SMEJ Financials On The Up
May 15, 2008
- Global
By Steve McClure, Tokyo
Japan's biggest record company, Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), has reported healthy sales results for the year ended March 31, 2008, largely on the strength of solid performances by its core label and distribution businesses.
Revenue for SMEJ and its 41 subsidiaries totaled ¥169.4 billion ($1.6 billion), up 4.4% from the previous year. Of that amount, ¥87.4 billion ($832.1 million) came from sales and distribution of recorded music, up 7%. The remaining ¥82 billion ($781.2 million), up 1.7%, consisted of revenue from music publishing, artist management and other SMEJ subsidiaries.
SMEJ does not release profit figures, but a company spokesperson says Sony racked up a healthy profit in the business year ended March 31.
Big-selling titles for SMEJ during the year included the albums "Range" by pop/rock group Orange Range, "Fakin' Pop" by male vocalist Ken Hirai, and "Can't Buy My Love" by female vocalist Yui.
Domestic product accounted for 77.4% of SMEJ's music sales, compared with 79% in the previous year, as strong sales by artists such as Celine Dion and Beyonce helped Sony buck the trend of severe declines in foreign-music sales in Japan.
|
