Avex Group Holdings Inc. e Grou A

Avex
A
e Group
Grou Holdings Inc.
22nd Semiannual Business Report
From April 1, 2008 to September 30, 2008
To Our Shareholders
Mid-Term Vision of the Avex Group
To evolve into the “Entertainment Brand Company”
with the strongest creative and communication capabilities in Asia
T h e Avex G r o u p i s p l e a s e d t o i n fo r m
shareholders of its results for the six-month
period ended September 30, 2008 in this
Semiannual Business Report.
Although the music industry as a whole
had a hard time over this six-month period,
sales of our music packages increased by
approximately 40% over the same period
last year, buoyed by hits from our major
artists and outstanding performances by the
newer artists we have signed and cultivated
since the structural reforms of April 2005.
In ad d i t i o n, ot h er i n c o m e s t r e a m s,
including merchandising, fan clubs and live
concerts, have been steadily increasing.
Notwithstanding the sudden bursting onto
the scene of the concept known as the
“360-degree model”—a strategy that calls
for every profit-earning opportunity of each
artist to be taken advantage of—we take
pride in the fact that we have had much
success in growing these income streams
through our management company, which
has been a par t of the Group since its
foundation. Through the brand management
system adopted by the management
company, we have established our own
02
360 -degree model and have been
maximizing the value of our artists for the
last three and a half years.
In Januar y 2009, we will spin off our
artist /talent management division into a
separate company. This will allow us to
consolidate management resources and
expertise on these other revenue streams,
which will help us to broaden and expand
our music sales at a time when the global
music industry is at a major turning point.
As part of our overall medium- to longterm strategy for becoming a comprehensive
entertainment company, we will adopt a
“ mobile broadcasting station model ”—
essentially, establishing a Web platform and
doing our own program planning and
c a s t i n g — a s t h e c o r e s t r ate g y fo r o u r
domestic visual content business. Our plans
for the Asian arm of this business are based
on a core strategy of leveraging our
established networks to co-produce films
with leading players in the various regions.
In addition, we have already commenced
development of a new blueprint for
achieving hits after having implemented a
fundamental review of our business models,
governance system, branding strategies
and so on for our music business in Asia.
T h i s w i l l e n a b l e u s to b et ter ad a pt to
changes in the entertainment market in
G r e a t e r C h i n a a n d ove r c o m e c u r r e n t
difficulties.
The Group firmly believes that ensuring a
long-term overall return of profit to our
shareholders is one of the most important
management policies of the Group. We stand
by our policy of paying the interim dividend of
20.0 yen per share for the 22nd term.
We would like to express our sincere
appreciation for the support shown by our
many shareholders and stakeholders again
this year, the year in which we celebrated
the 20th anniversary of the Avex Group. We
ask for your continued understanding and
support in the future.
December 2008
Masato Matsuura
CEO
Avex Group Holdings Inc.
Twenty Years of Progress
22nd Semiannual Business Report
History of Avex
Twenty Years of Progress
1988
•Beganasarecordimportandwholesalebusinessin
MachidaCity,Tokyo
2001
•OpenedtheAvexArtistAcademyinHarajuku,Tokyo
Avex’s first logo
1990
•Establishedthefirstmusicproductiondivision,avextrax
Avex Artist
Academy,
Tokyo School
•ReleasedadancecompilationCD
titled“SUPEREUROBEATVOL.1”
2002
“SUPER EUROBEAT VOL.1”
Jan. 21, ’90
•BeganproducingJapanesemusic
1992
•DancecompilationCD“JULIANA’STOKYO”wasabighit
“JULIANA'S TOKYO
TECHNO RAVE PARTY”
Feb. 21, ’92
BoA
“LISTEN
TO MY
HEART”
Jan. 17, ’02
•Establishedholdingcompanysystem
2005
•ImplementedstructuralreformsoftheGroupandfully
commencedvisualcontentbusinessandbusiness
developmentsinAsia
•RelocatedtoMinami-Aoyama,Minato-ku,Tokyo
•AnnouncedtheMid-termvisiontobecomethestrongest
entertainmentcompanyinAsia
•Heldafreedanceevent“avexrave’93”attheTokyo
Dome,attracting50,000people
•Openedoneoftheworld’slargestdanceclubs,velfarre
velfarre
1997
•Launchedmembershiponlinedistributionwebsite“mu-mo”
trf (currently TRF)
“EZ DO DANCE”
Jun. 21, ’93
avex rave
’93
Kumi Koda
“BEST~first things~”
Sep. 21, ’05
2006
•EstablishedAvexChinaCo.,Ltd.inBeijing,China
2007
•Achievedbiggestshareinthemusicsoftwaremarketfor
thefirsttime
hitomi
“CANDY GIRL”
Apr. 21, ’95
•Beganself-distributionofpackagedproducts
•EstablishedtheTalentManagementDivisionwiththeaim
ofenhancingartistmanagement
2008
•OpenedOsakaSchoolofAvexArtistAcademy
Namie Amuro
“CAN YOU
CELEBRATE?”
