Dropping the needle…
Index
The companies, imprints and artist-run labels that released the music. Each article lists the label’s records in the catalogue.
Founded 1974 (first releases April 1975)
ナイアガラ・レーベル
Niagara Records is the personal label of Eiichi Ohtaki. Its first release, Sugar Babe’s Songs (1975), and Ohtaki’s A Long Vacation (1981) bookend the birth of city pop.
Founded 1969 (as Alfa Music); record label from 1977
アルファレコード
Alfa Records was the Tokyo label founded by composer-producer Kunihiko Murai, home to Yellow Magic Orchestra, Casiopea and Minako Yoshida, and one of the most influential studios and labels of the city pop era.
Founded 1982
MOON RECORDS
Moon Records is the label founded in 1982 by former RVC director Riuzo Kosugi, which released Tatsuro Yamashita’s Melodies and Mariya Takeuchi’s Variety and remains their home today.
Founded c. 1980
AIR
Air Records was an imprint of RVC that released Tatsuro Yamashita’s commercial breakthrough Ride on Time (1980) and the early albums of Kingo Hamada and Yurie Kokubu.
Founded 1975
フォーライフ・レコード
For Life Records was founded in 1975 by four of Japan’s leading singer-songwriters, a landmark of artist-owned labels in the new music era.
Founded 1970s
キティ・レコード
Kitty Records was the music arm of Hidenori Taga’s Kitty group, home to Masayoshi Takanaka’s run of hit instrumental albums from 1976 to 1984.
Founded 1 March 1970
PANAM
Panam is Nippon Crown’s folk and new music label, launched in 1970. It released Taeko Ohnuki’s first two solo albums, including the city pop landmark Sunshower (1977), and Shigeru Suzuki’s Band Wagon.
Founded 1978
イーストワールド
Eastworld is a label founded by Toshiba EMI in 1978, which released records by city pop artists including Kingo Hamada in the mid-1980s.
Founded 1968
CBS・ソニー
CBS/Sony was a Tokyo record company founded in March 1968 as a 50/50 joint venture between Sony and the American CBS to release CBS music in Japan; it is the forerunner of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan).
Founded 1960
東芝EMI
Toshiba EMI was a Japanese record company, founded in 1960 as Toshiba Musical Industries, whose roster included the Express label and Yumi Matsutoya.
Founded 1972
ビクターエンタテインメント
Victor Entertainment is a Japanese record company founded on 25 April 1972 as Victor Musical Industries, a music subsidiary spun off from JVC; Invitation is among its labels.
Founded 1931
キングレコード
King Records is a Japanese record company founded in January 1931 as a division of the publisher Kodansha; it released Haruomi Hosono’s Hosono House through its Bellwood imprint.
Founded 1966
ポニーキャニオン
Pony Canyon is a Japanese record and video company formed on 21 October 1987 by the merger of Pony Inc. and Canyon Records, both offshoots of Nippon Broadcasting System.
Founded 1910
日本コロムビア
Nippon Columbia is a Japanese record company founded on 1 October 1910 as Nipponophone, and one of the oldest labels in Japan.
Founded 21 September 1975
RVC
RVC was the Japanese joint venture of RCA Records and Victor, founded in 1975 to run the RCA label in Japan. Its RCA imprint launched the solo careers of Tatsuro Yamashita and Mariya Takeuchi.
Founded 24 January 1981
バップ
Vap is a record and video company founded in 1981 with investment from Nippon Television. In the 1980s it was home to Kiyotaka Sugiyama & Omega Tribe and the idol Momoko Kikuchi.
Founded 11 November 1970
ワーナー・パイオニア
Warner-Pioneer was the Japanese arm of Warner Bros., founded in 1970 as a joint venture with Pioneer and Watanabe Production. From the 1980s it distributed Tatsuro Yamashita and Mariya Takeuchi, and it became Warner Music Japan in 1991.
Founded August 1978
EPIC・ソニー
Epic/Sony was CBS/Sony’s sister company, founded in 1978, whose roster included Chanels (later Rats & Star), Misato Watanabe and Senri Oe. It survives as the Epic Records Japan imprint of Sony Music Labels.
Founded 30 May 1927
ポリドール
Polydor is one of Japan’s oldest record brands, dating from 1927; as Polydor K.K. under PolyGram from 1971 it released Yōsui Inoue, Kenji Sawada and Kōji Kikkawa, and is today part of Universal Music Japan.
Founded April 1984
ファンハウス
Fun House was a record company founded in 1984 by former Toshiba EMI director Kazunaga Nitta, initially wholly owned by Toshiba EMI.
Founded 1987
NECアベニュー
NEC Avenue was the NEC group’s record and game company (1987–1999), known for game soundtracks as well as idol and new music releases by artists including Junko Yagami and Shinji Harada.