| Key Sounds Label | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Key |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder | Visual Arts |
| Distributor(s) | Pony Canyon |
| Genre | J-pop, Video game music, New-age |
| Location | Osaka, Japan |
| Official website | http://key.soundslabel.com/ |
Key Sounds Label is a Japanese independent record label[1] formed in 2001 as a brand of the publishing company Visual Arts.[2] Key Sounds Label was formed to catalog and release music related to visual novels produced by the brand Key, also under Visual Arts, known for developing titles such as Kanon and Air. Excluding two albums and one single that were released by Key and Visual Arts' before the label's formation, the majority of releases on the label all have a basis from one of Key's titles. There are other albums and singles on the label not directly related to the visual novels, such as two singles by Lia and one album by Riya.[2] Unlike typical record labels, Key Sounds Label does not license any of the artists featured on albums and singles released on the label.
When Key Sounds Label formed, Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito, and Magome Togoshi were Key's signature composers and have continued to produce the majority of the music on the label, though Togoshi is no longer affiliated with Key or VisualArt's.[3] Key often sells albums and singles on this label at the convention Comiket. Key Sounds Label is not under contract with JASRAC, or any other Japanese copyright collecting agency. As such, the releases on the label are not sold in Japanese stores with other music albums and singles, but are still widely available for online purchase.
- ^ ""Toki o Kizamu Uta / Torch" single listing" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ^ a b "Key Sounds Label's discography" (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
- ^ "Magome Togoshi's official blog announcement of his resignation from Key" (in Japanese). July 10, 2007. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2008.