Music Nov 11, 2020
Change of tune: Japan's music fans move from CDs to streaming services
by Ritsuko Ando
The decline in CD sales signals the streaming market’s growth potential.
Digital Apr 11, 2020
Japan's streaming situation improved just in time to self-isolate
by Patrick St. Michel
Doing your part to flatten the coronavirus curve by staying home? Luckily, the streaming situation has improved over the past few years so you don't have to be bored. And with local options, maybe you can pick up some Japanese while you catch up ...
Music | Sound Off Jul 18, 2019
Japan jumps into the music stream
by Patrick St. Michel
The biggest moment for streaming music in Japan this year came via a handwritten letter. In late June, Kenta Matsumoto of pop-punk trio Wanima shared a note on Twitter announcing that his band's entire catalog would be uploaded to streaming music platforms like Spotify ...
National / Media | Japan Pulse Mar 9, 2019
Spotify has one eye on untapped podcast market in Japan
by Patrick St. Michel
Spotify paid nearly $340 million to acquire podcast producer Gimlet Media and services provider Anchor in deals disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission last month, prompting analysts to start considering what this all meant for the industry. The growth of podcasts in recent years ...
Music Feb 14, 2018
by Patrick St. Michel
The central pair behind electronic project AmPm didn't have high expectations when they flew to Jakarta last August for Spotify On Stage, a live event organized by the market-leading music streaming service. "We were the first act up, and I think most of the audience ...
Business / Tech Jan 24, 2018
Post-holiday gamble: Apple debuts HomePod voice speaker to take on Google and Amazon
After missing the critical holiday shopping season, Apple Inc. has jumped into the voice speaker wars with the HomePod smart speaker, a device that will use its Siri voice assistant and compete against offerings from Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google. Apple said on Tuesday ...
Music | Sound Off Oct 5, 2017
AmPm's Spotify strategy bears fruit
by Patrick St. Michel
Japan's biggest breakout musical act of 2017 wear polar bear masks. The duo AmPm debuted this past spring, cloaked in fuzzy headgear and withholding all biographical information. In just over six months, the pair have had their easy-breezy electronic music released via Dutch label ...
Music Jun 9, 2017
Taylor Swift returns to Spotify after almost three-year boycott
Taylor Swift is releasing her entire catalog on all streaming services, ending the pop star's boycott of Spotify Ltd. over her ability to limit her songs to paying subscribers. The albums will become available at midnight New York time Thursday night, Swift's management said on ...
Music Jan 28, 2017
Big in Japan? Artists from abroad may find it more difficult to draw a crowd
by Philip Brasor
There are now just three major record labels left on the planet: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. These three companies control as much as 80 percent of the music that is commercially available in the world — and not just ...
Reference | FYI Oct 24, 2016
Can Spotify dent streaming-averse Japan?
by Daisuke Kikuchi
Spotify's long-awaited launch last month has industry watchers wondering whether it will make a major breakthrough in altering Japan's $3 billion music industry, where 80 percent of sales still come from CDs and other physical formats. With most of the world's major streaming services now ...