Sony 2001 Annual Report Download - page 38

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Sony Corporation Annual Report 2001
36
INTERNATIONAL GROWTH
SMEI extended its presence in China, Egypt, and Lebanon, and enjoyed success fueled by global bestsellers
and regional hits from artists such as Sheila On 7 and the
Raju Chacha
and
Zubeida
soundtracks (Asia); a1,
Adriano Celetano, Creed, Julio Iglesias, and La Oreja de Van Gogh (Europe); and Roberto Carlos, Chayanne,
Ricky Martin, and Son By Four (Latin America).
CLASSICAL NOTES
Charlotte Church’s
Dream a Dream
and
A Three Tenors Christmas
were global bestsellers. Sony Classical
won its fourth consecutive Academy Award® for Sony Classical artist Tan Dun’s score to Sony Pictures
Classics’ film,
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
, which featured cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
MUSIC PUBLISHING
Sony/ATV Music Publishing benefited from owning 22 of 27 copyrights on the Beatles album
1
, which sold
over 20 million units, and acquired the Web IV catalogue. Administration agreements were signed with The
Disney Company’s film and television catalogues and those of Omar Alfanno, Destiny’s Child, Stevie Nicks,
Cat Stevens, Stephen Stills, and The Song Corp.
SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (JAPAN) INC. (SMEJ) [Eiji Kishi, Chief Executive Officer &
Representative Director]
SMEJ is taking decisive actions to improve its operating efficiency by closely managing expenses connected
with artist development and marketing activities. During the year under review, Japanese artists
L’Arc~en~Ciel, Shogo Hamada, and Ken Hirai recorded hit releases. In the area of non-Japanese artists, hit
releases included those by Aerosmith and Offspring, as well as two works conceived and produced in Japan
by SMEJ,
image
and
MAX BEST
. Regarding SMEJ’s results, sales for the year decreased, primarily due to
lower sales reflecting the delay of releases from certain artists. However, gains in operating efficiency, as
well as the above hits, led to a noticeable improvement in operating income.
In December 1999, SMEJ began selling music through its fee-based “bitmusic” internet site, and a new
service was launched during the year under review to further enlarge sales channels. Customers can now
download titles to MDs from terminals located in record stores and convenience stores.
SMEJ will continue to work on increasing sales of music in traditional packaged formats while also
pursuing growth opportunities in electronic distribution channels.