Believe Japan and Teichiku Entertainment staff. Photo Credit: Believe
Believe is continuing to expand in Japan, where it and Teichiku Entertainment have finalized a “comprehensive” distribution agreement.
Paris-headquartered Believe and Tokyo-based Teichiku Entertainment unveiled their “landmark” pact this morning. Founded over 90 years back, Teichiku operates a main namesake label as well as a number of sub-labels, its website shows.
Consequently, the overarching Teichiku (technically a subsidiary of karaoke business Xing Inc., itself owned by printer company Brother) has released projects from domestically prominent artists like Sayuri Ishikawa, Cynhn, and Naoki Sanada, to name a few.
Now, Believe is handling distribution “both locally and worldwide” across “Teichiku’s entire catalog.”
The tie-up, Believe indicated in more words, will aim to help the relevant works find new fans on the global stage – while simultaneously accelerating Teichiku’s “digital shift” in the physical-heavy Japanese music space.
“Our mission now is to bring our extensive catalog of hit songs beyond Japan’s borders and also contribute to the success of J-POP on a global scale,” Teichiku Entertainment president and CEO Hideki Kurita added in part.
“Over the past year, we have been exploring distribution services to strengthen our global and digital strategies. We were particularly drawn to Believe’s global track record and passion, which we are confident will support our ambitious goals,” Kurita proceeded.
And in remarks of her own, Believe Japan GM Erika Ogawa-Arai struck an optimistic tone with regard to “Teichiku’s digital transformation.”
“Teichiku’s digital transformation strategy is not a surface-level effort.—it is being fundamentally driven across all levels of the company, from leadership to operational teams,” the Believe Japan exec added in part, pointing as well to anticipated “highly fruitful outcomes.”
For the (pretty-much-private) Believe, which posted a solid profit boost during 2024, the move marks the latest in a line of expansion initiatives.
When it comes to Japan in particular, the TuneCore parent established its Tokyo headquarters in October 2023 and rolled out a Japanese hip-hop imprint called Playcode in February 2024.
Unsurprisingly, different industry players are likewise looking to pick up the commercial pace in Japan. Despite experiencing a small recorded-revenue contraction last year, the nation remains the world’s second-largest music market.
To be sure, Warner Music Japan in December 2024 kicked off its “full-scale entry into” anime music with an NBCUniversal Japan deal. And just three months into 2025, things don’t appear to be slowing down in this area.
February alone saw Universal Music scoop up a majority interest in A-Sketch, and Warner Music/10K signed J-pop act Psychic Fever to a global deal. Also during the year’s shortest month, Hybe, eyeing bolstered international results, officially rebranded its Japanese division as YX Labels.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.