Feb. 19, ’97
1998
Ai Otsuka
“Sakuranbo”
Dec. 17, ’03
2004
Avex’s second logo
1994
•Launchedafull-scaleonlinedistributionbusiness
LaunchedChaku-Utaservice
•Heldfirstnationwideliveopen-airconcerttour,“a-nation”
1991
1993
Ayumi Hamazaki
“ BEST”
Mar. 28, ’01
Avex Artist Academy,
Osaka School
•Beganover-the-countertradingofourstock
Every Little Thing
“Time goes by”
Feb. 11, ’98
Ayumi Hamazaki
“poker face”
Apr. 8, ’98
1999
•ListedonthefirstsectionoftheTokyoStockExchange
2000
•Adoptedthecurrentlogo(CI)
Avex’s current logo
EXILE
“CATCHY
BEST”
Mar. 26, ’08
Namie Amuro
“BEST FICTION”
Jul. 30, ’08
•Celebratedthe20thanniversaryofAvexGroupwitha
numberofspecialevents
avex WORLD
AUDITION
2008
Blue Man Group
in Japan
©BMP
Red Cliff Part I
©2008 Three Kingdoms Ltd.
©Bai Xiaoyan
03
Semiannual Financial Highlights
Semiannual Financial Highlights
According to a sur vey by the Recording
Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), the
value of recorded music, including music
videos, produced during the period from April
2008 to September 2008 decreased by 1.9%
from the same period last year.
In the online distribution market, the most
recent data shows that sales for fee-based
online distribution during the period from
April 2008 to June 2008 increased by 27.7%
from the same period last year, according to
another RIAJ survey, indicating the expansion
of this market is continuing steadily.
RIAJ figures also indicate overall sales of
DVDs during the period from April 2008 to
September 2008 decreased by 6.2% from the
same period last year. Sales of next-generation
Blu-ray Discs, however, have been on the
increase, and the visual contents market is
expected to grow rapidly in the future.
Against this backdrop, driven by increased
sales of packaged music of major artists and
brisk sales of concer t merchandise, the
Group’s consolidated sales and operating
Consolidated Statement of Income
(Unit: millions of yen)
Reference: Interim period
ended September 30, 2007
From April 1, 2007
through September 30, 2007
Sales
45,545
Interim period ended
September 30, 2008
From April 1, 2008
through September 30, 2008
56,323
Consolidated Performance
■
37,022
16,056
19,301
40,000
14,835
16,226
30,000
4,878
4,908
824
851
Employee salaries and bonuses
2,827
2,977
Others
6,304
7,487
1,221
3,075
Non-operating revenues
110
59
Interest income
25
17
Dividend income
7
16
77
25
Non-operating expenses
835
1,080
Interest expenses
271
358
Investment loss by equity method
450
627
Others
113
94
497
2,054
Selling, general and administrative expenses
Advertising expenses
Sales promotion expenses
Operating income
Others
Ordinary income
Special profits
381
104
Gain on revision of previous year’s results
—
39
Gain on reversal of allowance for shareholder special benefit
—
29
Reversal of allowance for closing of businesses
142
—
Return of lease payments due to closing of busineses
113
—
Gain on adjustments to balance sheet accounts for the previous fiscal years
68
—
Others
56
34
Special losses
262
116
10,000
0
■
Operating Income
22nd Interim
Ordinary Income
3,075
3,000
2,500
2,054
2,000
1,221
1,500
1,000
500
0
■
497
435 386
20th Interim
21st Interim
22nd Interim
Interim Net Income/Interim Net Income Per Share
Interim Net Income
7
10
1,500
72
1,000
—
32
Interim Net Income Per Share
20 (yen)
10.91
468
500
67
0
Net income before income taxes and minority interests
615
2,041
0
Income taxes—current
151
1,198
-500
Income taxes—deferred
772
462
Minority shareholders’ income (loss)
(54)
(88)
(254)
468
04
21st Interim
3,500
186
Net income (loss)
20th Interim
Operating Income/Ordinary Income
Loss on revaluation of investment securities
Others
45,545
41,437
20,000
Loss on sale and disposition of fixed assets
Impairment losses
56,323
60,000
29,489
Gross profit
(Unit: millions of yen)
Sales
50,000
Cost of sales
income for the six months ended September
30, 2008 respectively stood at 56.323 billion
yen (a 23.7% increase on a year-on-year
ba s i s) an d 3.075 b illi o n ye n (a 151.8%
increase on a year-on-year basis).
-1,000
(523)
(12.19)
20th Interim
★ The accounting standards have changed since this consolidated accounting year. The figures for the previous terms are listed only for reference.
