Japan's Pony Canyon Revived In Hk, S. Korea

HONG KONG--The Japanese indie label Pony Canyon, which recently closed four of its Asian subsidiaries (Billboard Bulletin, Jan. 7), has begun re-establishing its presence.
A new wholly owned Hong Kong subsidiary, Pony Canyon Entertainment Pacific, opened for business March 2, taking over from the disbanded venture Golden Pony Entertainment (HK) Ltd. And the shuttered South Korean joint venture Sampony Distribution is set to be superseded in May or June by Pony Canyon Korea, which will be 16%-owned by a local partner. Following January's closures, Pony Canyon was left with just one wholly owned affiliate, Pony Canyon Music Malaysia.
Keith Yip, who resumes his position as the Hong Kong company's GM, says the operation is scaled down. "We will only deal with Japanese and international products," he says. "We won't touch any local artists or production. We will just market our core repertoire." Golden Pony's local Cantopop artists in Hong Kong had included Amanda Lee and Anthony Leung. "The market is very difficult at the moment," Yip says. "But compared to local products, international and Japanese products sell for less than Cantopop. Basically I think that we will be in pretty good shape if we concentrate on Japanese product, because Cantopop is very difficult right now."
In addition to Japanese repertoire from its parent company--in the form of established new age tunesmith Kitaro and the band Le Couple--Pony Canyon will continue to represent labels such as the U.K.'s Echo, with the commercial pop act Moloko, and U.S. label Chesky, home of Rebecca Pidgeon. Yip says Japanese and international product made up as much as 70%-75% of total turnover at the Hong Kong company in the past.
Bennet Chow will remain as A&R manager of international products, and Pony Canyon will retain its former distribution operation. However, staff levels have been cut from 25 to about a dozen in Hong Kong, and pan-China initiatives can no longer count on the four-strong team at the Shanghai operation, which is now disbanded.
Anders Nelsson is managing director of Media Bank Records in Hong Kong, another independent that has been forced to redefine its structure in the wake of a market battered by Asia's economic crisis. Media Bank discontinued its distribution deal with Pony Canyon just before Pony Canyon left the market, Nelsson says, although the contract was terminated without knowledge of Pony Canyon's impending shutdown.
"I'm happy to see them back," says Nelsson of Pony Canyon's re-emergence in Hong Kong. "But I'm also totally baffled. We've all cut staff and overheads. I can't see why they'd reopen in Hong Kong."
A source at another independent in Hong Kong also expresses surprise, saying rumors had circulated that the re-entry would be orchestrated through the company's Malaysian arm.
However, according to a Tokyo industry source, Pony Canyon's decision to move back into Hong Kong and South Korea makes sense. "They're re-establishing themselves in Hong Kong because it's the gateway to the Chinese market," the source says.
As for South Korea, the recent election of former dissident Kim Dae Jung to the presidency increases the possibility of an end to the country's ban on the broadcast and sale of Japanese music.