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Avex Trax
Parent company	Avex Inc.
Founded	September 1990; 34 years ago (September 1990)
Founder	Max Matsuura
Distributor(s)	Avex Music Creative (Avex Inc.) (since 1997) Former distributors SOHBI Corporation [ja] (1990–1992) Nippon Crown Co. Ltd. (1992–1997)
Genre	Various (mostly J-pop and Dance)
Country of origin	Japan
Location	Minato, Tokyo
Official website	www.avexnet.jp

Avex Trax (Japanese: エイベックス トラックス, Hepburn: Eibekkusu Torakkusu) is a record label owned by Japanese entertainment conglomerate Avex Inc. The label was launched in September 1990, and was the first label by the Group.

History

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Two years after Max Matsuura began a career distributing studio albums from other countries, he and his two Avex co-founders, Tom Yoda and Ken Suzuki, decided to found their own label. Aiming to compete with more established labels such as Nippon Columbia, Nippon Crown, BMG Victor, Victor Musical Industries, Toshiba-EMI, CBS/Sony, Teichiku Records, King Records, Nippon Phonogram and PolyGram K.K., they created the Avex Trax label.

The first artist to sign to the label was the band TRF, which became a success. This led to Avex Trax becoming a "house of refuge" for artists who had left their former labels (e.g. Ayumi Hamasaki, Namie Amuro, Ami Suzuki). It also appealed to artists not content with their current labels (e.g. Gackt).

Formerly distributed by the Nippon Crown label, excluding several early releases from 1990 to 1992 which were distributed by Sohbi Corporation [ja], in 1997 Avex became a self-distributed label together with Cutting Edge, which was formerly distributed by Toshiba-EMI.

Sub-labels

Current

• B-ME – joint venture with BMSG [ja]
• Bluestar Records (Since 2019) – formerly a sub-label of Cutting Edge
• Love Life Records – Hitomi's private label
• motorod (Since 2002) – formerly a sub-label of Cutting Edge
• 影別苦須 虎津苦須 – Kishidan's vanity label

Defunct

• J-Friends Project (1997–2003) – joint venture with Johnny & Associates

Notable artists

Labels

B-ME

• Be First
• Novel Core
• Sky-Hi

Bluestar Records

• MASH [ja]

Love Life Records

• Hitomi

motorod

• Nanase Aikawa

影別苦須 虎津苦須

• Kishidan

Former artists

Groups

• AAA
• After School
• SweetS

Soloists

• Sae Ōtsuka
• Hitomi Shimatani
• Namie Amuro

J-Friends Project

• J-Friends

motorod

• Dead End
• Janne Da Arc
• Oblivion Dust

Notes

1. ^ Japanese distribution

References

1. "Avex Group | About Avex Group | History". Avex Inc. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
2. "なぜ浜崎あゆみは平成で最も売れた女性歌手になったのか...ファンの心を一気につかんだラジオ番組での告白 若さ特有の孤独や不安を､歌に昇華させた". President Online (プレジデントオンライン) (in Japanese). 2023-11-16. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
3. "業界は冷ややか...安室奈美恵"エイベックス移籍"の全舞台裏". 日刊ゲンダイDigital. 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
4. "鈴木亜美のプロフィール・作品情報". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-17.
5. "Gackt、エイベックスへの移籍を発表". BARKS (in Japanese). 2010-04-17. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
6. "SOHBI Corporation (Label)". Discogs. Retrieved April 15, 2023.

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Parent Company website (in Japanese)
• Avex Trax discography at Discogs
• Avex Trax at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

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