Avex Group

Avex Inc. (エイベックス株式会社, commonly known as Avex) is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate founded on April 11, 1988, by Max Matsuura, Tom Yoda, and Ken Suzuki. The name is an acronym for Audio Visual EXpert. The company began as a wholesale distributor of imported records operating out of a Machida apartment block called Sky Palace Machida, and built its early business importing dance music from Europe and the United States at a time when that catalogue had almost no formal distribution in Japan. The label arm, Avex Trax, launched in September 1990 and became the vehicle through which Avex broke domestic Japanese pop from a pure dance music infrastructure. The label's rise through the 1990s and early 2000s was defined by acts that reflected its imported-dance-music DNA: TRF, Speed, Globe, and above all Ayumi Hamasaki, who became one of the best-selling solo artists in Japanese music history under Avex Trax. The company also developed EXILE and the EXILE Tribe, a network of acts built around LDH, and was an early domestic partner for SM Entertainment's Japanese activities, distributing TVXQ in Japan through a long-running deal. Avex has also distributed international artists locally, including partnerships tied to the Ultra Music Festival in Japan and the annual A-nation outdoor music event. Since its early years, Avex has established over 40 in-house record labels, with Avex Trax, rhythm zone, and IDOL Street among the most notable. The company trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TYO: 7860). As of 2024, Avex employs approximately 1,514 people. In 2017, Avex launched XGALX as a joint venture with producer Simon Jakops, building a South Korean operation designed to develop Japanese artists using K-pop training methodology. XGALX's debut act, XG, became one of the most internationally followed Japanese girl groups of the 2020s.