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(Last updated: 24 Nov 2011)
Trends and opportunities
The market
Japan is the world’s second-biggest music market, and in 2009 accounted for 22.8 per cent of recorded-music sales worldwide.
According to the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), whose member companies account for some 90 per cent of recorded-music sales in Japan, in 1998, recorded-music production peaked at ¥607.9 billion, but in 2010, production fell to ¥283.6 billion, which was a 10 per cent decrease on the previous year. However, a 2010 survey by the RIAJ showed that CDs still accounted for 33.7 per cent of all music purchases.
Japan is the only major music market where the rise in digital sales has compensated to a certain extent for the continuing decline in sales of physical product. The RIAJ says that in 2010, digital downloads totalled 441 million units, for a value of ¥86 billion, up slightly from the previous year.
On a value basis, RIAJ data shows that foreign product (excluding music videos and DVDs) accounted for 17 per cent of the Japanese music industry and the percentage continues to shrink. Industry players say that young people have largely lost interest in foreign music, and that it’s increasingly difficult for overseas acts to find a niche in the highly complex Japanese music-biz ecosystem.
(Source: Recording Industry Association of Japan – www.riaj.or.jp/issue/industry/pdf/RIAJ2011E.pdf)
The exception is the recent boom in Korean artists (known as K-Pop) finding success in the Japanese market. With the Japanese market geographically easy to access and 30 times larger than the domestic Korean market, this sector of ‘overseas artists’ is finding great success as they are able to participate regularly in promotional activities and events in Japan.
Foreign music market
Within the foreign product market, competition is increasingly fierce and in the greater majority of cases, non-Japanese musicians who are successfully able to secure licensing/distribution deals are those performers that have already proved themselves in another major market such as the US or the UK.
Most of the deals done by Australian artists have resulted from success elsewhere first. A band with no domestic or overseas profile is very unlikely to attract the attention of Japanese labels, promoters or venues. Much of the industry is also relationship-based so cold-calling is rarely effective.
Building up relationships through Japanese musicians, industry people attending conferences and even online can be valuable when wanting to approach Japanese music industry folk as an ‘introduction’ can then be made through a mutual contact.
Japanese fans are also very loyal to their favourite performers/music genre and developing networks early with bands that play similar music can be one way to gradually become noticed by potential Japanese fans. Joint concerts can be one way to start getting performance opportunities. Keeping an eye on Japanese bands touring Australia and sharing contacts/information can also be effective for those wanting to specifically target the Japanese market.
Publishers
Publishers play an important role in the Japanese music market, which is not necessarily the case in other major music markets. Besides performing the traditional work of representing the interests of lyricists and composers by protecting their copyrights and plugging their songs, Japanese publishers often work with writers, especially those who are also performers, to create demos that they then shop around to labels.
Publishers tend to be divided into two main categories in Japan. The biggest, such as Fujipacific and Nichion, are affiliates of major broadcasters/communications conglomerates (Fujisankei Communications and Tokyo Broadcasting System, respectively), while others are divisions of the powerful management/production agencies that continue to churn out J-pop idol stars.
Live performance
Unlike other markets, touring is extremely difficult without a label agreement/distribution as venues often work on a ‘pay to play’ basis. This entails hire fees with no support to secure an audience, or venues may expect bands to play for free. Consistent touring alone is also unlikely to attract much attention in the market and ideally, getting licensing/distribution set up first is still the most effective form of market entry. Once signed, it is much easier to attract the attention of festival organisers, the media and venues. Unlike many markets, tour booking agents are extremely rare and of varying standards in terms of ability to deliver results. Unless there has been some specific interest expressed by someone already successful in the market, live touring should not be prioritised as part of an overall market entry strategy for most music genres.
However, not all venues work on a ‘pay to play’ basis so cafes, bars and hotels can be an alternative depending on the music style. It should be noted though that these venues are unlikely to respond to approaches from overseas based artists without someone working for the band on the ground in Japan. Due to the language barrier, the work involved to organise a tour in Japan can also be time intensive and not always successful so it is therefore a costly market entry method if a company or organisation is to be paid to make the required introductions and liaison.
