As usual, the kaiju have been up to various antics.

Roland Fantom update

Not to be outdone by Yamaha, Roland have released a $199 USD update for the Roland Fantom line. Since the news is everywhere, you know that Roland have added ACB Jupiter 8, SH-101 and JD-800 ACB emulation. “ACB” stands for “Analog Circuit Behavior” and it emulates the analog circuits behind the vintage synths. It may be more compute-intensive, but the emulations are more accurate representations of the classic analog synths.

New Roland headquarters

Roland have announced their intention to build a new headquarters building in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture. Construction is scheduled to begin in August 2024. Roland are renovating and building out two existing buildings and will create a central atrium within a “horseshoe” shape.

Once completed, we will promote “One Roland” by consolidating our research and development department, which had previously been dispersed across multiple offices in the city, into the new building, further improving the quality and efficiency of our operations, and creating an attractive and attractive new building. In addition to providing products and services, we aim to create a workplace where employees can work creatively and energetically. [Roland]

Yamaha underwent a similar consolidation in Hamamatsu.

Successful infringement action

Quite a few punters noticed the similarity between Medili arranger keyboards and Yamaha arrangers. Turns out, the similarity was not coincidental.

Yamaha Corporation is pleased to announce that our legal action against Medeli Electronics Co., Ltd (Hong Kong) for infringement of copyright on Yamaha’s music data for automatic accompaniment (“Style Data”) has successfully drawn to a conclusion.

In March 2020, Yamaha commenced the legal proceedings against Medeli in the High Court of Hong Kong for copyright infringement, alleging that Defendant copied, without Yamaha’s authorization, multiple numbers of Yamaha’s Style Data (which had been preset in 46 models of Yamaha’s portable keyboards and digital pianos) and installed them into Defendant’s electronic musical instruments, manufacturing and selling the same under the MEDELI brand. Whilst the Court granted the judgment in favor of Yamaha in January 2022, now that the Defendant has paid to Yamaha USD850,000 for damages and legal costs.

More here

Yamaha earnings call

Yamaha recently released its financial statement for the period covering April 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023. The report noted “weakness in market conditions, especially for digital pianos (DP), and slow recovery in the Chinese market.” The company revised its revenue projections downward in light of the slow recovery of the Chinese market. I guess one of the dangers of chasing the huge Chinese market is exposure to a downturn.

Yamaha also mentioned a decline in profit “reflecting the decline in revenue of musical instruments and production adjustments to reduce inventory.”

During its earnings call for analysts, the company acknowledged production cut-backs. The entry-level digital piano (DP) business is especially sluggish. The company is resolved to reduce inventories, split into two groups: parts and finished products.

Namely, the inventory of parts had piled up much more than usual times during the pandemic. In face of the shortage of semiconductors and other supplies amidst the pandemic turmoil, we had to stock some extra inventory at hand. Furthermore, some of the suppliers announced to discontinue certain parts, and anticipating the unavailability of such parts in the future, we had to place front-loaded orders before they were discontinued. All of these things led to the increase of parts in the inventory.

As for the finished products in the inventory, except for the pianos, we believe they can be lowered to the acceptable level by the end of the fiscal year. However, the inventories of pianos are likely to be still high in the next fiscal year, and we may have to control the production level continually.

With regards to the inventories of parts, we will take several years to reduce the level, but we also feel a greater necessity to stock some extra parts to avoid the production risk, so it will not be lowered to the pre-COVID level either. As for the capital expenditure and depreciation, the figures have not changed much from the previous plan. They were only slightly reduced.

Bottom line, companies are still feeling the effect of the pandemic, except now, purchases have slowed and inventories have grown. Economic cycles, rinse, repeat.

Something’s up!

European customers have noted future changes in Yamaha’s sales and distribution practices. Meanwhile, Yamaha are merging their domestic (Japanese) sales subsidiaries.

We have changed the position of our domestic directly managed stores from stores focused on retail sales to places that promote our brand and provide customer experiences. By merging a subsidiary (YMJ) that handles wholesale sales with a sub-subsidiary (YMRJ) that handles retail sales, our distributors, directly managed stores, and classrooms will work together to create demand and promote brand value. We will establish a system to deliver a better music experience.

Furthermore, we will stimulate demand by coordinating wholesale and retail sales measures and expanding our service business to “connect more with customers,” help customers discover the joy and wonder of sound and music, and enrich their souls with sound and music. We will contribute to a better life. {Yamaha]

What these changes hold for Yamaha in North America is uncertain. But, the suits in Hamamatsu are up to something. When they talk about “joy and wonder of sound and music,” trust me, it’s about the money.

It’s always about the money…

Copyright © 2023 Paul J. Drongowski