K-pop has cemented itself as a significant part of the industry in the past decade, garnering a fanbase of millions globally. That said, many are wondering which other region-specific music industry will get its international breakthrough. Many point to Japan, and there are already embers of that possibility happening. Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go.
Japan’s domestic music market is the second-largest in the world behind the United States according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), and the largest in Asia. It also has a variety of artists and music genres that have managed to garner dedicated fan bases outside of the country.
The biggest reason why Japanese music hasn’t tapped into the international market is that there hasn’t been much incentive on the corporate end. Japan’s music industry puts a huge focus on its domestic market and fans. Most of its popular artists have done well for themselves with that alone. Additionally, while most global music markets invested heavily in digital, much of
Japanese music’s revenue is still generated from physical sales and events. Records, CDs, and other physical merchandise make up a large swath of revenue, and for that reason Japan is recognized as the world’s largest physical market. It’s largely attributed to the infamous idol culture, which shares striking similarities to how many K-pop fanbases operate despite it largely being made up of men.
That said, times are changing. The Anime industry and even things like Vocaloid have helped artists garner international interest, due to how prominent and significant anime openings and endings tend to be, similar to how made-for-TV and movie music is in the West. TikTok trends and artist spotlights on YouTube have also done a great job of boosting international interest.
