[Nagoyankee]

"Music producer Komuro arrested for copyright fraud
Tuesday 04th November, 05:55 AM JST

OSAKA —
Osaka prosecutors arrested well-known music producer Tetsuya Komuro on Tuesday on suspicion of defrauding an investor of 500 million yen by concluding a contract for the transfer of copyrights he did not own. The 49-year-old Komuro is known for a large number of pop music hits since the 1990s but recently is said to have accumulated huge debts related to business and family matters.

He is suspected of pretending he owned the copyrights to 806 tunes and concluding a 1 billion yen sales contract with a buyer in Hyogo Prefecture in August 2006, according to the prosecutors. Komuro received 500 million yen as part of the contract that month, they said. Most of the 806 tunes were written by him but he was not authorized to transfer the copyrights under a contract with a music publishing firm, according to them.

Of the 500 million yen, 150 million yen is believed to have been transferred to one of the two, who assumed Komuro’s debt payments, while the other 350 million yen is believed to have been used to return loans, informed sources said. After facing off in civil lawsuits, Komuro and the investor reached an agreement in July under which Komuro was to pay the buyer 600 million yen as settlement money.

But Komuro failed to pay by the appointed day, prompting the buyer to file a complaint with the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office. Komuro debuted as a member of a popular band TM Network in 1984 and contributed to producing several megahits in the 1990s, including ‘‘Can You Celebrate?’’ by Namie Amuro."

© 2008 Kyodo News.