================================================================<br> J@pan Inc Magazine Presents:<br> M U S I C M E D I A W A T C H<br> Commentary on Japan's music technology news<br>================================================================<br>
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<a href="mailto:info@pbxl.jp">info@pbxl.jp</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>CONTENTS<br><br>++ FEATURE: Cutbacks at EMI Japan Causing Artists to Jump Ship<br><br>++ NOTEWORTHY NEWS: <br>
** Japanese take 'wait and see' attitude toward iPhone <br> ** Yudo launches new site for music games<br> ** RIAJ opens J-Pop music information sites in English <br> and Chinese<br> ** New Vocaloid-based product announced<br>
** Rittor starts online lessons on Yahoo! Japan<br><br><br>++ FEATURE: Cutbacks at EMI Japan Causing Artists to Jump Ship<br><br>A recent feature in the Nikkei Sangyou Shimbun put EMI Japan <br>under the spotlight, focusing on the label's cost-cutting <br>
measures and the negative reaction of Japanese artists, several <br>of whom have defected from EMI in the past few years to sign on <br>with other labels. In 2007 alone, five major artists chose <br>either not to renew their contracts with EMI, or to opt out <br>
early in order to move to another record company. Elephant <br>Kashimashi, Anri and Hideki Togi all left EMI for Universal <br>Japan, while Ulfuls went to Warner and Noriyuki Makihara found <br>a new home at Avex. In addition, Kyougo Kawaguchi departed the <br>
label in 2006, while Hitomi Yaida ended her contract with EMI <br>in 2005.<br><br>While this kind of label-hopping is not unusual for artists in <br>the west, it is still fairly uncommon in Japan, where major <br>artists are more likely to stay with one label for the bulk of <br>
their careers. Furthermore, these are all very high-profile <br>performers whose albums have consistently sold well here. While <br>labels such as EMI and Universal have an incentive to promote <br>western artists in Japan, more than half of their sales come <br>
from Japanese artists, and both companies have worked hard in <br>the past to attract and retain popular Japanese artists. <br>Considering that non-Japanese music now accounts for only 20% <br>of the market in Japan, it has become even more important for <br>
international labels here to cultivate a strong roster of J-Pop <br>artists.<br><br>So why are so many Japanese stars who built their careers at <br>EMI suddenly jumping ship and switching labels? The simple <br>answer appears to be that in its attempt to cut expenses and <br>
boost profitability, EMI may have gone a bit too far in slashing<br>the budgets for promotion of new releases by some of its key <br>artists. The Nikkei article quotes the management agency of one <br>of the departing artists (but doesn't say which one) as being <br>
upset that the marketing budget for a new release went from 30 <br>million yen (US$285,000) suddenly down to 8 million yen <br>(US$76,000). <br><br>Since being purhcased by private equity firm Terra Firma Capital<br>Partners in August 2007, EMI has announced a massive <br>
restructuring plan with roughly 2,000 jobs to be cut worldwide <br>in 2008. Several international artists, including Radiohead, <br>have also left EMI since the takeover. Furthermore, Terra <br>Firma's Guy Hands, the who took over as CEO after the purchase, <br>
has had numerous well-publicized run-ins with managers and EMI <br>staff. Hands stepped down on July 7, taking a non-executive <br>chairman position and turning over the CEO job to Elio <br>Leoni-Sceti, who was previously with European firm Reckitt <br>
Benckiser.<br><br>The cuts in Japan, though, appear to have been underway for <br>more than three years now, and are primarily the work of EMI <br>Japan CEO Shoji Doyama, who took over in January 2005 (when <br>it was still Toshiba-EMI) with a mandate to restructure the <br>
company. Doyama began by selling off buildings and factories, <br>then in 2006 he cut the Toshiba-EMI workforce nearly in half, <br>slashing 240 jobs. When mobile download revenues soared the same<br>year as Utada Hikaru broke all the digital sales records, Doyama<br>
was able to boast of greatly increased profits due to the <br>layoffs.<br><br>Now, however, many in the industry are starting to question the <br>wisdom of cutting back to such a high degree. Both Doyama and <br>the EMI strategy in general have been criticized in the Japanese<br>
media for putting too much emphasis on short-term profits and <br>not enough on the formation of a broader long-range vision and <br>strategy. Universal Japan, in contrast, has taken a clear and <br>well-publicized strategy of strengthening its roster of Japanese<br>
acts, and it is no surprise that several of the artists who left<br>EMI ended up at Universal. To make matters worse for EMI, Doyama<br>resigned his own post at the end of June to take an executive <br>position with Microsoft Japan.<br>
