Tradition vs Modernization: An Examination of the Shifting Power Dynamic in the East Asian Music Market
Japan has for a long time been the greatest power in east Asia in regards to soft power, with a wave of Japanese pop culture taking over the west in the late 90s and early 2000s, however, this popularity diminishing soon after its rise. Korea however took up the challenge and soon their soft power has come to challenge Japan’s. Korea’s use of more modern styles of music consumption, along with heavy use of soft culture, has helped the nation’s music industry grow. Japan’s unwillingness to expand into more modern forms of music consumption has caused the growth of the industry to falter. Korea, however, has embraced more modern forms of music consumption, such as music streaming, which has caused the industry to gain strength in international markets such as the Americas and Europe.
Japanese musicians seemed to have figured out the enigma of the western music market in the early 2000s, however, After making some headway into the western market Japanese musicians started to regress and return to the safety of their homeland. While some Japanese musicians continue to seek popularity in the west, few have truly become stars in the western eye. One of the major issues that Japanese musicians face is to an extent themselves, or their labels to be more specific. A plethora of Japanese music labels fear digital music streaming with few labels uploading their music onto sites such as Spotify, Line music, and Google music. The reason Japanese labels are so hesitant to upload music to the internet is the fear of piracy and Japan’s pre-existing reliance on CDs. “ Japan still has a CD addiction… In Japan, 80 percent of sales are still physical, according to the Recording Industry Association of Japan” (Warnock). If the market is already so reliant on CDs, coupled with a lack of popular streaming platforms, there is little reason for Japanese artists and labels to move to digital consumption, at least in Japan. The lack of Japanese music on streaming platforms is one of the sources of the rift that has separated Japanese music from gaining popularity outside of its home region. Most other nations have started the move from traditional CD and buying digital albums to streaming music, “over 20 percent of the population in most European countries, and close to 50 percent in China and the United States, according to data from Statista” (Warnock). If international fans are not buying albums, and they aren’t able to stream them, then how are they able to consume the music without having to spend more money shipping physical albums from Japan or doing what the Japanese wanted to stop, piracy?
Music streaming has become the forefront of music consumption in the last decade with sites such as Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, and many more working hard to increase the size of their music library as consumers transition to sources of music which are either free, or low cost. However, Japanese labels have made it difficult for such websites to grow and the general public's hesitance to take it up. “The RIAJ did a poll asking how people consume music, of the 2,216 people: 38.4% listened to physical CDs. 27% played their favorite tracks from ripped digital files. 9.7% listened to music downloads. 8.7% listened to online radio. 6% used free streaming platforms. 3.9% paid to stream their tracks” (Sanchez). More people in Japan listen to music “ripped from digital files” than from free streaming platforms meaning that the attempts that Japanese labels have made to curb piracy have failed. Japanese artists are relying on live performances to make ends meet and make sure the market stays afloat since CD sales are only just keeping the market afloat (Vido).
In recent years, however, South Korean music has become a worldwide sensation. How did South Korea gain popularity to rival Japan despite its relatively small influence in the world before the 2010’s? South Korea has embraced internet culture and digital platforms for their artists along with cultural gateways and soft culture.
A large percentage of Korean music listeners use digital services to access music. Sung-Won Yoon found that in a study by IFPI about 41% of South Koreans pay a subscription to a paid music streaming service whereas only 7% pay in Japan. This demand for digital sources in South Korea means that musicians from Korea, if they want to make some sort of a profit, need to put their music onto digital platforms.
Another key factor in Korea’s need to go abroad is the size of their market. The Korean music market is small when compared to neighbors, like Japan and China, so Korean musicians have learned how to appeal to foreign audiences. Many Korean acts head to Japan due to the market size and the chance of breaking though. “With Japan having more than twice the population of South Korea, it’s no wonder K-pop bands are willing to learn Japanese and localize their music for their island neighbor” (Joy). In other words, if Korean artists have learned to appeal to their east Asian neighbors then they can do the same with western nations. K-pop has also been able to gain popularity by combining western and eastern aesthetics. Oh and Park put it, “it is cultural hybridization between Western universalism and Asian exoticism (or particularism) that is pivotal in attracting transnational audiences” allowing for greater appeal even to those who have little experience with foreign, in particular, east asian media.
