Avex Japan

Avex Group Holdings Inc.

Native name	エイベックス・グループ・ホールディングス株式会社
Type	Public KK Industrial keiretsu
Traded as	: : AX8
Industry	Music Entertainment Information Communication
Genre	Music Record Label (J-pop, Eurobeat and others)
Founded	April 11, 1988 (as Avex DD Inc.)*
Founder	Max Matsuura
Headquarters	36th Floor, Izumi Garden Tower, 6-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan 106-6036
Area served	worldwide, especially Asia
Key people	Max Matsuura (CEO)
Products	CDs DVDs
Revenue	169,256 million yen
Net income	8,611 million yen
Owner	The Master Trust Bank of Japan (4.69%) Max 2000, Inc. (4.44%) T's Capital Co., Ltd. (4.44%)
Number of employees	1,423 (as of the end of September 2014)
Subsidiaries	see Subsidiaries
Website	www.avex.co.jp

Avex Group Holdings Inc. is an entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Avex (short for audio visual expert) became the leading dance music company during the 1990s and continues to produce and manage some of Japan’s highest selling solo j-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen). It is the biggest holistic entertainment company in Japan and although driven mainly by producing music, they have also shifted into other business domains like anime, video games and live music events like partnering with Ultra Music Festival and hosting the annual A-nation.

Avex is an acronym of the English words Audio Visual Expert. Since its foundation, its corporate name was Avex D.D., Incorporated, and ten years later it was changed to Avex, Incorporated.

The current name, Avex Group Holdings, Incorporated, was adopted in 2004 as part of reconstruction process after Tom Yoda's resignation. Avex Group Holdings, Incorporated was used for the main subsidiaries, while the old name (Avex, Incorporated) was for entertainment components of the Group.

In 2005, Avex, Incorporated became Avex Entertainment, Incorporated, and stayed on as part of the Group.

Avex was registered June 1, 1973 as Avex DD Incorporated (エイベックス・ディー・ディー株式会社, Eibekkusu Di Di Kabushiki Gaisha), although it did not become established until 1988. They began as a CD wholesaler based in Machida, Tokyo. In September 1990, they opened a recording studio and created Avex Trax as a music label. In the same year, they created "Musique Folio Inc.", a music publishing company, which became "Prime Direction Inc."

In 1993, they transferred to Aoyama, Tokyo and created a U.S. branch, called "AV Experience America Inc." The year also marked the first of Avex's yearly events. It was held in Tokyo Dome under the name "avex rave '93" and attracted 50,000 attendees. This marked the foundation of the Cutting Edge label.