Vermillion Records
Vermillion Records is the private music label of Tak Matsumoto and Koshi Inaba that is responsible for releasing all B'z releases. It is a subsidiary of Being GIZA and is headed by Vermillion, Inc., a company established to manage the assets of the label. In addition to publishing all B'z works, the label also handles all respective solo works.
Members of the label's staff include those from the previously dissolved B+U+M.
History of B'z labels
B'z began their career with a subsidiary of BMG Japan known as BMG Victor.
| Label | Sub-label | From | First Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMG Victor | AIR | September 1988 | B'z |
| BMG Rooms | ZEZ | August 1992 | ZERO |
| BMG Rooms | Vermillion | May 1995 | Negai |
| Rooms Records | Vermillion | September 1995 | LOVE PHANTOM |
| Vermillion Records | ——— | June 2002 | Atsuki Kodou no Hate |
Flash Back -B'z Early Special Titles- is an unofficial compilation album released on April 26, 1997 by BMG Japan after B'z had left their label. While B'z retained ownership of the compositions and songs, they did not retain distribution rights to the master recordings, and thus BMG were legally allowed to publish a collection of material they owned without the band's permission. The legal entanglement with BMG would continue three years later with the release of B'z The "Mixture" in 2000, which was a new compilation by B'z that featured remixes and re-recordings of older B'z songs. An agreement would later be met in time for the first of the band's 2013 singles collections B'z The Best XXV 1988-1998, on which the first three singles were collected on an official compilation for the first time.
This two-disc compilation pooled B'z tracks still under BMG control, all of which were sourced from their self-titled debut album B'z, their second album OFF THE LOCK, their third album BREAK THROUGH, and their first mini-album, BAD COMMUNICATION. One year later, B'z released their own official compilations under the titles of B'z The Best "Pleasure" and B'z The Best "Treasure" for their tenth anniversary. The pair of official albums would go on to become the second and fifth highest selling albums in Japanese history, respectively, with over ten million copies sold between them in their release year alone.
Neither Tak nor Koshi supported this release. Because BMG were legally prohibited from using either of the band members' images on the packaging or even in promoting the release, Flash Back -B'z Early Special Titles- contains no images or insignias common to the band and instead features generic art in its place. With its unofficial status and controversial nature, the album only debuted at the second spot on the Weekly Oricon Album charts, but would go on to become the twenty-second highest selling album of the year on the B'z brand alone. The release benefited from the fact that demand for B'z items of all kinds was high, and the albums that it contained were ones that had become rarities on their own right. In time, the compilation sold enough to be certified as a "Million" seller by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
While unofficial, the compilation has become a rarity and collector's item amongst fans since its original turbulent release due to the increasing unavailability of the older works. To this day, used copies of the collection still routinely appear on auction sites both in Japan and abroad.
Transition from BMG to Being
In August 1992, BMG and Being began a joint venture that established a new label by the name of BMG Rooms to handle B'z releases. Being, known for their Being GIZA group of artists, was directed and founded by Daiko Nagato, who was the mentor that originally introduced Tak to Koshi's demo tape and led to their first meeting.
By the mid-1990s, B'z had decided to leave BMG Japan and establish themselves under terms where they would have full control over their output. While B'z had re-negotiated their deal after they had their first taste of mainstream success, the publication rights to their earliest works remained with BMG. This included their first three singles and their first three albums as well as their first mini-album, BAD COMMUNICATION. As of September 1995, Being had purchased all remaining stock in the joint label under which B'z had been operating. Beginning in January 1996, the band's distribution and publishing vendor was changed to J-DISC—now known as J-DISC Being—which was the distribution company in charge of all Being releases. With the purchase, a new subsidiary under Tak and Koshi's control was established with a new label by the name of Rooms Records.
Publishing and distribution
The band's works were originally published by BMG Victor. Publishing duties for the band's works were later handed over to J-DISC, who now operate as J-DISC Being, beginning with the November 1996 release of the mini-album FRIENDS II.
Sub-labels
In 2004, Tak launched a sub-label by the name of House Of Strings that was to primarily publish guitar and strings-based music. The label has been responsible for Tak's solo releases beginning with House Of Strings.