What M-up Holdings does

M-up Holdings (株式会社エムアップホールディングス) is a publicly traded Japanese entertainment holding company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker: 3661.T) and headquartered in Shibuya, Japan. Operating under the "m-up group" brand, the company functions as a parent to eight wholly-owned subsidiaries that collectively build and operate the digital infrastructure connecting Japanese entertainment IP holders with their fans. Its primary function is intermediating between fans and content creators across music, sports, and entertainment properties, with a horizontal segmentation strategy spanning multiple IP categories rather than concentrating on a single genre or artist. Koichiro Bito serves as Chief Executive Officer.

The group's product surface is divided across specialized operating companies: Fanplus, Dear U plus, and THE STAR JAPAN handle fan club platforms and e-commerce for both domestic and international artists; Ticketplus (チケットプラス) operates electronic ticketing including the official resale feature チケプラTrade and live-streaming via FanStream/StreamPass; VR MODE delivers virtual reality entertainment experiences; VOLZ develops fan engagement mobile applications including digital card collections (e.g., LEAGUE H CARD COLLECTION); Creative Plus produces anime stage productions (MANKAI STAGE A3!) and serialized digital manga (Gakureki Musō Akademia on Mecha Comic); and Roen Japan produces artist apparel and merchandise. Underlying technology is described as digital fan communication and live entertainment platforms, with the group also introducing social features such as the 'listening party' function on artist apps.

The revenue model is predominantly subscription/recurring — derived from fan club memberships and digital content access — supplemented by transaction fees on electronic ticketing, e-commerce merchandise sales, and apparel. Revenue scaled from approximately $111.5M (2022) to $199.8M (2026), with EBITDA margins around 16% in the most recent period. Customers are primarily individual music and entertainment fans (B2C), with B2B counterparties comprising rights holders, talent agencies, record labels, and sports leagues. Geographic operations are concentrated in Japan, with a stated secondary presence in Taiwan via THE STAR JAPAN's international artist fan club operations.

Name

M-up Holdings

Legal name

株式会社エムアップホールディングス

Website

https://m-upholdings.co.jp

Company type

Public

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Short description

M-up Holdings is a Japanese entertainment holding company operating eight subsidiaries that deliver fan club platforms, electronic ticketing, e-commerce, VR experiences, mobile apps, content production, and merchandise for music artists, sports properties, and entertainment IP, primarily in Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fan Engagement and Live Entertainment Platforms

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Fan Club, Community & CRM Management (MPAIAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Subscription Fan Membership Platforms (Paid Communities) (MPACAFAA), Customer Support, CRM & Fan Engagement for Ticketing (MPAGAJAI), Paid Live Events & Virtual Tickets (Webinars/Streams) (MPACAFAC)

Keywords

• Fan communication services
• Electronic ticketing platform
• Fan club management
• Live entertainment services
• Digital content production

Headquarters

HQ city

Shibuya

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Fan Club / Fan Site Business and EC: Operated through subsidiary Fanplus and THE STAR JAPAN, providing fan club management and e-commerce services for entertainment content
2. Fan Content Business: Provided through subsidiary Dear U plus, delivering fan-focused digital content services
3. Electronic Ticketing: Operated through Ticket Plus, providing digital ticketing solutions for entertainment events
4. App Business: Mobile application development and services through subsidiary VOLZ
5. Content Business: Entertainment content production and distribution through Creative Plus
6. VR Business: Virtual reality entertainment experiences through VR MODE
7. Apparel Business: Fashion and merchandise related to entertainment content through Roen Japan

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

M-up Holdings operates as a holding company for the m-up group, delivering fan communication and live entertainment experiences through eight wholly-owned subsidiaries. The group provides fan club and fan site management, electronic ticketing, VR experiences, mobile app development, content production (anime, manga), e-commerce for artist merchandise, and apparel for the music and entertainment industry.

