Live Nation has strengthened its foothold in Japan with the acquisition of Hayashi International Promotions (HIP), one of the country’s leading promoters for domestic and international artists.

Founded over 40 years ago, the Tokyo-headquartered firm has promoted shows with Bruno Mars, Maroon 5, U2, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Red Hot Chili Peppers and more. It has also brought international festival brands such as Slipknot’s Knotfest and Ozzy Osbourne’s Ozzfest to Japan.

Since 2021, HIP has been led by Kaori Hayashi, following the death of the company’s founder and her father, Hiromichi “Massy” Hayashi.

Live Nation says that its global network, combined with HIP’s local expertise, means that more global superstars will reach Japanese audiences and J-pop will be elevated on the international stage.

“HIP is one of Japan’s iconic concert companies, and we’re honoured they’ve chosen to join Live Nation”

“HIP is one of Japan’s iconic concert companies, and we’re honoured they’ve chosen to join Live Nation,” says Michael Rapino, CEO & president, Live Nation Entertainment.

“As Kaori continues to build on the incredible legacy her family started, we’re excited to partner with her and the HIP team to bring even more live music to fans across Japan.”

Kaori Hayashi, CEO at Hayashi International Promotions, says: “HIP has been at the heart of Japan’s live music scene for over 40 years, and our focus has always been on delivering incredible concerts for fans. Partnering with Live Nation allows us to keep doing this with greater scale, giving Japanese artists the opportunity to perform to new audiences and strengthening Japan’s position as a must-visit destination for major acts.”

The partnership strengthens Live Nation’s existing presence in Japan, with Oasis, Kylie Minogue, and KYGO all performing in the country in 2025.

Read more about Japan, the world’s second-largest music market, in the latest edition of the Global Promoters Report.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

A veteran Japanese rock band have announced they will be setting up daycare centres at their concerts in Tokyo this month.

Luna Sea will bring their Era to Era 35th anniversary tour to a close at the Tokyo Dome on 22-23 February. The performances are entitled The Millennium Eve 2025 and LUNA TIC TOKYO 2025 – Black Suit Only Gig, respectively. General tickets are priced between 12,100 and 15,500 yen (€76-98).

The five-piece group, who have released 10 albums through their career, say they are planning to set up a childcare centre for the shows, enabling parents to drop off their children and pick them up later after the show.

Luna Sea previously set up a nursery at their Saitama Super Arena concerts in 2014

Children under three years old are also permitted to enter the concert for free as long as they sit on an adult’s lap.

Full details are still to be confirmed, but the move has won widespread praise online – particularly in light of the band’s older fanbase and Japan’s population decline.

Livedoor reports it is not the first time that Luna Sea have introduced childcare facilities at their gigs, having previously set up a nursery at their Saitama Super Arena concerts in 2014. Other artists with children such as MINMI and Angela Aki have also followed suit in the past.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Summer Sonic has announced the lineup for its inaugural Bangkok edition, announced earlier this year.

The Creativeman-promoted festival will be headlined by US acts One Republic and Lauv, with support from other international acts including Laufey, Aurora, Suede and Nothing But Thieves.

Yoasobi, Bodyslam, Zico, Bright, Boynextdoor, Lovejoy, Travis Japan, Phum Viphurit, Psychic Fever, Getsunova, Henry Moodie, Violette Wautier, Tomikita and Sarukani are also slated to perform at the debut.

Summer Sonic Bangkok will take place in Thailand’s capital between 24 and 25 August at the Impact Arena (cap. 12,000) in Muang Thong Thani.

The last edition of Summer Sonic that took place outside of Japan was Summer Sonic Shanghai in 2017

Ticket prices range from 3,500 (€89) to 11,000 (€278) for a one-day pass, and 6,500 (€164) to 20,000 (€506) for two-day entry.

The last edition of Summer Sonic that took place outside of Japan was Summer Sonic Shanghai in 2017. It featured a line-up headlined by Luna Sea, followed by The Kooks, Placebo, Nothing But Thieves, Sum 41, Travis, The Fratellis, and more.