10
(254)
0
(5.92)
-10
21st Interim
22nd Interim
-20
22nd Semiannual Business Report
Consolidated Balance Sheet
(Unit: millions of yen)
Reference: End of the previous
consolidated accounting year
As of March 31, 2008
Reference: End of the previous
consolidated accounting year
End of this interim period
As of September 30, 2008
Assets
As of March 31, 2008
End of this interim period
As of September 30, 2008
Liabilities
Current assets
45,819
47,387
Current liabilities
40,117
38,078
Fixed assets
56,305
55,965
Long-term liabilities
29,194
32,830
35,004
35,058
Total liabilities
69,312
70,909
1,236
1,095
20,064
19,811
Property and equipment
Intangible fixed assets
Investments and other assets
Net assets
32,223
31,832
Common stock
4,229
4,229
Capital reserve
5,001
5,001
28,460
28,070
Shareholders’ equity
Accumulated earnings
(5,468)
Treasury stock
30
Net unrealized again on available-for-sale securities
112
173
Foreign currency translation adjustments
(82)
(103)
250
326
307
32,812
215
32,443
102,124
103,352
Stock warrants
Minority shareholders’ interests
Total net assets
■
103,352
102,124
Total assets
Total liabilities and net assets
Changes in Total Assets/Net Assets (Unit: millions of yen)
Total Assets
Net Assets
120,000
100,000
80,000
69
Changes in Net Assets Per Share (Unit: yen)
103,352
722.54
734.42
742.87
20th Interim
21st Interim
22nd Interim
600
82,318
60,000
40,000
■
800
98,167
(5,468)
Valuation and translation adjustments
400
31,137
32,100
32,443
200
20,000
0
0
20th Interim
21st Interim
22nd Interim
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
(Unit: millions of yen)
Interim period ended
September 30, 2007
From April 1, 2007
through September 30, 2007
(668)
Cash flow from operating activities
(396)
Cash flow from investing activities
1,734
Cash flow from financing activities
Foreign exchange differences on cash and cash equivalents
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents due to changes in the scope of consolidation
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the interim period
55
Interim period ended
September 30, 2008
From April 1, 2008
through September 30, 2008
730
(816)
2,538
(37)
724
2,416
6,371
10,093
(4)
7,091
—
12,509
★ The accounting standards have changed since this consolidated accounting year. The figures for the previous terms are listed only for reference.
05
Artists Managed by Avex Group
Ar tists M anag e d by Avex Group
T h e
F a c e s
Major artists managed by Avex Group, including CD releases and online distribution
(As of September 30, 2008) (In Japanese alphabetical order)
Kumiko Aizawa
Hisayo Inamori
Yusaku Kiyama
Seara Kojo
Kumi Koda
J-Min
Ami Suzuki
Satomi Takasugi
Tokyo Purin
TOHOSHINKI
hitomi
miray
LOVE
06
Tadashi Hirosawa
Shion Miyawaki
Artists for
whom Avex
Group
conducts
management
only
UZUMAKI
URATA NAOYA
Maki Goto
Makoto Saito
Kunio Tago
TRIPLANE
mink
2BACKKA
BRIGHT
m.o.v.e
Good Dog Happy Men
SEAMO
http://avexnet.jp/
Ai Otsuka
GIRL NEXT DOOR
THE LOOSE DOGS
SHORT LEG SUMMER
TRF
AAA
BOO BEE BENZ
★ For details, please refer to Avex’s entertainment portal website.
Every Little Thing
Tenjochiki
Do As Infinity
BoA
moumoon
TSUYOSHI
Ayumi Hamasaki
Hiroki Maekawa
MAY
nangi
Tomiko Van
misono
RUSHMORE
mihimaru GT
22nd Semiannual Business Report
Talents Managed by Avex Group
Ta l e n t s M a n a g e d b y A v e x G r o u p
T h e
F a c e s
Major artists and sports personalities managed by and contracted to Avex Group
(As of September 30, 2008)
Sports
&
Culture
Talents
Ami Suzuki
Shidou Nakamura
Koyuki
Shinobu Otake
Saki Takaoka
Ryo Ishibashi
Yuri Nakamura
Narumi Konno
Mitsuki Ooishi
Misako Uno
Miho Kanazawa
Hiroki Aiba
Aki Shibuya
Miho Sugiura
Maimi Okuwa
GIRL NEXT DOOR
Kazuma Yamane
Sawa Yamaguchi
Hiroya Matsumoto
Rina Okamoto
Rihoko Shimomiya
Tomokazu Yoshida
Erika
Ami Takeishi
Sairi Itoh
Shion Umezawa
Tohko Miura
(Child star)
(Child star)
Kumi Takeshita
Mai Masaki
Miro Ebato
Misaki Yonemura
Manami Enosawa
Mizuki Sashide
Ai Sugiura
(Newcomer)
(Newcomer)
(Newcomer)
(Newcomer)
(Newcomer)
ZOE
Rina Saito
Yurika Tanaka
Shota Miyazaki
Kazushi Murakami
(Newcomer)
(Newcomer)
(Newcomer)
(Newcomer)
(Newcomer)
★ For details, please refer to Avex’s talent portal website.
Hiroyasu Shimizu
(Speed skating)
Daisuke Miura
Fumie Suguri
(Professional baseball)
(Figure skating)
Yu Darvish
Yudai
(Professional baseball)
(Kickboxing)
Keisuke Honda
SEAN
(Soccer)
(Beach debut producer)
Sekijyo Kaneda
(Calligrapher)
http://aei-geinou.jp/index.html
07
Artists on the Avex Label
Artists on the Avex Label
T h e
F a c e s
Major artists whose CD releases and online distribution are managed by Avex Group
(As of September 30, 2008) (In Japanese alphabetical order)
Nanase Aikawa
AOKI takamasa
AFRA & INCREDIBLE BEATBOX BAND
RIKI
Hibiki Inamoto
AA=
08
Namie Amuro
Eriko Imai (elly)
Takako Uehara
EXILE
Acid Black Cherry
alan
ARIA
Aly & AJ
“E” qual
Yuko Ishida
AKINA
ala
Yuko Ando
UNCHAIN
Ak'SenT
AKANE
UKAWANIMATION!
