Sony Music Records is an in-house record label of Sony Music Labels. It is commonly referred to as “Sony”, by the name of its main label, “Sony Records”, by the initials “SMR”, or by the catalogue prefix “SR”.
It is the longest-established label in the Sony Music Entertainment (SME) Group, descending from the former CBS/Sony Records. Sony Music Records Inc. was also the former corporate name of Sony Music Labels, and was a functional subsidiary and record company of the SME Group from October 1, 2001 to March 31, 2014.
On This Label
Released or manufactured by Sony Music Records, from this catalogue:
- Shoko Nakagawa - しょこたん べすと――(°∀°)――!! - Shoko Nakagawa, released 2012 (
SRCL-7973). Manufactured By, Record Company. - The Gazette - TOUR11-12 VENOMOUS CELL FINALE OMEGA LIVE AT 01.14 YOKOHAMA ARENA - The Gazette, released May 9, 2012 (
SRBL-1523). Executive Producer (Shinji Takagi), Executive Producer (Shunsuke Muramatsu), Manufactured By.
Gallery
History
Translated from the ja.wikipedia article ソニー・ミュージックレコーズ (CC BY-SA 4.0), revision 110022471.
CBS/Sony Records, Inc. was established on March 11, 1968.
In July 1971, the rock and pop label EPIC was launched. Initially dedicated exclusively to international music, it entered the Japanese music market three months later, beginning with High Society, which transferred from the CBS/Sony label.
On August 21, 1973, the company changed its name to CBS/Sony Inc.
In March 1976, the EPIC label ceased producing Japanese music and returned to being a label exclusively for international music. Japanese music recordings released through the label came under the jurisdiction of the CBS/Sony label.
On August 21, 1978, EPIC Sony, later Epic Records Japan and then Sony Music Labels, was established as a company for the EPIC label. However, CBS/Sony continued to manage Japanese recordings released on EPIC by artists including Miyoko Asada and Youko Aso.
In 1983, the rock-oriented label FITZBEAT was established by Tsugutoshi Goto. On August 1, the planning and production division of CBS/Sony Group Inc., which had changed its name from CBS/Sony Records, Inc., was separated as CBS/Sony Inc.
On March 1, 1988, CBS/Sony Inc. was absorbed into CBS/Sony Group Inc.
In April 1991, following CBS/Sony Group Inc.'s change of corporate name to Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. (SMEJ), the label was renamed Sony Records (ソニーレコード).
In April 1992, the labels Trefort and FITZBEAT, as well as MAJOR FORCE and LIFE/SIZE within EPIC, were transferred to the newly established Ki/oon Sony Records.
In November 1998, the rock-oriented label SME Records was established. At the same time, the international music division, including original masters from Columbia in the United States, was transferred to the label, while Sony Classical remained under the Sony Records label.
On October 1, 2001, Sony Music Records Inc. (SMR) was established following the separation of SME's production division. It succeeded to labels including Sony Records. The international music division was transferred to Sony Music Japan International (SMJI).
On April 1, 2003, SME Records was established as a company under the name SME Records Inc. (SMER), later reverting to its previous status following an absorption-type merger. The rock-oriented label gr8!records was also established.
In November 2006, STUDIOSEVEN Recordings, a label based on Sony Records, was established.
On April 1, 2010, STUDIOSEVEN Recordings and gr8!records were merged and relaunched as the new gr8!records. Artists affiliated with STUDIOSEVEN Recordings were internally transferred to either gr8!records or Sony Records.
On April 1, 2011, the AC Room, which handled kayokyoku and enka, was transferred to Sony Music Direct (SMD), and SMR became a label exclusively for pop music.
On April 1, 2014, Sony Music Labels (SML) was launched with SMR as the surviving company, through the absorption-type merger of seven companies in the Label Business Group and a change of corporate name. SMR as a label became an in-house company label of SML. As a result, SMER returned to being a label of SML.
Sources
- Wikidata entity Q8193865.
- ja.wikipedia, ソニー・ミュージックレコーズ (revision 110022471), CC BY-SA 4.0.