Music in Japan: Analog to Streaming
The first song I ever heard from my favorite Japanese band of all time was the ending theme song to a romance/drama anime called “Ouran High School Host Club.” The band, 『Last Alliance』was not something familiar and being the young music lover I was, I had to know everything I could about them.
Mind you this was pre 2016: when Spotify launched in Japan. I found『Last Alliance』in the late 2000’s where things were slowly but surely ramping up in terms of cultural exportation from Asia. I had to scour the Internet where people would either sell their CD’s at an up charge, or risk my entire hard drive from seedy download sites.
Since then, accessing music from Japan has become a lot easier, despite their love for analog music. In fact physical music, headphones, audio gear, speakers, and MP3 players sales, make up most of the music landscape out here. Streaming is… well it’s a new concept.
For one thing, Pandora’s internet radio service does not operate in Japan. If you’re a heavy Pandora user, sayoonara to your service. Like I mentioned earlier Spotify launched its streaming app across Japan in 2016 and has seen steady acceptance and growth in its user base.
This might be because of the expat community, inflated numbers, or Japanese artists getting more exposure to the adaptation of new tech, who knows? All I can say for sure is that while CD’s, DVD sales of concerts and Vinyl are by far the most popular and common way of consuming music, streaming is slowly but surely gaining traction.
When I finally had most of my Last Alliance discography on my Zune (R.I.P.), and snagging a three disc compilation they’d released…I saw new music. In the fall of 2013, I saw the new cover art on J-rock forums I was frequenting. I tried for a long time to find ways to get it and eventually I was jamming to the new songs. I was ecstatic. Mostly because the music I loved so much was so hard to track down before and you had to put in the work to get it.
You can ask any other international Japanese music fan how hard it was to gain access to tunes even five or six years ago. YouTube and other video sharing and social media sites have made it big in Japan. So while streaming isn’t as popular, supporting your bands YouTube Channel and their official fan club membership site, is preferred. It’s free and easy to share.
With the rise of K-pop across Asia and the world, most bands have huge social fanbases. Not only do they get to spread their music and art across the world, the fandoms can interact with each other and their faves much more easily.
Streaming services are a monthly subscription, whereas you can buy a whole CD, not worry about ads, not worry about quality, and have physical memorabilia of your purchase. You always remember your first CD, cassette (yes that’s back now too) or your first record.
For a lot of people, that beats a subscription service. On top of which, the novelty of it in Japan is only accessible to those who have internet, laptops at home, or smartphones. There are quite a few elderly, adults and young adults who have access to high quality MP3 players or CDs ripped onto their phones. Using data to stream music or paying extra for premiums just hasn’t caught on…yet.
** As an ESL teacher in Japan, I’m usually surrounded by the next generation and even with my own students I’ve noticed trends changing over time. Since 2017 when I ask my kids how they listen to their music or who their favorite artists are their answers surprise me. When I first arrived, a lot of them were barely aware of any streaming services and preferred a lot of domestic rock, Japanese Idol music or international pop stars.
** Now [in 2020] a majority of kids have told me they listing things like international music from Hip Hop artists or K-pop groups. On top of that they really like streaming via Youtube to get their music, or they’ll just have music on their phones via Apple Music or Spotify. It’s wild how a couple years changes the landscape of music consumption.
While I have access to most of my fave J-artists or other international musicians anytime now, I actually want to buy their music and merch. I kind of get why it’s so popular, despite me paying for Spotify Premium too. It’s just so convenient for me personally. In fact, I did a poll on Twitter, asking how people got their music and why. The answers were overwhelmingly leaned towards streaming, some on TIDAL, Google Play Music and Spotify too. The most common answer why, was the convenience.
It’s nice to know that I can go digging for a CD from 2008 from my favorite band and probably find it. It makes it just that more special. With Spotify’s 3rd birthday in Japan coming up in September I’m interested to see if streaming will make waves, or if Japan and everyone here are gonna keep up the analog life. I’ll check back with y’all eventually. Until then, keep bumping those sweet sweet tunes.
If the resurgence of vinyl is one indicator,
the growth of streaming is another.
P.S. Listen to『Last Alliance』They are a rock music roller coaster of an aural experience which I cannot recommend enough.
My partner and I discuss, the land of analog media, CD’s, MP3 players, JPOP & KPOP, concerts, music appropriation, and Japanese music we like.