NG HEAD
ASIA ENGINEER
m-flo
Itsco
ASIAN2
ELLIOTT YAMIN
Shinichi Osawa (MONDO GROSSO)
22nd Semiannual Business Report
Ari Onishi
OLIVIA
Hatsune Okumura
Ai Okumura
Natsu Kai
KATTENI-SHIYAGARE
Kei
kotringo
Aural Vampire
Lisa Ono
COLOR
camino
KAT
KIRITO
kiyo
CLARABELL
COIL
kannivalism
GANGA ZUMBA
Tsuyoshi Kawakami and His Moodmakers
Cutie Mommy
Ossan
Q;indivi
Caravan
Kumiko
Seikyo Kim
Katie Melua
Hideaki Konno
KEN THE 390
Misako Sakazume
Genki Rockets
Ryuichi Sakamoto
★ For details, please refer to Avex’s entertainment portal website.
Yutaka Sado
http://avexnet.jp/
09
Artists on the Avex Label
THE CHILL
The Phanky OKstra
Hitomi Shimatani
Jesse McCartney
the do-nuts
10
THE BOOM
shuji
SUGARCULT
the generous
GEORGE
sugiurumn
THE BLACK GHOSTS
ZAN
THE REBOOT
THE YOUNG PUNX!
Janne Da Arc
Swing Out Sister
THE BACILLUS BRAINS
schadaraparr
Shin Seung Hun
Jonas Brothers
JANEL
GTS
SUPER JUNIOR
C-999
J Soul Brothers
J
Jackson vibe
the pillows
JONTE
SPEECH
JAMOSA
sweetbox
SPEED
22nd Semiannual Business Report
SLY MONGOOSE
Katsunori Takahashi
Nobuyuki Tsujii
Seventh Tarz Armstrong
Tackey & Tsubasa
Tokyo 60 WATTS
Tiesto
Dream
Asako Toki
twenty4-7
Joji Tokoro
Soma
DA PUMP
D
DE DE MOUSE
TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
Tomita Lab
Song for Memories
Hiroshi Tamaki
Akira Terao
Dave Rodgers
DJ OZMA
D’ERLANGER
Nana Tanimura
Shinji Tanimura
Anna Tsuchiya
DJ EMMA
SOFFet
Sembello
Keisuke Toyama
★ For details, please refer to Avex’s entertainment portal website.
Demon Kogure
TOKYO No.1 SOUL SET
TRICERATOPS
http://avexnet.jp/
11
Artists on the Avex Label
dorlis
Ataru Nakamura
Natural Radio Station
BAZRA
HITOE
Fantastic Plastic Machine
V6
Miley Cyrus
12
Miyuki Hatakeyama
Vanilla Mood
BACK-ON
100s
Hilary Duff
5050
FERRY CORSTEN
PLAIN WHITE T’S
My Little Lover
Vanessa Hudgens
Mai Fukui
Fukumimi
PANG
Toko Furuuchi
MICRON’STUFF
BOREDOMS
MAX
Ai Haruna
FAT PROP
hiro/Coco d’Or
Nanase Hoshii
Noriyuki Makihara
Honey L Days
MASH
Ken Matsudaira
22nd Semiannual Business Report
Kazuyuki Matsumoto
Dan Miyakawa
you
Marie Digby
Alisa Mizuki
Daichi Miura
Kazufumi Miyazawa
MONKEY MAJIK
MEGARYU
Yokai Project
U-DOU & PLATY
RASCAL FLATTS
RYO the SKYWALKER
WRENCH
LISA
Lambsey
LOVEFIXER
Ryohei
Rockamenco
Yayoi
YOJI BIOMEHANIKA
Rickie-G
LEZ ZEPPELIN
LUNASEA
LOW IQ 01
Kayoko Mine
Yutaka Mizutani
YMCK
Remark Spirits
lecca
Leyona
Masaya Wada
★ For details, please refer to Avex’s entertainment portal website.
Luxis
Warp-generation
http://avexnet.jp/
13
Visual Works
V i s u a l
W o r k s
L i n e u p
The main visual works
“Red Cliff Part I”
A spectacular action adventure film
jointly produced by John Woo, the
director of “M:I-2,” and the “Pirates of
the Caribbean” team, this 1,800-yearold legend of love and courage has
finally been brought to the big screen.
Hollywood giant, John Woo, who also
directed the 10 billion-yen film, spent
“Sex and the City: The Movie”
18 years developing the concept. As a
result, despite those who said it would
be impossible to film, the Battle of Red
Clif f, the most famous bat tle in the
Three Kingdoms story, has been finally
been made into a movie that features
state-of-the-art technology and draws
upon the expertise of Hollywood’s best.
“Bad Love—Ai ni oborete”
The film based on wildly popular T V
series “Sex and the City,” which was
and still is beloved by women all over
the world and even extended beyond
the screen to become a kind of social
phenomenon. What happened to the
characters after the happy endings of
the final season? Four years after the
series end, the movie picks up the story
of the world’s four most famous New
Yorkers, featuring the original cast plus
Jennifer Hudson of “Dreamgirls.”
“Akaneiro ni Somaru Saka”
“Kafu wo Machiwabite (Waiting for Good News)”
(Korean TV drama)
(TV animation)
(Scheduled for theater release)
“Bad Love—Ai ni oborete”
is a new drama series which
s e e s Kwo n S a n g Wo o —
who achieved longstanding
popularity in the Korean TV
dramas “Stairway to
H e a v e n” a n d “ S a d L o v e
Story”—back in a starring
role af ter a three-year
break. The story follows the
lives of two men and a
woman as they attempt to
hold on to love they believe
in. Said to be the greatest story of love and hate in
history of Korean TV, it also features Kim Sung Soo
(“Full House”) and Lee Yo Won (“Surgeon Bong Dal
Hee”) and was written by Lee Yu Jin (“Phoenix”).