Product overview

M-up Holdings is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate operating a multi-brand platform structure through eight group companies. The core offering consists of fan communication and live entertainment services, with the portfolio organized around: (1) Fanplus, Dear U plus, and THE STAR JAPAN for fan club and fan site/EC operations; (2) Ticketplus for electronic ticketing and streaming (チケプラTrade, FanStream/StreamPass); (3) VR MODE for virtual reality experiences; (4) VOLZ for mobile app development including digital card collections; (5) Creative Plus for content production including anime stage shows and manga; and (6) Roen Japan for apparel/merchandise. The group also develops artist properties such as KO1KEYZ and provides features like listening party on music apps. The company positions itself as creating 'Fan Communication' and expanding 'Live Entertainment experiences' through individual brand evolution and group synergies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fanplus Fan club and fan site business plus e-commerce operations; operates official fan clubs for various artists and provides EC merchandise sales for fans of music and entertainment properties.
• Dear U plus Fan content business providing exclusive digital content and services for fan engagement with artists.
• THE STAR JAPAN Fan club and fan site business plus e-commerce operations serving Japanese and international entertainment artists.
• VR MODE VR business offering virtual reality entertainment experiences and content for fans and entertainment properties.
• Ticketplus (チケプラ) Electronic ticket business providing ticketing platform services including チケプラTrade (Ticketplus Trade) for official resale trading, FanStream and StreamPass for live event streaming.
• VOLZ Application business developing mobile apps for entertainment and fan engagement including digital card collections.
• Creative Plus Content business producing and distributing entertainment content including anime stage productions (MANKAI STAGE 'A3!') and manga serialization.
• Roen Japan Apparel business producing artist merchandise and branded apparel for entertainment properties.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• DeNA: Established Japanese mobile/internet company with entertainment and live-service businesses. Comparable as a broad Japanese digital entertainment incumbent with adjacent fan-engagement and mobile app capabilities, but not focused on artist fan-club services.
• Live Nation Entertainment: World's largest live entertainment and ticketing company (parent of Ticketmaster). Comparable through electronic ticketing and live-event promotion overlap with M-up's Ticketplus subsidiary, though on a global and far larger scale.
• CyberAgent: Major Japanese internet media group operating AbemaTV, Cygames and digital entertainment businesses. Comparable as a broad Japanese incumbent in digital entertainment with overlapping audience and content capabilities, though not specialized in fan-club services.
• KADOKAWA: Large Japanese content conglomerate spanning publishing, anime (Dwango/Niconico) and IP. Comparable as a Japanese incumbent with overlapping fan-engagement and content IP assets (manga, anime, fan platforms), though at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• SM Entertainment: Korean entertainment company that originally operated the 'Dear U' bubble fan messaging platform (the namesake of M-up's Dear U plus subsidiary). Directly comparable in operating artist-specific fan communication, content and merchandise services for music talent.
• HYBE: Korean entertainment powerhouse behind Weverse, the leading global K-pop fan platform. Highly comparable: M-up's Fanplus/Dear U plus fan clubs directly compete with Weverse for artist onboarding and fan engagement, with similar fan membership, content and community features.
• Patreon: Global subscription fan-membership platform enabling creators to monetize audiences. Comparable on the recurring-subscription paid-community mechanics that underpin M-up's Fanplus and Dear U plus fan club revenue streams.

Emerging players

• 17LIVE: Live-streaming platform popular across Asia, overlapping with M-up's FanStream/StreamPass live event streaming product. Comparable in streaming-based fan engagement and virtual event monetization for entertainers.
• Cameo: Platform for personalized video shoutouts from celebrities/creators to fans. Comparable in monetizing direct fan-to-artist engagement, though Cameo focuses on transactional personalized content while M-up centers on subscription and ticketing.
• Fanatics: Global sports/entertainment merchandise and fan commerce platform. Comparable to M-up's Roen Japan apparel/EC business in monetizing fandom through merchandise, though Fanatics is sports-focused and operates at a much larger global scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about M-up Holdings