We are the music makers

Topic

Japan

  • Japan's record market: streaming hits 46% while vinyl jumps 42%

    Japan's recorded music market grew to an estimated ¥196.5 billion in the first half of 2026, up 4%, and streaming made up 46% of it. CDs fell 11% to ¥72.0 billion and vinyl rose 42%, but physical formats together still slightly outsold digital. For international indies, Japan remains the one big market where the plastic you press can matter as much as the playlist you land on.

    Industryvia Recording Industry Association of Japan (via PR TIMES)

  • Japan's JASRAC won't collect for fully AI-made songs, and wants the training exception in Article 30-4 changed

    Japan's biggest music rights society will only manage the human-made parts of a song, and songwriters must say which parts AI made when they register. It is also asking for Article 30-4, which lets AI firms train on works without permission, to give creators a choice. That puts Japan's songwriters further from a say over training than their counterparts in the EU or the UK.

    Artist rightsvia Japan Copyright Office (Agency for Cultural Affairs)

  • Anime is Japan's music export engine: what 'IRIS OUT' and Ado teach artists about sync

    Kenshi Yonezu's anime film theme "IRIS OUT" topped Billboard JAPAN's first-half 2026 chart after reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Global 200, the highest yet for a Japanese-language song. Japan's trade ministry puts the music industry's 2024 overseas income at ¥72.58bn, and most of the money it can trace arrives as streams, not sync fees. The lesson for artists anywhere is that a placement is where discovery starts, and the money comes later.

    Industryvia Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)

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