This story was created in paid partnership with Chris Gallagher.
Once you seek for the most well-liked anime soundtracks, likelihood is that almost all of that repertoire was produced by one leisure firm: Pony Canyon. Identified for its powerhouse presence in each music and anime, Pony Canyon has been a dominant drive within the Japanese music scene because the ‘60s. However now, with the rise of streaming platforms and the growing recognition of non-English music, the corporate is poised to make a big leap onto the world stage by Pony Canyon USA, which formally launched at a press convention at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles on July 3. With their artists already reaching the streaming playlists of younger world audiences, Pony Canyon has made vital investments in its world technique, with new workplaces and native hires in Los Angeles and Taipei.
A Shifting Style in Music
A decade in the past, the thought of non-English music topping world charts appeared far-fetched. Now, the digital age brings us a seismic shift in how we devour music. Streaming platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and unexpectedly, TikTok, have damaged down geographical limitations for musicians. Artists now have the platforms to make their music accessible in nations they haven’t been to. These digital platforms have led to a brand new cultural zeitgeist the place nation of origin and language are now not dispositive components in what audiences select to observe or hearken to. This development has paved the best way for Pony Canyon’s formidable world enlargement to introduce Japanese music to worldwide listeners.
We’re already seeing the start of this cultural affect. In latest months, we’ve seen TikTok resurrect Miki Matsubara’s ’s “Mayonaka no Door ~stick with me,” a track launched by Pony Canyon in 1979 with R&B and disco influences harking back to Donna Summer season. The track resonated with listeners, whether or not or not they have been followers of anime or Japanese music to start with. If something, this exhibits that language limitations now not exist in relation to music appreciation.
Synergies from Music and Anime
Numerous Pony Canyon’s success might be attributed to anime (together with a latest launch of Kinnikuman in July on Netflix), however a more in-depth look exhibits that the corporate’s power really lies within the infusion of excellent music into well-written anime. By making that synergy the important thing to their storytelling, Pony Canyon achieved dominance in a market the place most leisure firms usually deal with music and movie or anime as separate entities. The unified method has allowed Pony Canyon to supply anime like “Assault on Titan,” which options music from their roster, together with the reggae punk band SiM with their monitor, “The Rumbling.”
As an unbiased firm, Pony Canyon enjoys the pliability to forge high-quality partnerships worldwide with out the constraints of legacy subsidiaries. This independence signifies that they’ll tailor their distribution methods and collaborations to suit each artist’s or market’s distinctive calls for – a nimble method for such a giant title in leisure. This method appears to be very best for high-profile collaborations such because the one between BAND-MAID, a punk-rock lady group that co-wrote a single with Mike Einziger, the lead guitarist for American band, Incubus.
A Lengthy View of Cross-Tradition Music
“My dream, which I need to set as a aim for Pony Canyon, is that this,” says Takashi Yoshimura.
“For music, it’s to have our artists and songs win a Grammy Award. For anime and visible content material, it’s to supply works that may win an Academy Award. By reaching these, we intention for Pony Canyon to develop into a worldwide firm in 5 to 10 years. That is our largest aim and dream.” With new workplaces around the globe, and an growing pipeline of content material from Japan to followers around the globe, Pony Canyon is well-poised to make these goals a actuality.
