Japan Music Marketing - Sales Promotion and Advertising in Japan for the Music Industry

Selling and Promoting Your Music in Japan
Japan Music Marketing Resources for foreign record labels, bands and artists

Music Promotion in Japan (Sales Promotion, Marketing)

Promotion comes in 3 basic forms:

1. Advertising
2. Publicity (also includes Japanese podcast/radio promotion)
3. Live Shows/Tours

Scenario 1: You have a deal with a Japanese record label that is committed to doing and paying for significant promotion for you in Japan.

Scenario 2: You have a deal with a small indie Japanese record label that does very little marketing/promotion for you in Japan. You negotiate a higher share but agree to pay for more promotion in Japan.

Scenario 3: You do not have a deal with a Japanese record label, but you can get your music distributed to some Japanese shops (e.g. iTunes, Amazon, other online sales, physical record store, etc.) using an indie distributor, Top Music Japan, or another DIY method.

*If you need distribution in Japan, please click here.

Of course, Scenario 1 is the best situation for you, but not everyone can be in this scenario. Most will be in Scenario 2 and 3. If this is the case, you will have to do and pay for promotion in Japan. The good thing is that now there are resources and services available to help you to sell and promote your music in Japan. Another good thing is that the population of Metro Tokyo is 35 million—more than many countries. All the buzz starts in this city and spreads across the whole country which is only about the size of California state but has a total population of 127 million. Your promotion budget goes further in Japan because you only have to concentrate on 1 city—Tokyo—unlike in the USA where there are many fragmented markets (mainly due to geographic region and demographics).

Advertising (Print, Internet)

There are numerous places for advertising your music in Japan. Your ad campaign will depend on your genre, target audience, and budget, and if possible, should be planned with the release of your CD and/or live tour in Japan. Also, if you are a foreign artist/band/record label, then you should already have distribution in Japan for your products since the ultimate goal of the advertising campaign is to promote sales of your music. If Japanese consumers cannot purchase your music in Japanese online, mobile or traditional shops then it is pointless to do advertising.

Advertising Methods in Japan

Print Advertising - 1 Color to Full Color Ads in Magazines and Free Papers/Magazines

There are a variety of music-related magazines covering many genres such as jazz, hiphop/r&b, dance/club, Latin, rock and pop (a few are shown below). Most have circulations of 100,000 to over 300,000. There are also some popular free music-related papers/magazines which have over 100,000 printed and distributed in places such as music shops (HMV, Tower Records, etc.), live houses (venues), fashion shops, clubs, bars, restaurants, convenience stores, music festivals, etc.

The cost of a single ad in a popular magazine ranges from about $1,500 to well over $20,000. Ad production can add another 10% to 30% to costs.

Since ad dimensions are limited, showing a QR Code or link to a Japanese website (landing page) is the norm for directing consumers to more info, sample music and shops that sell your music. (Click here to read more about mobile marketing.)

Below are some popular music magazines targeted to Japanese music listeners/consumers. There is a publication for almost every genre of music.

Japanese Music Magazines

Quick Links

Get distribution in Japan

Find a Japanese record label to release your music

Send your demo to Japanese record companies

Do a live tour in Japan

Create a Japanese web + mobile site

Links to Live Houses (Venues) in Japan

See what foreign artists are "Big in Japan"

Below are some of the most popular free magazines/papers in Japan that have 100,000 or more circulation per monthly issue.

Japanese Hip Hop Free Paper

*Special advertising rates in Hip Hop Insider available.

Jungle Life is a free music magazine that has a monthly circulation of 150,000. It is mainly for pop and rock genres.

Single Ad Budget: $1,500 to $15,000

Internet Advertising

Popular Japanese websites, blogs and email newsletters targeted to music consumers offer advertising space. The most popular websites get well over 1 million page views per month. Most internet advertising rates are based on pay per 1,000 impressions (ad views) or pay per click on your ad. Some are based on a simple flat rate per month.

Two of the most popular websites used by music consumers in Japan are Tower.jp and Barks.jp.
Tower Records Japan Tower.jp has about 22 million page views and 2.5 million unique users per month.
Barks.jp has about 7 million page views and 1.5 million unique users per month.

