News Corp., Producer to Announce Venture

News Corp. said it will announce a joint venture this week with Tetsuya Komuro, a leading Japanese singer and record producer, to expand its presence in the international music business. Financial terms and details of the venture, initially aimed at the Asian market, weren’t disclosed. A News Corp. spokeswoman declined to comment. Komuro has produced music by top Japanese pop stars such as Namie Amuro. Komuro and Lachlan Murdoch, a top News Corp. executive and son of News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, will announce the venture at a Beverly Hills news conference Friday morning. News Corp. and Japan’s Softbank plan to establish a Japanese satellite broadcasting venture, JSkyB. News Corp. owns 50% of two Australian record labels, Mushroom Records and Festival Records.