This move was made to prevent future problems with copyright management and royalty collection. Chihiro's works that were released from Universal were managed by SMA, a member of Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC). If iTunes Music Store (iTMS) opens in Japan, a problem is caused. Since Sony Corporation of America is a Morgan-affiliated company, a tie-up with Universal, which is also in the Morgan group, will not produce significant problems outside of Japan. On the other hand, Sony Japan is not affiliated with Morgan. It's a totally Japanese-owned company. And SMA is a fully-owned subsidiary of Sony Japan. Since Sony Japan has already started its own Sony Music Online services, a twist will be caused if SMA keeps managing her works.
A summary from http://chihiro.aquarianwave.com/m040621.htm.
SMA terminated the management contract with Chihiro as of January 31. There has been no change in her relationship with the record label.
http://www.sma.co.jp/artist/onitsukachihiro/
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