The following lists the most common types of performances in Japan and how they operate:
- Concerts
Top international bands usually perform at large venues such as clubs, concert halls and auditoriums. For a concert of this scale to take place, there has to be a local Japanese promoter or label involved in the organisation and ticket sales. Also, if it is to be a paid performance, the promoter needs to be qualified to apply as a sponsor for the necessary entertainment visa – a complicated and strict process. Many smaller venues do not even qualify as being ‘suitable’ for overseas artists applying for an entertainment visa.
- Festivals
Japan’s music festivals are well organised and planned many months in advance. Australian performers wishing to perform at festivals should build up good contacts with agents, city organisations or promotional companies. This is not easy and the majority of these festivals prefer to work with bands that already have licensing, or at the very minimum, some form of distribution that will provide additional ‘support’ for the artists. Unsigned, unknown bands in the Japanese market have very little chance of securing performances at major festivals. Musicians should also be aware that they should check the track records of those making claims regarding being able to get acts into major festivals. It may be possible to get performance opportunities at some lesser known regional festivals, but the return on investment may be low unless the objective is just to gain experience in the Japanese market.
- Clubs
Performances at ‘live houses’ or clubs usually operate on a ‘pay to play’ basis or work on a percentage of the door sales. Performers without licensing and on promotional tours tend to play for free but with the view that they will raise their profile and recoup money from merchandise sales. However, fees are commanded by well-known acts, or artists who are represented by a professional agent/promoter. Opportunities to perform with local bands are possible, but not profitable and unless they are professionally promoted, playing to an almost empty venue can be quite common.
- Small gigs
Smaller venues such as cafes and bars don’t tend to operate on a ‘pay to play’ system and usually pay artists a flat percentage of what they make at the door. If you only have a booking agent and not a promoter working with you, the chances of getting an audience to attend a performance are very low. The challenge is securing an audience. Without a promoter or at the least, a strong network of people helping on the ground, it can easily end with both the venue and the artists being disappointed by small audiences. One possible solution is to start networking with local bands that might consider a joint performance and can bring along their own audience.
- Hotel gigs and weddings
Hotels, weddings and theme parks present opportunities particularly for R&B, gospel, and jazz bands. However, these artists tend to live in Japan and have an agency contract. It's much more difficult for international artists to secure this type of work, although some international agencies have regular contracts to introduce longer term artists for 3, 6 or 12 month contracts.
Opportunities
Rock, pop, jazz, blues, R&B, acoustic/guitar and gospel are popular genres of music in Japan. Gospel is surprisingly sought after in Japan with singers doing workshops and church performances year round. This is in addition to the ‘organic’ label, the nickname that has been given to the genre of Australian music that has found great success in Japan such as:
- Old Man River
- Blue King Brown
- John Butler Trio
- Jeff Lang
- Chase The Sun
- Justin Carter
Opportunities also exist in the Japanese music industry for original performers, session musicians and cover artists. Cover artists in particular are in demand and can sign short to long-term contracts for performing within Japan. Opportunities also exist for artists to play at Japan’s jazz festivals as well as club performances in regional areas. However, it can sometimes be a trade-off between a performance fee and the large exposure given to artists as a result of their participation in what appears to be a ‘free’ festival.
Potential customers for Australian musicians include:
- Record companies
- Promoters
- Venues
- Advertising agencies
- Entertainment agencies
- Event planning companies
- Festival organisers
- Producers
- Tourist attraction operators
- Hotels
Competitive environment
The majority of labels that are working with foreign artists have shown a strong preference for musicians who have had success in other overseas markets such as the UK or the US. With only a few exceptions (often in niche areas), artists who don’t have a track record in their own market and another major market are unlikely to be picked for licensing by a Japanese label.
Competition in the Japanese market is high, and only a few bands reach any form of sustainable success. This is more so with artists trying to break into the market directly from countries like Australia with an under-recognised profile in the Japanese market. Although the profile for Australian rock/surf music etc. has grown in recent years, having a strong track record should still be considered a pre-requisite before seriously considering approaching the Japanese market in relation to signing a deal.
Major Japanese label buyers tend to travel to international music markets such as SxSW, Popkomm and MIDEM, to check out new talent. Often deals with Australian bands have developed as a result of these third country music markets (ie. a music market in neither Japan nor Australia). Austrade’s Japan Australia Music Office is pro-actively targeting buyers before they travel to SxSW so you should speak to your local Export Advisor for more information.
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