GoDigital Music has appointed Sebastian Mair as President of APAC.
At the same time, AdShare, a GoDigital Music company, has signed an agreement with Japanese entertainment company Pony Canyon.
Under the deal, announced on Tuesday (October 6), AdShare will provide YouTube monetization and intellectual property rights management services across Pony Canyon‘s catalog.
GoDigital Music says the two announcements are the first moves in a broader expansion plan across the Asia-Pacific region.
That plan, it says, is designed to “build the company’s presence across key Asian markets and adapt its global capabilities to the distinct cultures and audiences”.
“We’re thrilled to have Sebastian join GoDigital Music and lead our efforts across APAC,” said Jason Peterson, Founder and Chairman of GoDigital Music. “Sebastian brings a deep understanding of the market and strong relationships across the industry.
“Our partnership with Pony Canyon is a great place to start, and we see a tremendous opportunity to bring the technology, services and expertise we’ve built at GoDigital Music to more artists, labels and rights holders throughout the region.”
In the role, Mair will lead strategy and commercial activity across the region, including the development of growth plans that span multiple countries.
His remit includes managing joint ventures, minority investments, and distribution partnerships, as well as expanding GoDigital Music‘s catalog acquisition and rights monetization activity.
Mair will also develop artist initiatives for individual markets.
In addition, he will help the company work within the regulatory, copyright, and intellectual property frameworks of each APAC market.
According to GoDigital Music, Mair’s background includes senior leadership roles, as well as work with organizations such as Creativeman Productions, Fujipacific Music, Live Nation Japan, AEG Presents, and Ubisoft.
Tokyo-based music publisher Fujipacific Music is part of Japan’s Fujisankei Communications Group – as is Pony Canyon.
“GoDigital Music has built a truly global platform, and I’m excited to join the company at a moment when there is so much opportunity across APAC.”
Sebastian Mair
“GoDigital Music has built a truly global platform, and I’m excited to join the company at a moment when there is so much opportunity across APAC,” said Mair. “The region is home to some of the world’s most influential music companies and catalogs, and I look forward to connecting my local expertise with GoDigital Music’s global reach and infrastructure.
“Our collaboration with Pony Canyon is just the beginning of the kind of work and long-term partnerships we hope to build.”
Headquartered in Tokyo, Pony Canyon produces and distributes music, film, home video, anime, and games.
According to GoDigital Music, Pony Canyon represents a catalog of more than 100,000 assets in Japanese entertainment.
AdShare identifies user-uploaded YouTube content that contains rights holders’ music compositions, sound recordings, or video, and collects the revenue it generates on their behalf.
GoDigital Music says AdShare‘s technology can identify uses “ranging from full-length uploads to short snippets of copyrighted material”.
AdShare also works with existing YouTube partners to find additional revenue across their catalogs.
In July 2024, Pony Canyon partnered with Orfium to track the use of its music catalog in user-generated content on YouTube.
GoDigital Music did not say whether the AdShare agreement replaces Pony Canyon’s partnership with Orfium.
In December 2022, Pony Canyon signed a licensing deal with China’s NetEase Cloud Music, giving the streaming platform the right to distribute its music catalog in China.
In November 2025, parent company GoDigital raised USD $230 million in new financing for its newly formed GoDigital Music division.
That financing, led by Bank of America, took GoDigital’s total capital raised to date to more than USD $1 billion.
Other participants included Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
Later that month, GoDigital Music acquired Swiss DIY distributor Octiive and established a European headquarters in Zurich.
Octiive founder and CEO Mershad Javan took on the role of Head of Europe, reporting to GoDigital Music CEO Logan Mulvey.
In December 2025, GoDigital Music acquired a tranche of catalogs, anchored by Regional Mexican music, in a transaction valued at approximately USD $115 million.
It also bought the publishing catalog of Marc Anthony in a separate eight-figure deal.
GoDigital Music describes itself as a “full-stack ‘mini-major’ music company”, with a focus on intellectual property in genres including reggaeton, Música Mexicana, Afrobeats, and country.
The company says it plans to pursue more partnerships, investments, catalog opportunities, and artist development initiatives across APAC.Music Business Worldwide
