Country Profile: Japan

While Japan retains its heady standing as the second-largest music market in the world at time of press, domestic talents still make up 90% of concert ticket sales. Furthermore, a weakened yen – trading at its lowest level in 34 years against the US dollar at the time of press – is proving to be quite the challenge for the industry at the moment.

Despite hosting and promoting tours by Sabrina Carpenter, Caroline Polachek, Arlo Parks, and Incubus over the last year, Eventim Live Asia’s touring director Mitsuyo McGroggan admits that “it’s been an uphill battle in terms of artist fees for international talent.” It’s a sentiment shared by Jason Mayall, director of Fuji Rock Festival promoter Smash. “Due to the exchange rate at the moment and the fact that international artists are paid in dollars, we have to be really careful with booking,” he says.

However, having already hosted Taylor Swift at the 55,000-capacity Tokyo Dome, as well as Kehlani, Arctic Monkeys, and Phoenix at various smaller Zepp venues around the country, the outlook is positive for Japan’s international market.

“Even though the fees have gone up and the yen has weakened somewhat, demand for live entertainment is definitely on an upward trend”

“Even though the fees have gone up and the yen has weakened somewhat, demand for live entertainment is definitely on an upward trend,” says Martin Davis of Hayashi International Promotions (HIP), which has overseen sold-out multi-date shows by Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and K-pop sensation NewJeans.

Alongside HIP, Eventim Live Asia, and Smash, other leading promoters in the Japanese market include Live Nation, who brought over Brent Faiyaz, Rod Stewart, and Maroon 5 keyboardist PJ Morton to Tokyo, and Avex Entertainment, who have been setting up the world-renowned Ultra Music Festival in the country since 2015. Kyodo Tokyo, Beatink, and UDO Artists also feature prominently in the territory.

With more venues set to open up over the next couple of years due to a new ruling in Japan’s men’s basketball leagues, Davis believes this should eventually resolve the “conflict between domestic and international artists” when trying to book performers at suitable spaces. “Even though the baseball season restricts availability for venues such as the Tokyo Dome, the recent uptick in venue development should alleviate future concerns,” he adds.

While the aforementioned acts remain major headliners across the world, there is a concerted effort by promoters to pair them with local talent on prominent stages. “We hope to see this trend flourish in the coming years,” says McGroggan. “The collaborative efforts we are seeing between international and domestic talent has proven to be a great success, offering visibility to a new fanbase and demographic. In order to break through in the Japanese market, there’s now a need for international artists to fully cross over and find exposure with fans that predominantly listen to Japanese music.”

“The collaborative efforts we are seeing between international and domestic talent has proven to be a great success, offering visibility to a new fanbase and demographic.”

In a market dominated by “idol” artists and crossover successes such as BLACKPINK and Yoasobi, Davis believes there is major room for growth when it comes to popularising hip-hop in the country. “No big-name rapper has sold out the Tokyo Dome,” he says.

“They’d have to perform at smaller venues to build up a following first. Regardless of genre, an artist should perform in Japan earlier in their career, because if they’re commanding significant performance fees, it’ll be difficult for them to accept a price drop if they end up playing a smaller venue than they’re used to,” also referencing Dua Lipa’s ascent from playing at small-capacity shows in 2018 to a major tour stop at the 37,000-cap Saitama Super Arena later this year.

Given Fuji Rock’s proclivity for elevating grassroots artists and having them share various stages with renowned headliners, Mayall believes that the best recipe for successful artist-building is to nab a slot at a major festival. “Even though Japanese artists will always draw bigger crowds in festivals, we need international acts as headliners,” citing J-rapper Awich being slotted beneath The Killers in this year’s edition, which also featured Kraftwerk, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Kim Gordon, Floating Points, and Raye. “Fuji Rock is a great platform, which sets up international artists for future touring around Japan and the rest of Asia,” he adds.

Another major festival that enjoyed a successful 2024 was multi-genre spectacle Summer Sonic, operated by another leading promoter Creativeman. “Our signature festival attracted a total of 258,000 attendees: 130,000 in Tokyo, 90,000 in Osaka, 24,000 for Sonicmania, and 14,000 for Midnight Sonic,” says marketing manager Yoshinari Hirayama.