Music industry in Japan - statistics and facts

Owing to Japan’s large population, the economic affluency of its consumers, and a strong fan culture, the Japanese music market is one of the largest of its kind. The sales value of recorded and digital music alone amounted to more than 337 billion Japanese yen in 2023. Recorded audio music continued to make up the biggest share, with CDs still being a popular commodity when compared to other music markets. One major reason for this is that CDs are often sold as collectibles or feature tie-ins, such as tickets that allow one to vote in idol contests or to personally meet one’s favorite artist. Japan was relatively slow to embrace streaming services in general, but both video and music streaming have become more widely adopted in recent years.

Growing popularity of music streaming services

Music streaming gathered steam when several international competitors entered the market in the mid-2010s. Apple Music, Google Play Music, and Amazon Prime Music all started offering their services in 2015, with Spotify joining in 2016 and YouTube Music following in 2018. These international services pose a strong competition for domestic ones such as LINE Music, AWA, d-Hits, au Smart Pass, and Recochoku. As is shown by the music streaming sales value, digital music continued to thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was not the case for other parts of the market. Temporary closures of shops and the tendency of people to spend more time at home led to lower sales of physical media. The number of concert visitors dropped significantly in 2020 and stayed on a low level in 2021 before reaching pre-pandemic levels in 2022. During this period, live-streaming services such as Gyao and U-Next garnered more attention as alternatives for concerts at actual venues.

Preferences of Japanese consumers

Japan’s music industry is often associated with idol culture, a well-known subset of the industry that encourages fans to support certain artists by establishing a sense of personal connection between fan and entertainer. Idols come in a variety of formats and in many cases also serve niche audiences. In general, the use of social media has made it easier for fans to feel connected to their favorite artists, and it is not uncommon for musicians to also act as influencers. When it comes to music consumption itself, people in Japan most commonly make use of freely available options such as YouTube or television programs. While music is often enjoyed while engaging in other activities, it also plays a big part in Japan’s social life, as people like to meet friends at dedicated karaoke establishments. The emergence of apps that allow people to stream karaoke versions of songs, such as Pokekara, Joysound, and Karaoke@DAM, means that karaoke can now also be enjoyed more flexibly and with a variety of features that were previously not possible.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, May 15, 2024

Key insights

Sales value of recorded and digital music
337.2bn JPY
Sales value of music streaming
105.6bn JPY
Leading music app based on downloads
Spotify
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Overview

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Overview

Recorded audio music

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Recorded audio music

Digital music

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Music streaming

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Concerts

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Genres and artists

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Most popular songs and albums

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