King Records
Encyclopedia
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese record company, founded in 1931
1931 in music
-Events:*May 21 - RCA Victor's first commercially issued 33⅓ rpm record, "Salon Suite, No. 1" by The Victor Salon Orchestra, directed by Nathaniel Shilkret, was recorded*Roy Rogers' musical career begins*Mary Garden retires from the Chicago Opera...
as a division of Japanese publisher Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
. It became and began operating as an independent entity in the 1950s, but remains part of the publisher's Otowa Group. Now one of Japan's largest record companies not to be owned by a multinational
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
entity, it is headquartered in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
Its Starchild label, managed by animation producer Toshimichi Otsuki, specialises in anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
music and film. King Records also distributes the Up-Front Works-owned and operated labels Piccolo Town
Piccolo Town
Piccolo Town is a Japanese record label owned by Up-Front Works, a Japanese entertainment management company. The label is handled by King Records. It is home to artists such as Berryz Koubou, and v-u-den. Former Piccolo Town artists include ZYX, Aa!, Sayaka Ichii, Maki Goto, and Gomattou....
and Rice Music
Rice Music
Rice Music is a Japanese record label owned by Up-Front Works, a Japanese entertainment management company. The label is handled by King Records. The label tends to focus on enka or enka-inspired pop music. Internationally the label is most famous for being home to Hello! Project artist Yuki Maeda....
, and also released video games for the PC-88, Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, and MSX2
MSX2
MSX2 may refer to:* Msh homeobox 2, a human gene* The second generation of the MSX home computers...
computers.