Billboard‘s Worldwide Energy Gamers annual listing acknowledges leaders driving the success of the music enterprise in international locations exterior america. Common Music Japan President and CEO Naoshi Fujikura was chosen from the music trade leaders of the world for inclusion within the listing a 3rd consecutive time, making this his fourth look on the listing.
Billboard Japan spoke with Fujikura in recognition of his choice for the listing, the place he delved into Common Music Group’s expectations for Japan and the challenges concerned in creating international hits.
You have been chosen for the fourth time this yr in recognition of your successes, reminiscent of making King & Prince a million-seller. How has reaching one million CD gross sales been seen by the Common Music Group as a complete?
Naoshi Fujikura: Right here in Japan, the market is altering and digital can also be a precedence, however we now have nonetheless been in a position to obtain large success with CD gross sales, using our distinctive enterprise insights and information evaluation to raised perceive what followers need, what the market desires and maximize the alternatives for every artist. For UMG as a complete, it offers renewed perspective on how dynamic the Japanese music market is, as a result of for any artist to promote one million CDs as we speak is a big achievement for any mission – creatively, commercially and for the corporate as a complete, particularly when it’s executed in a single nation and in a single week.
What’s UMG anticipating from Common Music Japan?
Fujikura: We’re at all times informed, “now it’s your flip…” however that’s not one thing particular to Japan alone, it’s a companywide objective. Our international management trusts us to guide and innovate right here in Japan, but in addition encourages us to seek out and produce “international stars.” Prior to now, these have been usually artists which have signed with worldwide labels that had sturdy fanbases in North America, U.Ok. and Europe. Immediately, within the streaming age, there are a lot of artists from exterior the Anglosphere now claiming the highest chart positions around the globe – from BTS, Karol G or Unhealthy Bunny. That is because of each the worldwide attain of streaming, and the age of content material sharing and discovery. Language is not the barrier it as soon as was in exporting music to new markets, and that matches each with the worldwide ambitions of the corporate, but in addition our personal need to introduce the perfect Japanese music and tradition to new audiences worldwide.
What’s Japan’s technique for producing a worldwide star?
Fujikura: We’re now contemplating a number of totally different approaches. The primary is to supply artists that grow to be stars with the help of a fandom, like BTS and King & Prince.
The second is what we name the “IP-based” strategy, creating a success linked to some type of video leisure, whether or not that’s Anime or one other piece of Japanese tradition that exposes international audiences to new sounds. For instance, in latest occasions we had nice success for RADWIMPS with Your Title, and within the final two years we’ve had Ado with One Piece Movie Crimson and Hiromi Uehara with Blue Big respectively.
The third is thru hits that generate a viral buzz on native, regional and even international social networks and unfold additional by way of UGC, which we now have achieved with our artists Fujii Kaze and imase. Fujii Kaze’s “Shinunoga E-wa” turned in style by way of UGC in Thailand, and from there it unfold to South Asia, India, Europe, and the U.S. Imase’s “Evening Dancer” was popularized by BTS’s Jungkook and Stray Youngsters, and now he’s well-known in Korea, moderately than simply in Japan.
Joe Hisashi, one in every of Japan’s most revered composers, is now being listened to greater than ever globally, because of his music being featured on playlists designed to reflect viewers temper and way of life, with themes like “Sleep” or “Focus”. These performs have helped increase consciousness of his ability as a composer, and helped to drive his most up-to-date album – A Symphonic Celebration – Music from the Studio Ghibli movies of Hayao Miyazaki, (Deutsche Grammophon) to the highest of the U.S. Billboard Classical Albums and Classical Crossover Albums charts in July. On this space, there’s a variety of generic faceless music produced, however Joe is a chief instance of the place nice artwork and music can reduce by way of the noise and captivate new listeners.
The variety of ways in which musical works might be shared with the world is steadily rising, so we anticipate these 4 approaches to evolve as fan discovery and consumption modifications sooner or later.
The speedy penetration of worldwide streaming providers reminiscent of Spotify and Apple Music should even be a particularly important issue. Now music from Japan might be shared all over the place, and other people around the globe can hearken to new releases on the identical time. This will generate a furor of pleasure worldwide, with zero time lag.
Fujikura: Sure, however whereas this offers Japan with alternatives, it additionally offers all over the place else on this planet with those self same alternatives. The markets of China and India have over 1.4 billion individuals, and in each nation, individuals have a tendency to like their native artists. However what makes a famous person, a real international famous person is the flexibility to transcend cultural, language and geographical obstacles. You may’t neglect the place all of it begins, with the strengths of particular person artists, having proficient artists and nice music is the nonetheless an important issue of all.
Proper, Common Music is a worldwide music firm, so it additionally has the mission of constructing artists in elements of the Common Group exterior Japan into hit artists in Japan, too.
Fujikura: Precisely. Till about 20 or 30 years in the past, worldwide music accounted for roughly 30% of music releases in Japan, and home repertoire accounted for roughly 70%, however now Japanese and Korean music account for roughly 90% or extra. The concept that when an artist makes it huge within the U.S, they will even grow to be a success artist in Japan is now 30 years outdated. The worldwide unfold of UMG’s repertoire, notably by way of IP-based and UGC consumption has additionally confirmed efficient for bringing worldwide artists to Japan, and I believe these approaches will proceed to grow to be extra outlined sooner or later.
The rise in streaming gross sales is driving ongoing, optimistic music market progress in Japan and worldwide. Nevertheless, the speed of progress of that streaming is slowing, and new market improvement is beginning to happen. What are you able to share with us about Common Music’s future strikes?
Fujikura: At UMG, we’ve at all times had an unrelenting dedication to discovering proficient artists and bringing them to the world. Every market is uniquely totally different, and whereas streaming providers bought off to a sluggish begin in Japan, there’s nonetheless a variety of room for progress. Because the world-leader in music primarily based leisure, UMG is devoted to innovating, bettering the consumer expertise and to discovering methods to draw new audiences to have interaction with the ability of music. Additionally, as I discussed firstly, in Japan we are able to nonetheless optimize the potential of bodily product gross sales for our artists, and general, I believe the Japanese music market nonetheless holds nice potential.
The primary music I purchased have been vinyl information. Since then, know-how has superior (to cassettes, CDs, downloads and to streaming) and the codecs used to ship music have additionally modified dramatically. Immediately, fandom for artists has additionally stimulated demand for bodily and collectible merchandise, and we are actually at a two-decade excessive in international vinyl gross sales as soon as once more. Expertise will proceed to vary, and we’ll see new merchandise, providers and fashions created. One factor that can stay fixed is that there’ll at all times be proficient individuals on the market who excite listeners. Our job is to find these artists, assist polish them, and share them with the world. Even when the methods we provide music change, we’ll proceed to share the worth and attraction of artists.
—This interview by Seiji Isozaki and Naoko Takashima first appeared on Billboard Japan
