The music business reinvents itself every 20 years or so — basically every time a new format comes down the pike. But the industry has never faced the kind of fundamental challenge presented by the digital file-sharing revolution.
The Internet looks set to destroy a business model that's been in place ever since Thomas Edison began hawking wax cylinders. While the Japanese music industry's major players tend to take a defensive stance as a tide of change sweeps away old certainties, others are riding the crest of the digital wave by coming up with new musical products and services to woo today's music fans.
Internet radio, a standard item on the media menu internationally, is finally coming into its own here in Japan — sort of. A service called Radiko, launched on March 15, simulcasts 13 Tokyo- and Osaka-area radio stations via the Internet. While many community-based FM stations provide simultaneous Internet-based broadcasting services, this is the first time that major Japanese commercial radio stations have offered such a service. Reasons for the move include declining ratings, as more people enjoy music and other forms of entertainment on the Internet and via mobile phones, falling ad revenues, and the fact that high-rise buildings block radio signals in many urban areas. Radiko is available on a trial basis until Aug. 31.