Free-Will is a Japanese independent record label founded in 1986. It manages, among others, several visual kei themed rock bands and also continues to co-manage many of its artists after they have signed recording contracts with one of the major record labels. During the visual kei boom in the 1990s, the phrase "East Extasy and West Free-Will" was coined ("Extasy" referring to Yoshiki Hayashi's Extasy Records). Free-Will currently has branches in Japan, and the United States and previously in Europe as well.
On September 14, 2007, the label's founder Hiroshi "Dynamite Tommy" Tomioka was arrested, along with fellow Free-Will official Kazunori Murasaki and Koichi Kaku, a former employee of the Asatsu-DK advertising agency. The trio is accused of defrauding the agency of 324 million yen (approximately US$ 2.8 million) by ostensibly ordering the agency to produce music videos, which were then delegated to subcontract firms. Kaku has since confessed to the charges, while Tomioka denies any involvement.
Sub-divisions
The company operates several sub-divisions, some of them for a single band or purpose only. For example, Firewall Div. solely handles material which is released in collaboration with
Sony Music.
Bands managed directly
Current
- Rentrer en Soi
- BISPast
- Color
- Kamaitachi
- By-Sexual
- Billy & The Sluts
- Decameron
- Genkaku Allergy
- Seamonkey
- Amphibian
- Youka
- Red Tail Cat
- Lovemania
- Speed-ID
- Vogue
References
See also
External links
