M-ON! Entertainment Inc.
Japanese broadcast, publishing and online media company that operated MUSIC ON! TV and music magazines, absorbed into Sony Music Solutions in 2021.
Last updated September 29, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
M-ON! Entertainment Inc. (株式会社エムオン・エンタテインメント) was a Japanese media company engaged in broadcasting, publishing and online media, formed on 1 April 2012 through the merger of Music On TV Inc. — the satellite broadcaster operating the music channel MUSIC ON! TV — and the publisher Sony Magazines. It was part of the Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) group and, from 1 April 2020, became a subsidiary of Sony Music Solutions (SMS) through a share exchange. The company was dissolved on 1 November 2021 when it was absorbed by Sony Music Solutions. The company's broadcasting arm centred on MUSIC ON! TV (エムオン!), a music-specialist channel carried on the Sky PerfecTV! platform. Its publishing arm inherited Sony Magazines' stable of music and lifestyle titles, including WHAT's IN?, PATi PATi, LisAni!, GRAND PRIX SPECIAL, andGIRL, mamagirl, ALOHA EXPRESS and GiRLPOP, along with various books and mooks. Online media included the entertainment news site M-ON! Press and the anime-music site LisAni! WEB. It also produced live events and developed new media and content. M-ON! Entertainment was headquartered in the Aoba Roppongi Building in Roppongi, Tokyo, the former head office of Music On TV. Its corporate lineage combined two Sony-affiliated media businesses: Sony Magazines, whose roots go back to CBS/Sony Publishing in 1979, and SME TV, founded in 1998, which launched the Viewsic channel and later renamed itself Music On TV and its channel MUSIC ON! TV. Although the M-ON! Entertainment corporate entity no longer exists, the MUSIC ON! TV channel and the M-ON! BOOKS and LisAni! WEB media brands continued under the Sony Music group after the 2021 absorption.
History
M-ON! Entertainment's history is the convergence of two Sony-affiliated media businesses: a music publishing house and a music television broadcaster. The publishing lineage began on the CBS/Sony side. In February 1972, CBS/Sony Publishing established April Music; in April 1974, April Music Inc. (now Sony Music Artists) was founded; and in February 1979, CBS/Sony Publishing Inc. was established. In April 1991, CBS/Sony Publishing changed its name to Sony Magazines Inc. Sony Magazines became a well-known music and lifestyle publisher, launching titles such as PATi PATi in 1984 and WHAT's IN? in 1988. The broadcasting lineage began when SME TV Inc. was established on 2 March 1998. On 1 July 1998, SME TV launched the music-specialist channel Viewsic. On 1 May 2004, SME TV changed its corporate name to Music On TV Inc., and the channel it operated was renamed MUSIC ON! TV. On 1 April 2012, Music On TV Inc. and Sony Magazines merged to form M-ON! Entertainment Inc. The new company's head office was the Aoba Roppongi Building, the former Music On TV head office. On 7 May 2012, the former Sony Magazines office moved into the Aoba Roppongi Building, at around the same time that Zepp Live Entertainment, which operates the Zepp live houses, also relocated its head office to the same building. On 1 September 2012, MUSIC ON! TV's broadcast on Sky PerfecTV! e2 (now Sky PerfecTV!) was upgraded to high definition, and the company took over the satellite core broadcasting business from CS-TBS (now CS-TBS). In the mid-2010s the company expanded its digital activities. On 29 January 2014 it formed a business alliance with KDDI and launched DAILY MUSIC, an entertainment information service for au smartphones (including iPhone, iPad and iPad mini with iOS 5.0 or later). On 5 December 2014 it took over the operation of the idol schedule site idolscheduler and renewed it as GiRLPOP Scheduler. On 1 April 2015 it opened M-ON! Press, a website aggregating entertainment news articles. On 1 April 2020, through a share exchange, M-ON! Entertainment moved from being a subsidiary of SMEJ to being a subsidiary of Sony Music Solutions (SMS). On 1 November 2021, the company was dissolved through an absorption-type merger with Sony Music Solutions Inc. Its media properties, including the MUSIC ON! TV channel and the M-ON! BOOKS and LisAni! WEB brands, continued within the Sony Music group.
- 2021
Dissolved through absorption-type merger with Sony Music Solutions Inc.
- 2020
Became a subsidiary of Sony Music Solutions (SMS) through a share exchange.
- 2015
Opened M-ON! Press entertainment news website.
- 2014
Business alliance with KDDI; launched DAILY MUSIC for au smartphones.
- 2014
Took over idol schedule site idolscheduler and renewed it as GiRLPOP Scheduler.
- 2012
Music On TV and Sony Magazines merged to form M-ON! Entertainment Inc.
- 2012
Former Sony Magazines office moved to the Aoba Roppongi Building.
- 2012
MUSIC ON! TV broadcast on Sky PerfecTV! e2 upgraded to high definition; satellite core broadcasting business taken over from CS-TBS.
- 2004
SME TV renamed Music On TV Inc.; channel renamed MUSIC ON! TV.
- 1998
SME TV Inc. established.
Products and positioning
A Sony Music group media company combining a music-specialist satellite channel with music and lifestyle publishing and online entertainment media.
MUSIC ON! TV (エムオン!)
Music-specialist channel carried on Sky PerfecTV!, operated by the company's broadcasting business.
WHAT's IN?
Music magazine launched in 1988; suspended with the April 2016 issue after a 2014 suspension announcement was retracted.
PATi PATi (PATi►PATi)
Music magazine launched in 1984; suspended with the October 2013 issue and moved to a web edition, which stopped updating at the end of March 2015.
LisAni!
Anime-music magazine brand with the LisAni! WEB online site.
GRAND PRIX SPECIAL
Magazine suspended with the January 2016 issue.
andGIRL
Lifestyle magazine published by the company.
mamagirl
Lifestyle magazine published by the company.
ALOHA EXPRESS
Magazine published by the company.
GiRLPOP
Magazine published by the company; also linked to the GiRLPOP Scheduler site.
M-ON! Press
Website aggregating entertainment news articles, opened in April 2015.
DAILY MUSIC
Entertainment information service for au smartphones launched with KDDI in January 2014.
GiRLPOP Scheduler
Renewed version of the idolscheduler site, taken over in December 2014.
Sources3 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/m-on-entertainment · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled