Sony 2003 Annual Report Download - page 40

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Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) (SMEJ)
Even as Japan’s recorded music market continued to shrink, SMEJ kept its number-one position.
Highlighting the year’s accomplishments were dramatic successes in the development of new artists.
CHEMISTRY’s Second to None was Japan’s best-selling album of the year, while Mika Nakashima’s
first album, TRUE, hit the million mark shortly following its release. Furthermore, Chitose Hajime, said
to have a voice that only comes along once in a century, has been generating strong sales for a long
time with her debut album, Wadatsumi no Ki.
SMEJ also retained an aggressive stance regarding new business development. In 1999, SM EJ was
first in its industry to launch an Internet music download site, using the brand name “ bitmusic,” that
protects copyrighted material. Sales through “ bitmusic” have been rising in step w ith the growth of
broadband services in Japan. Building upon this network-based music distribution service, in January
2003, SM EJ began selling Labelgate CDs designed specifically for the demands of a network-based
society. Breaking new ground again, SMEJ in December 2002 launched Chaku-Uta, the world’s first
service dedicated to selling music created by artists specifically for the ringtones of mobile phones.
Downloads of SMEJ songs from this site cumulative to M arch 31, 2003 surpassed 1.5 million. The
success of this service has attracted attention not only from other members of the music industry but
from the IT industry as well.
http://ww w.sonymusic.co.jp/eng/
Sony Corporation Annual Report 200338
CHEMISTRY Chitose Hajime Mika Nakashima