Image ads in these popular Japanese websites start around $3,000. You can get over half a million to well over a million ad views with a single ad placement.

You can also drive traffic to your Japanese web site with text and/or image ads in Google Japan (Adwords) and its vast network of publisher sites. Since advertisers pay per click on their ad, the campaign can be customized to any budget—from $1/day (though more is recommended for more meaningful results). The Google Japan Adwords advertising network reaches almost 90% of all Japanese internet users. By running a Google Japan Adwords Campaign, your ads can be targeted and placed in Japan's most popular websites used by music consumers, such as YouTube.jp, Tower.jp, Bounce.jp, Barks.jp, Listen.jp, and others according to your budget, genre and target audience.

Similarly, Facebook Japan advertising can be used to target Japanese Facebook users.

Google Japan Adwords and Facebook Japan Advertising allow you to reach Japanese consumers even if you are on a shoestring budget. You can pause campaigns at anytime and modify your daily budget. Naturally, the higher budget you set, the more clicks on your ad you will receive. Google Japan Adwords and other publishers require that when people click on your ad it brings them to a web page in Japanese. This is another good reason why you should set up a Japanese website.

TopMusic.jp is a Japanese language online music guide that music consumers and industry people throughout Japan use to discover, follow and contact artists/bands from around the world. The goal of TopMusic.jp is to introduce and promote foreign artists/bands in Japan and to eliminate language, distance and technical barriers. Click here to read more about TopMusic.jp in English. Click here to visit TopMusic.jp (Japanese) and see what artists/bands from around the world are already making it "Big in Japan".

Click here to submit an application for an Artist/Band Profile in the TopMusic.jp Music Guide

Required budgets for various advertising in Japan:
Adwords Ad Campaign - Google Japan and Partner Sites (Setup Fee: from $149; Min. Ad Budget from $1/day) more info
Facebook Japanese Ad Campaign (Setup Fee: from $49; Min. Ad Budget from $1/day) more info
Image ad in popular Japanese website, blog or email newsletter (Min. Ad Budget from $2,000)
Print ad in popular Japanese magazine/free paper (Min. Ad Budget from $2,000)
Classified Ad in Hip Hop Insider magazine - only for hip hop/rap/R&B genres (Min. Ad Budget from $300) more info
Image ad in TopMusic.jp website (Min. Ad Budget from $25) more info

*Min. budgets shown are approximate. Costs may vary depending on your genre, available ad space, ad/materials production costs, discounts, etc.
*Artists with a TopMusic.jp Japanese Web+Mobile Site can get a discount on certain fees.

Are you interested in shared promotion with other artists to reduce your own advertising costs?
Artists (and their labels) who have created a TopMusic.jp Japanese web+mobile site can participate in "shared" advertising and promotion opportunities. Sometimes we organize "shared" ad space in popular Japanese media (print/online) where we can promote more than 1 artist (or release/show) at the same time. Instead of 1 artist paying for the whole ad, we can divide it into smaller costs according to the number of artists participating to make it more affordable but still getting good exposure for each artist.

To start promotion, artists and bands should first sign up at Top Music Japan.

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Publicity

Publicity is not advertising. It is "free" (i.e. the publisher is not paid) and comes in the form of online and offline articles, interviews, reviews, news, radio, and TV.

A Japanese website is essential when seeking publicity so that not only fans, but media can readily get more info, contact you, watch your music videos, and download extras such as photos or MP3's. Japanese media will often include your website URL and QR Code in articles, interviews, news, and reviews, so you should have these things ready.

In Japan, "tie-ups" are how many larger record companies promote artists. A tie-up can come in the form of a song being used for a commercial or advertising campaign for another product or service (such as a new mobile phone, clothing, car, cosmetics, etc.), or a song used in a TV show, movie, or a bonus when someone buys a product. Usually record companies with close relations with advertising agencies and producers can make this happen. The "tie-up" marketing strategy can probably be viewed as a mix of advertising and publicity (although some may say that the song is used for "free", the money that actually changes hands between record company and ad agency/client is usually not talked about nor disclosed).