Sales of the original game reached
50,000 units and the animation was
the most reproduced video on the
“Nicor aji” sec tion of popular
Japanese video sharing website,
Nico Nico Douga. Firmly placed in
the “Tsundere” genre (a story that
has as its main protagonist an
archetypal Japanese character who
starts off with a conceited, spiky and
combative personality but eventually
discovers the value of modesty and
caring for others), this wildly popular
romantic adventure game became an animated TV series that scored a
huge coup when it landed Aya Hirano, Japan’s most popular anime
voice actor, and the reigning queen of Tsundere, Rie Kugimiya. A fresh,
new romantic comedy that follows the unique cast of characters
through their times of joy, sadness and (sometimes) delusion.
The Japan Love
Stor y Award cosponsored by TAKAR A JIM A S H A I n c .
and the Avex Group
is a literary award
that created a buzz
when it was launche d b y o f f er in g to
make the prizewinning work into a
film. The movie based on the first winner is finally about to
be released. “Kafu” means “good news” or “happiness” in
the dialect of Okinawa, where this moving story, likely to
bring a tear to the eye, is set. Cast members include Tetsuji
Tamayama, MAIKO, Ryo Katsuji, Saki Takaoka and Ikki
Sawamura.
“Shugotenshi (Guardian Angel)”
“Young@Heart”
(Scheduled for theater release)
(Released in theaters in November 2008)
This entertaining
film has been
brought to us by
the director and
team responsible
for the blockbuster film “Kisaragi.”
A lackluster
middle-aged
man falls in love
at first sight with
a neatly dressed high school girl on his way to work
one day. To protect her from the rampant evil in the
world, he transforms himself into a hero. Can he save
her? How will this romance play out? Cast members
include Cunning Takeyama, Kur anosuke S as ak i,
Shinjiro Atae (AAA), Shinobu Terashima.
“Young@Hear t”
is the story of a
chorus group
with the average
age of 80 based
in a small United
States city. The
twist? They
perform the
songs of rock
bands like
C o l d p l a y, S o n i c Yo u t h a n d R a d i o h e a d . T h i s
documentary focuses on the six weeks before the
groups’ big live concert and provides an inspiring
look into the world of a group of people who believe
“Singing is living, living is singing.” A feel-good movie
that has aroused a lot of attention.
14
★ For details, please refer to Avex’s visual works portal website.
http://avexmovie.jp/
©2008 Three Kingdoms Ltd. ©Bai Xiaoyan
SEX AND THE CITY TM is a registered trademark of Home
Box Office, Inc. Sex and the City ©2008 IFP Westcoast
Er ste GmbH & Co. KG.TM New Line Produc tions, Inc.
Supplementar y Material Compilation © 2008 New Line
Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. “Dolby” and the symbol
are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation.
©DRM Media, GOLDENTHUMB
©feng/Shiritsu Amitie Gakuen Tozanbu 2008
©2009 “Waiting for Goods News” production committee
©“Shugotenshi” production committee
©2008 Walker George Films (Young at Heart) Limited.
News & Topics
22nd Semiannual Business Report
N e w s & To p i c s
Plans for the launch of video content creation
and distribution services for mobile phones
in collaboration with NTT DOCOMO
The Avex Group and NTT DOCOMO INC. have
decided to establish a joint venture, Avex
B r o a d c a s t i n g & C o m m u n i c at i o n s I n c ., t o
develop video content and distribute it via
mobile phones.
The mobile phone has grown far beyond its
original role of a communic ations device,
becoming a personal media player for every day
use. M o bile c ontent, in c luding musi c and
games, forms a tremendous market. Demand
for video content is expected to grow sharply
with innovations in both telecommunications
infrastructure and handsets.
Existing video distribution business,
however, mainly deals with content developed
for cinema and DVD, with only a small amount
developed solely for the mobile platform. It can
therefore be said that the mobile video content
market is still in its early stages.
T h e n e w c o m p a ny w i l l c r e a t e c o n t e n t
primarily designed to be viewed on a small
screen, which assumes a viewing style that is
completely different to that adopted for the
existing video media such as film and television.
The medium by which the content is to be
viewed will inform everything from the planning,
scriptwriting, editing and filming.
Drawing up on Avex’s longstanding expertise
in video production combined with our
experience in ar tist management, the new
company will mainly create original musicrelated content featuring ar tists like Ayumi
Held the largest-ever General
Shareholders Meeting at
Saitama Super Arena
We held the 21st regular General Shareholders Meeting at Saitama Super Arena
(Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture) on June 22, 2008, with 8,910 shareholders
attending. This was the first time in Japan for a general shareholders meeting to
be held in such a large venue and records were broken for both the number of
participants and the attendance rate.