The flagship event will return to its longstanding locations in Tokyo and Osaka between 17 and 18 August 2024 – both of which are sold out.

Bring Me The Horizon, Christina Aguilera, Måneskin, Greta Van Fleet, Major Lazer, Lil Yachty, Belle & Sebastien, Bleachers, Madison Beer, Oliva Dean, PinkPantheress and more are due to perform at the twin events.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

The LGBTIQ+ List 2023 – IQ Magazine’s third annual celebration of queer professionals who make an immense impact in the international live music business – has been revealed.

The ever-popular list is the centrepiece of IQ’s third Pride edition, sponsored by Ticketmaster, which is now available to read online and in print for subscribers.

To get to know this year’s queer pioneers a little better, we interviewed each of them on the development of the industry, the challenges that are keeping them up at night and more.

Throughout the next month, IQ will publish a new interview each day. Check out yesterday’s profile with Kane Kete, client development manager for major events, promoters & music venues at Ticketmaster in Melbourne, Australia.

The series continues with Ippei Kimura (he/him/his), booking/marketing/tour manager at Creativeman Productions in Tokyo, Japan.

Born and raised in the big city of Tokyo, Ippei’s younger days were spent working in restaurants, with most nights spent at clubs, where he made a lot of connections. He started working in the live music industry at Creativeman in 2010, where he has booked the tours of many international pop acts in Japan, as well as tours for Japanese acts overseas.

Tell us about the professional feat you’re most PROUD of in 2023 so far.
I have a few… starting with the successful tour of Rina Sawayama in January, which was something I am very proud of. I was touched to see not only her music but also her message make a huge impact on younger generations of all genders.

I also toured a few cities in the US, Europe, and the UK with Japanese popstar Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and was happy to see people enjoying her kawaii (cute in Japanese) pink pop world. I am very thankful that lots of the queer crowd showed up to give unconditional support to her. And I just booked the tour of my new favourite act for next year! Can’t tell you who yet!

Name one queer act you’re itching to see live this year.
Just one?! Okay… I am excited that Sam Smith is coming to Japan this October. I’m very curious how Japanese people will react to their new openly queer proud looks in the show.

What advice could you give to young queer professionals?
Respect others if you want to have them respect you. Working in the music live industry is all about teamwork! You cannot do it all by yourself. I was very lucky to have people respect who I am, so I want to do the same. I guess this goes for all genders in all types of work. And work hard and play hard! Don’t ever forget to have fun! You might find new work ideas.

“Manpower shortage is a serious issue in the live music industry in Japan these days”

What’s the best mistake you’ve ever made?
I am making mistakes every day… Very hard to track what I have done but I try not to make the same mistakes no more than three times!

In terms of challenges in the industry, what’s currently keeping you up at night?
Manpower shortage is a serious issue in the live music industry in Japan these days, especially in the production department. We have to be very careful not to book the big tours in the same time period. So young queer friends in Japan… you have a lot of chances here to work in this exciting world!

How do you see the live music business developing in the next few years?
Japan is a very undeveloped country for gender matters generally. Especially for LGBTIQ rights. The live music industry here is still very much a man’s world. But these days, I am happy and excited to see many young ladies working very hard in many sections/departments.

Unfortunately, I’m still rarely meeting out queer people in the industry. I am hoping the industry will become an environment where people can feel comfortable being true to who they are at work, so we can have more young queer folks who enjoy working together. You know, us queer people sometimes bring some good ideas along that turn the whole world upside down. I feel our industry might have the chance to lead the way with gender balance in the country!

“Members of the audience told me that it was their first time seeing real-live drag queens”

Name one thing the industry could do to be a more equitable place.
Giving equitable chances to any gender acts at festivals is very important. The majority of rock festival lineups are still male performers. Every summer, we run one of the biggest music festivals in Japan called Summer Sonic. We are very proud that we have female headliners in our history, such as Beyoncé back in 2009 and Rihanna in 2012, and I am very much looking forward to seeing more names in the near future.