Sometimes a music or creative director may be looking for a particular sound (like a Hawaiian, reggae, folk, gospel, soul, or Latin jazz/bossanova song) and will seek out and discover music from a foreign artist or band. Oftentimes, the music will come from foreign artists who are not at all popular in their own countries but due to the tie-up, may see a sudden rise in popularity and sales in Japan. These music and creative directors use the web and mobile phones to find music. So creating a Japanese web and mobile site is very important.

Click here to create a Japanese web and mobile site.

"Radio promotion" does not exist in Japan!
Unlike in the West, in Japan you do not have to pay thousands of dollars for "radio promotion". There are only 3 major FM radio network companies in Japan: JFN, JFL and Mega Net (and a few independents). Each of the 47 prefectures (i.e. states) in Japan has at least one FM station under the big 3 and maybe a few independents. FM in Japan is from 76 to 90 MHz, resulting in a very limited number of possible stations (Japan's geography is very mountainous and it is only the size of California State). There are now plenty of internet and broadband radio stations, as well as podcasting. The number of internet and mobile users is far greater than the number of listeners of FM/AM radio. In Japan, FM/AM radio does not play as big a role in the promotion of artists as it does in the West. Charts that are reported and that people actually follow and pay attention to are charts based on unit sales NOT radio plays. Most radio stations do not even have Top 10 or Top 40 charts. Instead they just show playlists. Unlike in the West where most of the content played by radio is controlled and "programmed" by a few companies, DJ's and radio program hosts in Japan are more free to play whatever they want.
You can still try to reach the dwindling number of listeners of FM/AM radio in Japan. There is a service available where you can submit your song to a pool of directors and DJ's of Japanese FM/AM radio stations in hopes of being played but you don't have to concentrate on and spend a big part of your budget on "radio promotion" in Japan.

Click here to submit your song to Japanese podcasters, netradio and FM/AM radio directors/DJ's.

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Live Shows/Tours

Live shows/tours are the best way to establish a loyal fan base in Japan and to promote your music. It also helps in getting publicity and motivates your distributor to push your product at stores. Do not rely on booking agents because there are none (unless you are a DJ or want to work as an entertainer in a cabaret/night club/theme park/attraction). Like Japanese indie bands, you have to audition, organize and pay for your shows. Doing a live gig in Japan is NOT a revenue-generating activity, it is a promotional expense.

The costs of touring in Japan will vary depending on the number of members and amount of tour support services required. In addition to everyone's transportation, accommodation, food, and other personal costs, the tour planning/management company must also be paid for its services.

If you are wondering about how much doing a Japan tour costs simply go to your local travel agency and ask them how much a standard tourist package would be for Japan (staying 7 days and visiting Tokyo and maybe Osaka) for the number of people in your band—then add some extra (the tour organizer/manager also takes a fee) to come up with a conservative budget for your tour! If you have that budget ready and at least 3 to 4 months leadtime (and valid passports with no criminal records) then contact the companies that specialize in the planning and management of live tours and concerts for foreign artists/bands and labels in Japan.

Click here to read more about doing a live tour in Japan and about Japanese "live houses" (venues). If you know a little Japanese or know someone who does you might be able to setup your own gigs. Click here to see a list of live houses throughout Japan.

Click here for contact information for companies that specialize in the planning and management of live tours and concerts for foreign artists/bands and labels in Japan.

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Articles about The Music Market in Japan - How to Make it "Big in Japan"

1. Japanese Market Opportunity for Foreign Music - If you are in the business of selling music, do not forget Japan!
2. The Music Business in Japan - Indie Music Culture and Record Companies in Japan
3. Playing Gigs in Japan - Promoting your music at Japanese "Live Houses" and other venues
4. How Much Does It Cost? - The activities and related costs of selling and promoting your music in Japan
5. Useful Tips On Visiting and Doing Business in Japan - Info and advice for visiting and doing business in Japan

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The Indie Bible: Music Promotion and Marketing Tool