Following the meeting, a selection of Avex’s artists performed at a closed live
concert put on especially for shareholders. To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we
invited our shareholders to bring one companion to the concert, resulting in an
audience that numbered approximately 15,000. Performances were given by 12
artists, a record number for a closed live concert put on for shareholders. The
artists’ names were (in Japanese alphabetical order) Namie Amuro, alan, EXILE,
Ai Otsuka, Sekijyo Kaneda (calligraphist), Yusaku Kiyama, Kumi Koda, Maki
Goto, TRF, TOHOSHINKI, Noriyuki Makihara, and mihimaru GT.
In line with our previously expressed approach, that “we consider general
shareholders meetings to be valuable opportunities for dialogue between
shareholders and management and make special arrangements to ensure that
as many shareholders as possible can attend these meetings,” we have held all
of our regular general shareholders meetings on a Sunday since we went public
in 1998. This attitude, we believe, along with our other ongoing activities, has
resulted in the kind of comments as “A shareholders meeting on Sunday is
synonymous with Avex” and “Avex is a company that cares about each of its
shareholders.”
Hamasaki and EXILE. In addition, the company
has agreed to form par tner ships with five
companies, including Fuji Television Network
Inc., which will create content for viewing via
outlets other than their own. The joint venture
will actively seek the establishment of other
collaborative relationships with leading video
production partners for the creation of suitable
content.
Avex Broadcasting & Communications Inc.
will be established in February 2009 and the
service will be launched in March, 2009. The
new service will provide a completely new way
to enjoy video, so please watch out for it!
Tentative name of the new service: BeeTV
Namie Amuro
Kumi Koda
EXILE
Regular shareholders meeting
15
News & Topics
Commemorating 20 years
of Avex with musical
“Kokoro no Kakera”
As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, Avex Group staged
an original musical “Kokoro no Kakera” at Aoyama Theater in
Tokyo in the second half of September 2008.
Avex c o n s o l i d ate d i t s ex p er i e n c e a n d e n h a n c e d i t s
capabilities in concert production with the establishment in April
2005 of Avex Live Creative Inc., which specializes in the
planning, production and staging of concerts and other events.
The Group has also been exploring other possibilities in the area
of live entertainment, for example, by bringing popular Broadway
entertainers the Blue Man Group to Asia for the first time.
“ Kokoro no Kakera” was d evelo ped and stag ed as a
celebration of Avex Group’s unique character and history. With a
cast that included Ami Suzuki and Takahiro Nishijima of AAA
along with other Avex artists, the performance featured many of
the hit songs that have been released by the Group over the last
20 years.
In these days where digital reigns supreme, Avex Group will
continue to bring audiences the fun and excitement of live
entertainment.
One-night revival of
JULIANA’S TOKYO
On September 6, 2008, JULIANA’S TOKYO, the legendary nightclub that
commanded the city’s dance scene in the early 1990s, was revived for one
night at Differ Ariake in Ariake, Tokyo. The event titled “CLUB LEGEND” was
staged as part of a special project by Avex Group to celebrate the great
dance spots of days past by staging one-night
revivals at various Tokyo venues. JULIANA’S
TOKYO was chosen to launch the project, with
similar revivals planned for other clubs including
Twin Star and MAHARAJA.
The original look was recreated both inside
and outside the venue, with a stage, chandeliers
and stunning entrance. The event attracted
around 13,000 guests, dressed in skimpy outfits
and holding colorful retro “JULI-sen” fans. With
eager partygoers lining up to get in even before
the doors opened, unfortunately some had to be
turned away due to lack of space.
Avex will help keep Tokyo’s dance music
scene pumping with various other projects and
events in the future.
Avex China’s Guan Zhe performed
at the Closing Ceremony of the
Beijing Olympic Games
Guan Zhe, an artist signed with our Beijing-based subsidiary, Avex China Co.,
Ltd., had the honor of singing four songs at the Closing Ceremony of the Beijing
Olympics. He was joined onstage by a popular female Chinese singer.
Guan Zhe, who hails from Jilin Province, signed his first contract with Avex
China in 2008 and released his debut CD in
April of that year. One of the songs on that
CD was submitted to the Beijing Olympic
Songs project organized by the Beijing
Organizing Committee for the Games of the
XXIX Olympiad to select performers for the
Closing Ceremony. Guan Zhe was selected
from out of 70,000 applications for the
quality of both his song and voice.
The two songs performed at the
ceremony, “ Beijing Zhu Fu Ni ” (Beijing
Blesses You) and “Beijing, Beijing, Wo Ai
Beijing” (Beijing, Beijing, I Love Beijing)
were writ ten by the singer, with music
c omposed by music al ad viser to Avex
China, Keisuke Kikuchi, a producer and
composer who is active in the Chinese
music industry.
16
Avex established a film fund
with Media Asia, a leading
Hong Kong film studio
In August 2008, the Avex Group established a film fund to
produce films for the Asian market, including the growing
Chinese market, in par tnership with Media Asia
Enter tainment Group, one of Hong Kong’s leading film
production and distribution companies.
With the growing acceptance in Asia and East Asian
countries in particular—including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
South Korea and Japan—of the entertainment produced by
their neighbors, cross-border hits have been produced in the
areas of music and film among others.
Against this background, we have adopted a
co-production model as the core strategy of our international
visual content business, with the aim of producing pan-Asian
hits in collaboration with influential partners in various
regions. As part of our efforts under this strategy, we have
also set up a film fund in collaboration with one of Asia’s top
film producers, Bill Kong, in March 2008 to provide support
for up-and-coming directors. In addition, we plan to secure a
base in Hong Kong—arguably the heart of the Asian film
industry—from which to co-produce films that have a wide
appeal to Asian audiences in partnership with the Media Asia
Group, one of the most powerful and influential entertainment
groups in Greater China.