<br>Only time will tell if EMI Japan (along with the rest of EMI <br>Group) is able to effectively regroup and rebuild itself from <br>its current down-sized state. At least for the coming year or <br>so, though, the cuts at EMI are expected to continue, and it's <br>
likely that several more disgruntled Japanese artists will move <br>on to look for greener pastures.<br><br>---------- International Business Awards Japan ------------<br><br>**J@pan Inc is pleased to announce the opening of nominations<br>
for the International Business Awards Japan 2008**<br><br>Is your CEO or company worthy of recognition? The J@pan Inc<br>International Business Awards 2008 gives you the opportunity<br>to nominate business people and corporations you feel deserve<br>
to win an award<br><br>HAVE YOUR SAY, GO TO <a href="http://www.japaninc.com/">http://www.japaninc.com/</a><br><br>CORPORATE SPONSORS WELCOME<br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br><br>++ NOTEWORTHY NEWS:<br>
<br>** Japanese take 'wait and see' attitude toward iPhone <br>In brief: In the days leading up to the July 11 launch of the <br>3G iPhone, a survey by Kakaku.com found that half the people <br>responding said they would at least consider purchasing an <br>
iPhone. While 17% said they either 'wanted to buy' or <br>'definitely wanted to buy' the new iPhone, 33% answered that <br>they would wait and think about it, while 43% said they would <br>not buy one. Several Japanese telecom analysts, including Yusuke<br>
Tsuda, have voiced their doubts about the demand for the iPhone <br>in Japan, pointing out that the device faces stiff competition <br>here from other phones with advanced technology and features not<br>found on the iPhone.<br>
Source:<br><a href="http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/0807/07/news013.html">http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/0807/07/news013.html</a><br><br>** Yudo launches new site for music games<br>In brief: On June 10, Yokohama-based Yudo Corp opened a new site<br>
offering a free online rhythm game which users can customize <br>using their own music. Yudo has contracted with JASRAC to license <br>the entire catalog of music controlled by JASRAC for use on the <br>site. Users must register in order to use their own music in the<br>
game.<br>Sources:<br><a href="http://pan2music.net/">http://pan2music.net/</a> <br><a href="http://bb.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/news/22137.html">http://bb.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/news/22137.html</a><br><br>** RIAJ opens J-Pop music information sites in English and <br>
Chinese<br>In brief: Aiming to boost the presence of Japanese music <br>overseas, the Recording Industry Association of Japan has <br>launched new sites in English and Chinese for fans of J-Pop. <br>The English site is dubbed 'Japan Music Entertainment' and <br>
features news, interviews, videos and rankings. Also <br>participating in the project are Oricon and Japan Music Data. <br>Source:<br><a href="http://www.riaj.or.jp/release/2008/pr080605.html">http://www.riaj.or.jp/release/2008/pr080605.html</a><br>
English site:<br><a href="http://www.jp-musicet.com/en/">http://www.jp-musicet.com/en/</a><br><br>** New Vocaloid-based product announced<br>In brief: Following on the success last year of Hatsune Miku, <br>a virtual singer program that utilizes Yamaha's Vocaloid 2 <br>
technology for voice synthesis, Osaka-based Internet Corp (which<br>makes the 'Singer-Songwriter' sequencer software in Japan) has <br>announced a new product called 'Gackpoid' which features the <br>voice of J-Pop star Gackt. Like Hatsune Miku, the user enters <br>
lyrics and melody, and the program synthesizes the vocals. <br>Gackpoid will go on sale July 31, at a price of JPY 18,900 <br>(US$175).<br>Source:<br><a href="http://www.ssw.co.jp/products/vocal/gackpoid/">http://www.ssw.co.jp/products/vocal/gackpoid/</a><br>
<br>** Rittor starts online lessons on Yahoo! Japan<br>In brief: Rittor Music has started offering online lessons <br>through Yahoo! Japan's 'Yahoo! Step-up' e-learning site. <br>Initially, Rittor will have three series: guitar, bass and <br>
drums. Each series consists of 25 key points for beginners. <br>Each series costs JPY 1,500 (US $16) for one year's worth of <br>access.<br>Source:<br><a href="http://guitar.digimart.net/2008/06/yahoojapan.html">http://guitar.digimart.net/2008/06/yahoojapan.html</a><br>
<br>-- Steve Myers<br><br>++FEEDBACK<br>Want to comment? It is now even easier to voice your opinion<br>than ever before! Simply post a comment at the bottom of the<br>article: <a href="http://www.japaninc.com/mmw123">www.japaninc.com/mmw123</a><br>
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any relevant clippings to: <a href="mailto:terrie@japaninc.com">terrie@japaninc.com</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>++EVENTS<br><br>-------------------- ICA Event - July 16 -----------------<br>
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