UMG and SME Launch ‘Nine by Nine’ Festival JV in Japan

Shibuya, Tokyo, where Nine by Nine has set up shop. Photo Credit: Joshua Tsu

Sony Music and Universal Music are looking to capitalize on Asia’s booming festival sector with a newly launched JV called Nine by Nine.

Announced in Japan closer to April’s start, Tokyo-based Nine by Nine, not to be confused with the former Thai boy band of the same name, is just now making a media splash in the U.S. and Europe.

Per Sony Music Japan’s release, the joint venture is technically poised to organize festivals across Asia – with a main focus on the world’s second-largest recorded music market, however.

In this spirit, UMG’s Ichiro Tamaki (who’s currently head of business in Japan) and Sony Music Solutions higher-up Hidehiko Otani are both aboard Nine by Nine, the companies indicated.

Beyond the overview and plans for an initial event in 2027, the involved parties didn’t shed light on what exactly the JV will entail. But at the top level, the relevance of Sony Music’s domestic reach and expertise goes without saying.

And with each side having access to a decidedly deep international roster, staging sets from well-known global acts hardly seems impossible. That said, Sony Music and Universal Music in their release emphasized plans to support “the medium- to long-term success of Japanese music.”

Furthermore, the partnered majors intend to explore tie-ups with different companies en route to expanding throughout the region, they said in different words.

Time will tell what these tie-ups look like – though it’s worth noting that Nine by Nine’s arrival follows the rebranding of Hayashi International Promotions.

As some will recall, Live Nation in April 2025 scooped up Hayashi International; per Wayback Machine screengrabs, the promoter officially became Live Nation H.I.P. earlier in 2026.

While it’s unclear whether this development factored into the establishment of Nine by Nine, that Live Nation H.I.P. is charging ¥4,080 (currently $26) per year, or a bit more than that per month, for a VIP subscription probably hasn’t been lost on the majors.

According to Google’s translation, customers are paying for access to certain pre-sale opportunities as well as chances to win merch, backstage access, meet-and-greet access, and more. Assuming the translation is accurate, these distinct pre-sales won’t necessarily precede their artist counterparts.

Admittedly, the subscription price isn’t huge. But the offering is significant in a market that’s been slow to embrace paid streaming; for Nine by Nine, the time is evidently right to establish a festival foothold of its own.

In separate Japanese festival news, Smash’s Fuji Rock Festival is set to feature Massive Attack, Khruangbin, and The xx in July, with WESS’ Rising Sun Rock Festival now teed up for August. And in November, fans will have the chance to attend a My Hero Academia-geared Ani-Rock Fes, organizers recently disclosed.