TOKYO — Former Avex chairman/CEO Tom Yoda has been named chairman/CEO of independent record company Dreamusic. Yoda, who owns 72% of the Tokyo-based company, had been named special advisor in January, and then appointed advisor in April.
In a boardroom coup, Yoda was ousted from his post as chairman/CEO of Avex in August 2004. At that time he also left his position as president of the Recording Industry Assn. of Japan. Subsequently, he bought a 16% stake in Tokyo-based movie distribution company Gaga Communication and was named chairman of the company.
Yoda, through his Tokyo-based firm T. Y. Limited, is also in the process of buying a stake in South Korean label/management company S. M. Entertainment. Yoda tells ELW that he and S. M. Entertainment president Kim Young Min plan to expand its activities into China and Southeast Asia.