Outline of the Company
22nd Semiannual Business Report
Outline of the Company
(As of September 30, 2008)
Company Outline
Corporate name
Website
Avex Group Holdings Inc.
Head office location
3-1-30 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8577
Date of establishment
April 11, 1988
Capital
¥4,229.6 million
Number of employees
Company Information
Entertainment Information
http://www.avex.co.jp/
http://avexnet.jp/
For more information on Avex Group Holdings
Inc., group companies, press releases, and
financial statements, visit the above URL.
For entertainment information, such as Avex
artists and online distribution of music and visual
content, please visit the above URL.
178 (1,322 employees within the Avex Group)
Note: Temporary employees are not included in the number of employees.
Avex Group’s organizational chart (As of November 1, 2008)
Board of directors
Takashi Araki
COO, Senior Executive Director
Toshio Kobayashi
CFO, Senior Managing Director
Shinji Hayashi
CIO, Senior Managing Director
Hiroshi Inagaki
Managing Director
Hisahiko Iida
Managing Director
Hajime Taniguchi
Managing Director
Katsuro Oshita
Managing Director
Hiroyuki Kishi
Managing Director
Shin Ushijima
Outside Director
Minoru Onozato
Outside Director
Nobuo Kawakami
Outside Director
Shinkichi Iwata
Full-time Auditor
Kenji Nomura
Full-time Auditor
Toshiaki Katsushima
Outside Auditor
Akihiro Tamaki
Outside Auditor
Operating officers
Domestic consolidated subsidiaries
Co-CEO
Akihiro Terada
Tomoaki Sato
Yuko Suzuki
Masahiro Anan
Midea Inc.
PiX Inc.
Avex Marketing Inc.
Para. TV Inc.
Hatch Entertainment Inc.
Avex Live Creative Inc.
Avex Planning & Development Inc.
Avex Management Service Inc.
Avex Asia Holdings Limited
Label Mobile Inc.
Kenzo Katakura
Takahiro Miura
Velfarre Entertainment Inc.
Foreign consolidated subsidiaries
Ryuhei Chiba
Associated companies
CEO
Avex Group Holdings Inc.
Masato Matsuura
Avex Entertainment Inc.
Avex Hong Kong Limited
Avex Taiwan Inc.
Avex China Co., Limited
Avex Hawaii, Inc.
Memory-Tech Corporation
avex & East, Inc.
Dwango Co., Ltd.
Chengtian Entertainment Group (International) Holding Company Limited
17
Stock Data
Stock Data
(AsofSeptember30,2008)
Top Ten Shareholders
Stock Information
Authorizednumberofshares
184,631,000 shares
Number of shares outstanding
46,157,810 shares
Oneunitofshares
100 shares
Note: The company owns 3,213,034 treasury shares, and the number of outstanding
shares (excluding treasury shares) is 42,944,776.
Number of Shareholders
Shareholder’s name
Number of Shares
The Master Trust Bank of Japan, Ltd. (Trust account)
3,074,600 shares
Masato Matsuura
2,244,824 shares
ToshioKobayashi
2,244,818 shares
DeutscheBankAGLondon610
1,405,179 shares
Max2000Inc.
1,150,000 shares
T’SCapitalInc.
1,150,000 shares
JapanTrusteeServicesBank,Ltd.(Trustaccount)
1,023,000 shares
45,000
40,716 40,649
40,000
33,810
35,000
30,000
35,382
26,233 25,593
BankofNewYorkGCMClientAccountJPRDACISG(FE-AC)
966,000 shares
DaiichikoshoCo.,Ltd.
920,000 shares
JapanTrusteeServicesBank,Ltd.(Trustaccount4G)
919,400 shares
25,000
Notes:
•Inadditiontotheabovetable,thereare3,213,034treasuryshares(6.96%)ownedbytheCompany.
•CEOMasatoMatsuuraandSeniorManagingDirectorToshioKobayashiserveasrepresentative
directorsofMax2000Inc.andT’SCapitalInc.,respectively.
20,000
15,000
Number of Shareholders and Shares by Region
10,000
5,000
Total 40,649
46,157,810 shares
0
Mar. 2006 Sep. 2006 Mar. 2007 Sep. 2007 Mar. 2008 Sep. 2008
Overseas
107
0.26%
6,428,344 shares 13.93%
Distribution of Shareholding
[Number of
shareholders]
1
0.00%
Domestic financial
institutions
52
0.13%
Financial operators
35
0.09%
Domestic corporations
203
0.50%
Foreign investors
129
0.32%
40,229
98.97%
Treasury stock
3,213,034
6.96%
Domestic securities
companies
9,653,868
20.91%
Financial
operators
1,210,013
2.62%
Domestic
corporations
3,973,204
8.61%
Foreign investors
6,485,795
14.05%
Japanese individuals
21,621,896
Total 46,157,810 shares and others
46.84%
Total 40,649
[Number of shares]
18
Treasury stock
Japanese individuals
and others
Tohoku region
918
2.26%
291,346 shares 0.63%
Hokkaido region
457
1.12%
144,477 shares 0.31%
Chubu region
5,806
14.28%
1,958,852 shares 4.24%
Chugoku region
1,571
3.86%
572,322 shares 1.24%
Kanto region
54.27%
22,059
32,911,172 shares 71.30%
Kyushu region
1,445
3.55%
491,951 shares 1.07%
Shikoku region
Kinki region
2.30%
936
7,350
18.08%
471,034 shares 1.02% 2,888,312 shares 6.26%
Shareholder Memo
22nd Semiannual Business Report
Shareholder Memo
Memo for Shareholders
●
Accountig year
April 1 to March 31 of the following year
●
Date for determining shareholders eligible for year-end dividend receipt
March 31
●
Date for determining shareholders eligible for interim dividend receipt
September 30
●
Regular general shareholders meeting
June of each year
●
Administrator of shareholder registry
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation
●
Contact
Corporate Agency Division, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp.
