more avex news:

[_Zora_]

from mainichi online:

Ayumi Hamasaki's producer to stay with Avex




Masato Matsuura, the famous producer who brought pop star Ayumi Hamasaki into the spotlight, will return to the Avex record company group along with former managing director Ryuhei Chiba, the firm said Tuesday.

Avex announced the informal decision just two days after both Matsuura and Chiba resigned as senior managing director and managing director, respectively.

Matsuura had quit over internal trouble involving management plans at the company, and it had been rumored that artists he had dealt with would also move to another company as a result. But Avex officials said that this would no longer happen.

"With this, the possibility of artists transferring has been eliminated," an Avex representative said.

In addition to his position as managing director, Chiba had also served as president of a firm that managed artists. Avex officials said it was stated during a board of directors meeting on July 31 that conflicts of interest in Chiba's transactions would become a problem in the future. As a result it was recommended that he resign from his position as managing director.

Matsuura moved a motion for chairman Tatsumi Yoda to resign, saying his management plans were mistaken, but it was voted down, and he and Chiba resigned as directors.

Later, during a meeting between Chiba and Avex officials, it was reportedly decided that there were prospects for a solution to the problem of conflicts of interest affecting Chiba's transactions, and an informal decision was made for Matsuura and him to return to the company. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, Aug. 3, 2004)

from bloomberg.com (read the last bit)

...Avex Inc. rallied 153 yen, or 9.5 percent, to 1,761. Masato Matsuura and Ryuhei Chiba, managing directors at the music and video production company, decided not to resign.

Matsuura has been known for his success in promoting pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki. Hamasaki, who said she would leave the company if Matsuura did, accounted for about 10 percent of the company's total revenue, UBS Warburg Japan Ltd. said. The stock yesterday slid 16 percent after the resignation announcement.



To contact the reporter on this story:
Michael Tsang in Tokyo at mtsang1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Teo Chian Wei at cwteo@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: August 2, 2004 21:57 EDT