Exceleration Music and Japanese rights company NexTone have acquired the recording and publishing catalog of Ryuichi Sakamoto, purchased directly from the late composer’s estate.
The companies announced the deal on Thursday (July 2), in what Exceleration described as its first major acquisition in the Japanese market.
Legacy catalog acquisitions on this scale remain less common in Japan than in the US and UK.
Under the joint venture, Exceleration will manage and collect income from Sakamoto’s rights outside Asia, while NexTone will handle the catalog within the region, working with Japanese publisher FujiPacific on publishing rights administration.
The two companies will act as joint custodians of the catalog, working with Sakamoto’s management company KAB to oversee future releases.
The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, which Exceleration and NexTone described as “extremely valuable and strategically important.”
Sakamoto, who died in 2023 at the age of 71, co-founded the electronic trio Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978.
He became the first Japanese composer to win an Academy Award, a Grammy and a Golden Globe, all for his score to the 1987 film The Last Emperor.
His other scores included Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, Little Buddha and The Revenant, and he collaborated over his career with David Bowie, David Byrne, Iggy Pop and Alva Noto, according to the press release.
“NexTone is one of Japan’s most respected and forward-thinking music companies, a reputation that is richly deserved,” said Charles Caldas, Partner at Exceleration Music.
“Partnering with them as joint custodians of Ryuichi Sakamoto‘s music catalog is a landmark moment for Exceleration.
“Sakamoto was undoubtedly one of the great artists of his generation, transcending geographic and artistic boundaries to become a true global icon.
“Alongside NexTone, we are committed to working with KAB, Ryuichi Sakamoto’s management company, to magnify the global awareness and appreciation of his extraordinary musical legacy.”
“Sakamoto was undoubtedly one of the great artists of his generation, transcending geographic and artistic boundaries to become a true global icon.”
Charles Caldas, Exceleration Music
Sakamoto‘s catalog joins a portfolio that Exceleration has expanded through a run of recent acquisitions.
It added UK independent Cooking Vinyl in June 2025, and took on the catalog of Los Angeles label Dangerbird Records in October last year.
Those deals followed Exceleration‘s 2023 purchase of distribution company Redeye Worldwide.
The company also releases archival recordings in partnership with the Ray Charles Foundation.
US-headquartered Exceleration was launched by five indie sector executives in January 2021, backed by what it described as “substantial investment capital”.
For NexTone, the deal marks a shift from copyright administration into direct ownership of rights.
NexTone is a private-sector rights administrator positioned as an alternative to JASRAC, the society that dominates music copyright collection in Japan.
Established in 2000, it listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2020 and offers copyright management alongside digital distribution and artist-promotion services.
In its financial year ended March 2024, the company collected ¥11.55 billion in copyright royalties, a 7.8% share of the domestic market, with JASRAC accounting for the rest, according to analyst estimates.
“This endeavor represents a significant strategic step for NexTone: an opportunity to bring the expertise we have built over many years in music copyright administration into a new and expanded form, through the co-ownership of both publishing and master rights,” said Daisuke Adachi, Director of NexTone.
“By combining Exceleration Music‘s wealth of international knowledge with our own management network across Asia, we are committed to unlocking the full potential this catalog holds.”
Daisuke Adachi, NexTone
“By combining Exceleration Music‘s wealth of international knowledge with our own management network across Asia, we are committed to unlocking the full potential this catalog holds.”
The Sakamoto estate said of the partnership: “Music belongs to time, not to possession. We welcome those who will carry it forward.”Music Business Worldwide
