ARENA - The Gazette, released May 9, 2012 (
SRBL-1523). Concert Promoter (Tooru Yasui). - Nightmare - NIGHTMARE 20th Anniversary SPECIAL LIVE GIANIZM Saiaku - Nightmare, released July 15, 2020 (
LHXD-2004). Ticket Sales (Daigo Nakajima), Ticket Sales (Sae Yashiro), Ticket Sales (Satoshi Yamamoto).
History
Translated from the ja.wikipedia article イープラス (CC BY-SA 4.0), revision 110882500.
Overview
Originally, the Saison Group's publishing business, SS Communications, operated a ticket agency business under the name Ticket Saison, primarily through Seibu and Saison-affiliated outlets such as Seibu Railway, Seibu Department Stores, Seiyu, and FamilyMart. As part of efforts to improve the group's management structure, it discontinued its ticket agency business based on in-store counters in September 1999. From 2000, it specialized in ticket sales by Entertainment Plus through Internet sites accessed by personal computers and i-mode, as well as automated telephone response systems using push-button telephones.
History
Eplus was established on July 30, 1999. At the time, the Saison Group held a 50% stake, while Sony and its affiliated companies held the remaining 50%.
The Kadokawa Group was once a shareholder after the transfer of shares in SS Communications, which operated Ticket Saison. SS Communications later became Kadokawa SS Communications and was subsequently dissolved through a merger with Kadokawa Marketing. As of 2019, the Kadokawa Group was no longer a shareholder.
In June 2009, Eplus entered into a business alliance with FamilyMart Co., Ltd. and Famima.com Co., Ltd., beginning ticket sales through the FamiPort multimedia terminals. This resumed ticket-agency operations at FamilyMart for the first time in 11 years since the Ticket Saison era. In connection with this, the partnership between FamilyMart and Ticket Pia was dissolved.
In August 2013, Eplus took over from Lawson HMV Entertainment the operation of Ticket JCB, JCB's ticket-agency service.
In January 2015, the company changed its name from Entertainment Plus Co., Ltd. to Eplus Co., Ltd. In the same year, it established Eplus Live Works Co., Ltd. and opened eplus LIVING ROOM CAFE&DINING, a live café of a new format, in Shibuya, Tokyo.
In May 2015, August Arena Co., Ltd. was established through investment by August, Eplus, Pia, Lawson Entertainment, and Nihon Unisys.
In 2016, Eplus began selling inbound tickets for foreign visitors to Japan.
In June 2017, in response to the issue of fraudulent ticket resale, Eplus renewed its membership service and introduced two-step SMS and email authentication during member registration. In November of the same year, it became the first ticket agency to apply this system comprehensively.
In December 2017, Tokyo Mystery Circus, the world's first and one of Japan's largest entertainment parks, described as having “the most mysteries in the world,” opened in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. TOKYO MYSTERY CIRCUS LLC, the operating company, was established by SCRAP, Eplus, Nippon Broadcasting System, and Cygames.
In January 2018, Eplus decided to completely overhaul its core ticket-sales system. More than ten years had passed since the system began operating in 2006, and its original design was approaching its limits. The complete overhaul was expected to be completed in the latter half of 2020.
In March 2020, Eplus announced that it would bear in full the cancellation and refund handling fees normally paid by event organizers for events whose tickets had been sold by Eplus and which had been canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In May 2020, Eplus launched its own Streaming+ service, which streams live events and other content on a paid-ticket basis. It also announced a business alliance with SPOON, which operates MUSIC/SLASH, a similar streaming service featuring high-quality audio distribution, to sell paid viewing tickets.
On July 31, 2024, Sony Music Entertainment announced that it had acquired Credit Saison's 1% stake and had made Eplus a consolidated subsidiary.