is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 owned by Up-Front Works, a Japanese entertainment management

Management

Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

 company. The label is handled by Epic Records

Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

, a division of Sony Music Entertainment Japan

Sony Music Entertainment Japan

is Sony's music arm in Japan. SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Corporation and independent from the United States-based Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry....

. Outside Japan the label is most famous for releasing music by several participants in Hello! Project

Hello! Project

is the umbrella name for all female idol Japanese pop recording artists collective that are under contract with the Up-Front Group. The "mothership" group of Hello! Project is the super-group Morning Musume. Hello! Project's current leader is Risa Niigaki, the leader of Morning Musume...

, the most famous of these being Morning Musume

Morning Musume

, sometimes referred to as is a Japanese idol girl group, whose act generally revolves around singing and dancing to upbeat melodies. They are the lead group of Hello! Project, which is managed and produced by Tsunku, who composes nearly all the lyrics and melodies of their songs...

. Former Zetima acts include Michiyo Heike, Minimoni and Naomi Tamura.

Artists

Roster per June 2008:

• Buono!
  Buono!
  is a Hello! Project unit consisting of three members: Momoko Tsugunaga and Miyabi Natsuyaki from Berryz Koubou, and Airi Suzuki from ℃-ute. The name translates into 'tasty', more specifically when used to imply food possesses a pleasant palate...
  
  
• C-ute
• DEF.DIVA
  DEF.DIVA
  Def.Diva was a "special group" formed in 2005 from the Hello! Project idol umbrella, and consisted of Aya Matsuura, Maki Goto, Natsumi Abe and Rika Ishikawa. The band's name is an abbreviation of the phrase "Definite Diva"....
  
  
• Earthshaker
  Earthshaker (band)
  is a Japanese heavy metal band that was formed in 1978 in Osaka. Their earlier music was very similar in style to countrymen Loudness and Anthem, but the band steered toward a poppier sound on later albums and dropped from worldwide view, preferring to record and tour in their home country...
  
  
• Emyli
  Emyli
  is a Japanese pop singer. Her debut album Flower of Life was released from BMG Japan label in 2003. Since the release of her first album, she has performed with popular acts such as M-Flo and Shinhwa...
  
  
• Flex Life
• GaGaalinG
• Hangry & Angry
  Hangry & Angry
  Hangry & Angry-f is a Japanese female pop/rock duo created in 2008, consisting of former Morning Musume members Hitomi Yoshizawa and Rika Ishikawa . The group is a collaboration with a Harajuku fashion store, which sells fashion designer h.Naoto's mascot kittens of the same name...
  
  
• Hello! Project shuffle units
• KAN

also known as TAKUI

• Nyle

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• Romans