Japan's recorded music market edges upwards

The recorded music industry in Japan saw its overall income across physical and digital rise 1.1% in the first half of 2015, according to MBW calculations. New stats from the RIAJ show that total digital income in the six months was up 5% year on year, to 22.9bn Yen (US $192m). Interestingly physical sales in this time period were up year-on-year, ever so slightly to 129.4bn Yen (2015): both were worth just over $1bn. Album downloads grew 14% to 4.73bn Yen ($40m), as streaming subscriptions leapt up 43% to 5.04bn Yen ($42m).

http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/japans-recorded-music-market-up-1-1-as-streaming-jumps-43/

News from the recorded music sector!

Independent labels have become the biggest player in the US recorded music market – and their share is growing fast. According to new statistics from Nielsen/Billboard, the independents took 35.4% of the US market by ownership (volume) in the first half of 2015. That was comfortably ahead of Universal (27.6%), Sony (20.9%) and Warner (15.2%), and represented an increase on the 35.1% share the indies claimed across the whole of 2014.

In Japan the RIAJ has yet to yet to announce digital music sales figures but physical sales for the first half of the year are almost exactly the same as 2014: The CD market took 92.123bn Yen (approx $750m) in H1 2015, compared to 92.391bn Yen (approx $750m) posted in the same period a year before. Meanwhile, Japan’s thriving music video market continues to show its strength, actually growing ever-so-slightly from 35.37bn Yen (approx $290m) in H1 2014 to 36.07bn Yen (approx $290m) in the first six months of this year.

The biggest music subscription service on the planet, Amazon Prime has not been licensed by the biggest music company on the planet, Universal - but that hasn't stopped Amazon Prime Music, which officially launched in the UK this week, having a bigger paying customer base than Spotify, Rdio, Deezer and Apple Music combined. But more users ? 

vKontake, the somewhat controversial but leading Russian social networking giant, has signed a 'goodwill agreement' with Sony Music which will seemingly halt the major's legal action against the social network. Sony drop out of an lawsuit filed at the Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region Arbitration Court, in which Sony Music, Universal Music and Warner Music demanded countermeasures and compensation for the large scale copyright infringement vKontake allegedly facilitates. The other labels remain as litigants. No further details on the content of the deal have been published, but according to reports, VK will upgrade its current music service.


http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/independent-label-us-market-share-trounces-universal-sony-warner/

http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/cd-sales-remain-rock-solid-in-japan-but-j-pop-has-a-stranglehold/

NME launches in Japan

NME has launched in Japan, boosted by a a new deal with concert promoter Kyodo Tokyo Inc. The flagship UK new music magazine,  which recently announced it would scrap its £2.50 cover price and become free, has launched a localised website in Japan, nme-jp.com, and is plotting a series of live NME-branded music events in the territory – kicking off with the Jesus & Mary Chain in November. NME.jp.com will feature interviews and news with local artists, as well as translated content from the main NME.com site.

Universal-EMI tie up green lit in Japan

Japanese regulators have approved the £1.2 billion takeover of EMI's recorded music division by Universal - the deal is still awaiting regulatory approval in Europe and the USA. No conditions were attached.

More news from Live Nation!

Following the news that Live Nation had opened a new division in South Korea, CMU Daily reports that the live music, ticketing, label, venue and management group is planning a new partnership for the Japanese market in 2012. It seems there are plans for a joint venture with one of the country's leading promoters Creativeman Productions, headed up by CEO Naoki Shimizu, to tour major Live Nations acts with U2 and Madonna rumoured to be on the cards.

40 Fix Yous for Japan

Coldplay’s “Fix You” has been covered by over 40 artists from around the world to benefit Japan’s quake relief efforts. the proceeds will go to The Japanese Red Cross Society and Tokyo charity Peace Boat. The Multi-platinum selling band Simple Plan recorded their version in Canada and on the other side of the world, 11 year old guitar prodigy Yuto Miyazawa laid down his guitar solo in Tokyo, Japan. In Ireland, the lead singer from Sweet Jane recorded her vocals at a Dublin studio and at Singapore’s Ocean Butterflies Studio, over 40 artists from all over the globe did their part by recording an Asian themed version of “Fix You” to benefit the victims of theJapanese earthquake and tsunami that shook the lives of so many on March 11, 2011. The sale proceeds of the this track will go towards the Japanese Red Cross Society (http://www.jrc.or.jp/eq-japan2011/) and Peace Boat (http://peaceboat.jp/relief/) a Tokyo based charity which is helping with the country’s rebuilding and rehabilitation efforts. “We would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support we have received from the international music community. All of your support has mattered significantly to us in Japan,” said Haji Taniguchi, Chairman of Music Publishers Association of Japan.