At Summer Sonic, we also have a very unique stage event called SummerSoNichome. We bring the fun and excitement of a queer club atmosphere to the rock/pop festival with wonderful Japanese drag queens, go-go boys, dancers, and DJs. We have been doing this for more than ten years now, and it has become very popular at the festival.

Members of the audience told me that it was their first time seeing real-live drag queens and that they loved dancing with the queens. A few weeks later, I bumped into them at gay clubs! How exciting is that! It was unique and rare to have something like this on the Japanese festival scene, and I am very proud to be the pioneer of this.

Shout out your biggest ally in the live music industry.
Everybody at our office! Without their help, I am not here right now for sure!

Shout out any LGBTIQ+ cause(s) you support.
In Japan, we still have a very long way to go to get equality rights. I am very thankful to everybody who keeps fighting for it. Thank you!

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

British rock band Bring Me The Horizon have announced their own one-day festival in Japan later this year.

The event, titled Nex_Fest, is touted as “a one-of-a-kind festival directed by the band, from the line-up to the artwork”.

Bring Me The Horizon will headline the festival, with support from Japanese bands Maximum The Hormone, Yoasobi, Paledusk, CVLTE, HANABIE., VMO aka Violent Magic Orchestra and Kruelty.

Produced by the country’s leading international promoter Creativeman Productions, Nex_Fest is slated for 3 November at Tokyo convention centre Makuhari Messeon.

Nex_Fest is touted as “a one-of-a-kind festival directed by the band, from the line-up to the artwork”

The festival will conclude the band’s run of shows in Japan, which includes stops in Osaka and Nagoya with support from Babymetal, Yungblud and I Prevail.

The outing is in support of the band’s forthcoming album POST HUMAN: NeX GEn, due on 15 September.

It’s the second time the band has curated a festival, after curating a four-day event in Malta with the now-collapsed UK-based music, travel and experiences start-up Pollen.

Nex_Fest is the latest addition to an increasing trend of artist-curated festivals, which includes Jawbreaker’s 1234FEST, J.Cole’s Dreamville, Tyler the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, Smashing Pumpkins’ The World Is A Vampire, Travis Scott’s Astroworld, Pharrell Williams’ Something In The Water and Meltdown festival.

,
31
1
_ 3,
https://t.co/gSS8sej9oE
# pic.twitter.com/ZBf7jmZUBu

— Bring Me The Horizon (@bmthofficial) July 14, 2023

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Japan’s marquee international festivals are heralding a return to form with lineups featuring some of the world’s biggest stars.

Summer Sonic, set to be held concurrently in Tokyo and Osaka on 19 and 20 August, recently unveiled a bill headlined by Kendrick Lamar, Blur, The Strokes, Lizzo and Foo Fighters.

Other non-domestic acts on the bill include Fall Out Boy, Blur, Niall Horan, Thundercat, Two Door Cinema Club, Wet Leg, Honne, Pale Waves, Liam Gallagher and Evanescence.

Last year, international acts accounted for just 40% of Summer Sonic’s offering due to stringent pandemic travel restrictions.

In addition, the Creativeman-promoted festivals were reduced in capacity (Tokyo to 55,000 and Osaka to 30,000) and fans were subject to a number of restrictions.

Last year, international acts accounted for just 40% of Summer Sonic’s offering due to stringent pandemic travel restrictions

The Japanese government only recently announced a relaxation of its longstanding ban on cheering at concerts and sporting events, along with a reclassification of Covid-19’s disease status.

From 8 May, coronavirus will be downgraded from class Class 2 to Class 5 – the same tier as seasonal flu – in the country, with residents told to use their own judgement when it comes to mitigation measures, including mask-wearing.

Smash Corporation has also announced a bill heavy with international artists for the 2023 edition of Fuji Rock, set for 28–30 July 2023 at Naeba Ski Resort.