Korean music has also mastered using social media and cultural gateways to gain a larger audience. By posting clips of their performances, or music videos, onto different social website and apps, the artist has succeeded in spreading his or her name. If the artist has a strong support staff then social media can be a great source of advertisement than sponsorships or television programs. (Oh and Park) Korean musicians have also used cultural gateways to gain popularity. “Only a small portion of the loyal fans that came to Korea encountered K-pop through YouTube or other social media. The majority of them confirmed a more plausible scenario of getting introduced to K-pop through hubs of Asian popular culture: Japan and China” (Oh and Park 376). Since many Korean artists are active in Japan they often perform songs for Japanese anime and dramas, thus exposing them to a new demographic of foreign fans who may not have ever listened to them otherwise.
These differences in culture and marketing have lead to the current divide between Japan and the west and Korea’s growing relationship with the western market. The western market has allows been difficult for non-English speakers or non-Europeans to gain popularity in, and yet both Japan and Korea have gained some sort of popularity. Japan made early strides gain bouts of popularity every now and then until finally in the Nineties a few artists gained popularity with the rise of Otaku culture. Korea has now taken the place of Japan and east Asia’s cultural power house but for how much longer? The two nations now have to see if they need to change things down the line. Can Korea keep its popularity and will the popularity only be for a lucky few? Can Japan regain its former strength or will it continue down it’s path of isolation?
Bibliography
Joy, Alicia. “How K-Pop Conquered the Japanese Music Scene.” Culture Trip, 22 June 2017,
theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/how-k-pop-conquered-the-japanese-music-scene/.
The source offers a look into how K-Pop was able to gain popularity in Japan and why. The source also gives insight on Hallyu culture and how it influences Japan. J-Pop and K-Pop are also examined and compared, helping to explain the difference between the two, aside from geographic location.
Oh, Ingyu, and Gil-Sung Park. “From B2C to B2B: Selling Korean Pop Music in the Age of
New Social Media.” From B2C to B2B: Selling Korean Pop Music in the Age of New Social Media, 2012, pp. 365–397., www.tobiashubinette.se/hallyu_2.pdf.
From B2C to B2B examines and explains how the South Korean music market is designed and how it has changed. The use of soft power and cultural gateways is explained and how it helped K-Pop gain popularity. The examination of social media was unique and a topic most other articles failed to mention in K-Pop’s growing influence.
Sanchez, Daniel. “Something Is Finally Beating the CD In Japan (And It's Not Spotify).” Digital
Music News, 26 Sept. 2017, www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/09/25/riaj-cd-youtube-report/.
Sanchez offers helpful information on streaming versus CD culture in Japan and how it seems to be changing. The statistics offered are helpful in showing the disparaging difference between CD and streaming use in Japan.
Vido, Roberto De. “Why Is the Music Industry in Japan so Strong? | Scandinavian Traveler.”
Scandinavian Traveler - For the Modern Traveler from Scandinavian Airlines,
Scandinavian Traveler, 5 July 2017, scandinaviantraveler.com/en/lifestyle/why-is-the-music-industry-in-japan-so-strong.
Vido offers information on how CD and streaming consumption has affected Japanese musicians and the steps they have taken to increase their income. Vido also explains that the current system that Japan works on wouldn’t last and needs to be changed.
Warnock, Eleanor. “It's Slow Streaming for Music Services in Japan.” Tokyo Review, 18 May
2018, www.tokyoreview.net/2018/05/its-slow-streaming-for-music-services-in-japan/.
Warnock offers more statistics but gives larger context, using stats from both in and outside of east Asia. The stats give information on CD use in Japan and on Streaming in several nations, including Japan of course. The article also has information on how national and foreign companies are attempting to break into the music streaming world of Japan.
Yoon, Sung-Won. “Paid Music Streaming Services Thrive in Korea.” Koreatimes, 23 Apr. 2017,
www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2017/04/133_228115.html.
“The IFPI said 41 per cent of internet users in Korea were subscribed to a paid music streaming service as of the end of 2016. This is the largest proportion among 13 countries, followed by Sweden’s 40 per cent, Mexico’s 39 per cent, Brazil’s 26 per cent and the United States’ 20 per cent. Japan’s seven per cent was the lowest figure among all nations surveyed.”
Yoon also brings in more more statistics in but not only on how Japan lags behind in streaming but also in which streaming services in Japan are popular and why. Yoon explains that YouTube is popular and explains as to why it is, where as most other sources simply state which sites happen to be popular.