New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Downtown
Music Publishing, a leading music rights management company, continues growing its international footprint with the launch of Downtown
Music Japan, Inc. Based in Tokyo, the new company will focus on signing and developing Japanese songwriters, artists and producers, marketing and promoting Downtown's substantial English-catalog, and more efficiently collecting songwriting royalties from the world's second largest music market.
Overseeing the expansion is Downtown's International A&R Director, Taeko Saito, who joined the company in 2015 in Los Angeles, and will also serve as Creative
Director of Downtown
Music Japan. The company has appointed Rika Yasumoto as Creative Manager at the company's new office in Tokyo's Roppongi district. Yasumoto was previously a manager at Rising Productions where she was responsible for the creative direction of Japan's biggest pop star, Namie Amuro.
The expansion comes with news of Downtown
Music Japan entering into a strategic partnership with Avex
Music Publishing, a division of Avex Group Holdings Inc, the largest music company in Japan. As a part of this agreement, Avex will collaborate on creative and administrative services with Downtown Japan.
On the expansion of Downtown
Music Japan, Downtown's CEO Justin Kalifowitz said "The Japanese music industry is going through an extraordinary transition and there's never been a more exciting time to enter the market. We're thrilled about our new partnership with Avex and delighted to have such a talented creative executive like Rika joining our team."
On the partnership, President of Avex
Music Publishing Inc., Mashiro Anan said "By synergizing Downtown's capability of creating top notch music content, massive catalog and insight of rights management based on advanced IT systems, together with Avex's experience with nearly three decades in the Japanese entertainment business, is to achieve shared business goals and expand together."
A first of many success stories, Downtown
Music Japan has hit the ground running with its first spot for major Japanese automobile corporate Suzuki's new Swift car campaign rollout featuring Zedd's "
Beautiful Now" co-written by Downtown songwriter and producer Antonina Armato of Rock Mafia.
Downtown's launch in Japan represents one of the first global music publishers to expand directly into the market in recent years. Globally, Downtown and its technology platform, Songtrust, powers royalty collection from over 100 countries and more than 20,000 unique income sources worldwide. Through its partnership with Avex and its internal capabilities, the company will now provide its clients with a best-in-class copyright management solution in Japan.
About Downtown
Music Publishing
Founded in 2007, Downtown
Music Publishing is one of the world's leading rights-management firms, headquartered in New York with offices in Nashville, Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam and Tokyo. The company's catalog spans over seven decades of popular music, encompassing some of the world's most beloved songwriters and artists including The Beatles,
John Lennon & Yoko Ono, The Kinks, Cy Coleman, Hans Zimmer, Bruce Springsteen, Motley Crue, Social Distortion, One Direction, Benny Blanco, Sturgill Simpson, and Carla Bruni. The company's technology platform, Songtrust, powers global royaly collection from over 100 countries and more than 20,000 unique income sources worldwide.
