The Music Market in Japan
- Japan is the 2nd largest music market in the world after the USA in terms of sales.
- The population of just the Tokyo metropolitan area is 38 million. (Total Population of Japan: 124 million)
- Japanese spend more money on music per person than anyone else in the world.
- In 2024, streaming made up about 92% of all digital music sales in Japan.
- The most popular digital music platforms in Japan are Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, AWA, Line Music, kkbox
- The Last Dinner Party (UK), Boygenius (USA) and Liana Flores (UK) received the 2025 "Best New International Artist" Japan Gold Disc Award for highest sales in Japan.
- Many foreign bands/artists come to Japan to perform live and promote their music. See which artists from your country are performing in Japan | Book shows in Japan
- There are fans in Japan for all styles of music in any language—from Hawaiian, Country, Bossa Nova, Folk, New Age, Jazz, and Bluegrass to Metal, Punk, Alt Rock, Hip Hop, R&B, EDM, Reggae, and everything in between. See what foreign music is popular right now in Japan on Apple Music and Spotify.
* Data provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) and International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)
If you are in the music business, then Japan is your main market and should not be ignored.
In this website you will find info and resources to help foreign indie bands/artists, managers and record labels sell and promote music in Japan. Please read the various sections, links and articles to gain insight into the Japanese music market.
Many indie bands/artists and record labels from all over the world rely on Japan as a source of fans and revenue.
TopMusic.jp (Top Music Japan) is a platform that helps music artists and bands from around the world to better connect with fans, media and industry people in Japan. Artists (managers, labels) in any genre and from any country can quickly and easily create a Free Artist Page in Japanese and access resources to market their music in Japan. More info | Artist Signup
Create Free Artist Page in Japanese
See the artists/bands from your country that are actively promoting their music in Japan.
See the artists/bands from your country that are performing live in Japan.
How do I promote my music in Japan?
The first steps in promoting your music in Japan is to create a Japanese website and to make your music available on popular music platforms in Japan.
The goal of promotion is to get Japanese consumers to learn about you and your music and to stream/download/license your music and buy your merch—thus creating revenues for you. Even if your goal is not to make any money and just to spread your music in Japan, then you still require a Japanese website and distribution in Japan.
Promoting your music is the same in Japan as in any country. This includes things such as performing live shows in Japan and advertising/publicity in Japanese media. Fortunately, there are some affordable services available to market your music in Japan.
Resources are available here and at Top Music Japan to market your music in Japan. There are also Japanese record labels, music licensors and publishers that deal with foreign music.
Japanese record labels, music licensors and publishers
MUSIC PR is a media site that publishes news and info about artists, releases, music videos, live events. and other music industry topics in Japanese and English. Submit PR