7-10-11 Higashisuna, Koto-ku, Tokyo 137-8081 TEL: 0120-232-711 (toll free)
●
Share transfer agents
Branches of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp. (Please refer to the following notice.)
For request for forms concerning shares
Please go to the website or call the 24-hour number below to request a form for procedures related to shareholdings, such as
notification of a change of registered address, etc., instructions for a dividend transfer or request to purchase odd-lot shares. Please
note that following the implementation of the electronic share certificate system, only requests for forms for procedures relating to
shares kept in a “tokubetsu kouza” (special account) will be responded to.
TEL: 0120-244-479 (toll free) http://www.tr.mufg.jp/daikou/
●
Stock exchange where Avex stock is listed
First Section of Tokyo Stock Exchange (Security code No. 7860)
●
Media where stock information is posted
Via on-line notification
URL where stock information is posted:
http://www.avex.co.jp/
(Stock information is posted in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper in the event of
accidents or other unavoidable incidents that make on-line notification impossible.)
(Notice) Regarding the share transfer agents of the administrator of the shareholder registry
Following the implementation of the electronic share certificate system, the various procedures related to shareholder transactions
will be conducted, in principle, by the securities company with which you have an account. For this reason, the system of share
transfer agents of the administrator of the shareholder registry will be terminated when the new system is launched.
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, our shareholder registry administrator, will continue to distribute dividends which
have not yet been received from its head and branch offices.
Important Information Concerning the Implementation of the Electronic
Share Certificate System to Be Enforced on January 5, 2009
1. Special account
(1) Recording of account balances in a special account
Shares owned by shareholders who do not use the central securities custody and book-entry transfer system (JASDEC) will be
recorded in a special account to be opened at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking. (This is scheduled to be conducted on January 26,
2009). Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking will send a notice of the number of shares recorded in the special account and other details to
each shareholder’s registered address sometime around mid-February 2009.
(2) Procedures concerning shares recorded in a special account
Following the implementation of the electronic share certificate system, you are requested to direct all inquiries regarding procedures
concerning shares recorded in special accounts, such as request for transfer to a shareholder’s account, request for purchase of odd-lot
shares, notification of change of registered address and instructions for a dividend transfer to the account manager (Mitsubishi UFJ
Trust and Banking) at the contact given below. Procedures relating to special accounts will be carried out by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and
Banking at its head office and branch offices throughout the country.
(3) Special account manager
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, as our shareholder registry administrator, will act as the account manager of special
accounts.
●
Account manager
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation 1-4-5 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
●
Contact
Corporate Agency Division, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp.
7-10-11 Higashisuna, Koto-ku, Tokyo 137-8081 TEL: 0120-232-711 (toll free)
(4) Commencement date of procedures undertaken by the manager of special accounts
Please note that requests and notifications concerning shares recorded in special accounts, such as request for a transfer to a
shareholder’s account and request for purchase of odd-lot shares, will be accepted after Monday, January 26, 2009.
2. Registration of shareholder names and addresses
If shareholder names and addresses include kanji characters not specified by JASDEC, all or part of such names or addresses will be
replaced with characters specified by JASDEC and registered as such on the list of shareholders. Please note that in these cases the
characters specified by JASDEC will be used when addressing notices to be sent to shareholders.
<Reference>
For more information on the electronic share certificate system, please refer to the Q&A section of the Reform Promotion Center For Securities
Clearing and Settlement System website (http://www.kessaicenter.com/kaikaku/kabuken10aa.pdf).
If you cannot find the information you need or have specific inquiries, please contact the electronic share certificate system call center.*
TEL: 0120-77-0915 (toll free, weekdays and Saturdays from 9:00 to 17:00)
* The electronic share certificate system call center is a consultation service jointly provided by JASDEC, Japan Securities Dealers Association and Tokyo Stock Exchange Group, Inc.
ART DIRECTOR & DESIGNER Masaki Maekawa Design Office EDITOR AVEX PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT INC. PRINTING DIRECTOR TAKARA PRINTING CO.,LTD.
©AVEX GROUP HOLDINGS INC.
19
Avex Group Holdings Inc.
22nd Semiannual Business Report
From April 1, 2008 to September 30, 2008
Avex Group Holdings Inc.
©avex
marketing
Avex bldg.,
3-1-30 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 107-8577 Japan
URL http://www.avex.co.jp/
● Inquiries about this booklet
This booklet uses soybean oil ink
certified by the American Soybean
Association.
Stock Affairs Section,
Group Administration Headquarters
0120-39-8550 (Weekdays: 10:00 to 18:00)