The Strokes, Foo Fighters, Lizzo, Lewis Capaldi, Weezer, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Denzel Curry, Romy, Dermott Kennedy, Alanis Morrisette and Black Midi are among the overseas acts booked to perform.

So far, the festival has not announced a single Japanese act – a far cry from 2021’s all-domestic bill – and, in a nod to the lifted cheering ban, Fuji Rock’s website assures festivalgoers that this year’s event will “make you shout out that you feel great!”.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Creativeman’s Layli Odamura has spoken to IQ about the challenges of being an international promoter in Japan, amid some of the strictest Covid-19 measures in the world.

Last month, the leading promoter held its marquee international festival, Summer Sonic, in Tokyo and Osaka for the first time since 2019.

Though the events in both cities sold out and were deemed a “great success,” the festival was unable to return to its full glory due to ongoing and prohibitive Covid-19 restrictions.

Event capacities were reduced (Tokyo to 55,000 and Osaka to 30,000) and both artists and fans had to adhere to a number of requirements in order to attend the annual events.

International artists were required to present proof of a negative result from a pre-departure PCR test, submit personal information including vaccination history and sign a written oath in order to perform.

Of the 100 acts that appeared at Summer Sonic 2022, 40% were international – which Odamura says is “a lot less than in previous years as we are cautiously working within pandemic travel restrictions”.

Despite the stringent measures, 110,000 tickets sold for Tokyo and 60,000 tickets sold for Osaka across the two days

The 1975, Post Malone, Megan Thee Stallion, St Vincent and Carly Rae Jepsen were among the overseas artists that performed across the six stages in Tokyo and four in Osaka.

Attendees, meanwhile, had to undergo a temperature check upon entry, wear a face covering, maintain social distancing and be silent in the audience.

Despite the stringent measures, 110,000 tickets sold for Tokyo and 60,000 tickets sold for Osaka across the two days. A further 20,000 tickets were sold for Sonicmania, which is an all-night festival that ushers in Summer Sonic.

“The challenge for us as an international promoter was striving to bring the festival back to a fully recovered state just as the rest of the world already has, while still abiding by the domestic restrictions given,” says Odamura.

“We made it work though, like we always do, and we are thankful to those artists who have supported us by keeping within the given restrictions, while not compromising their incredible shows.

“And, thanks to the fans who have been eagerly and patiently waiting for the return of large-scale international festivals, Summer Sonic this year was a great success and this definitely was a big step towards financial recovery for us.”

“Summer Sonic this year was a great success and this definitely was a big step towards financial recovery for us”

Odamura says Creativeman‘s financial recovery has also been helped along by the government-backed J-LODlive subsidy, as well as mid-pandemic spin-off event Super Sonic.

With Japan’s government starting to roll back restrictions, the live industry is finally on the road to recovery – though Odamura says it may be a while before consumers regain their confidence.

“While we had a fully sold-out festival, in Japan the general public is incredibly cautious,” explains Odamura. “We are a diligent group of people and tend to stick to rules and in the hope of keeping the spread of the virus to a minimum – a lot of people are restraining themselves from going out and will carry on wearing masks as a personal choice.

“Even some who will come to shows will suppress cheering or even enjoy the show fully, somewhat holding themselves back. This may continue until Covid is beaten globally which will then impact Japan to relax more.

“Regardless, we at Creativeman are determined to bring back the live industry in Japan to the same standard as the rest of the world.”

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Live Nation and 88rising are the latest promoters to announce new events in Asia, buoying a festival boom on the continent.

The news comes shortly after Rolling Loud announced plans to expand its hip-hop franchise to Thailand in 2023, and Lollapalooza revealed intentions to launch in Mumbai early next year.

Live Nation’s contribution to the uptick is a one-day urban festival in Tokyo, Japan, in collaboration with the country’s leading promoter Creativeman.

Tonal Tokyo will take place at the Ariake Arena (cap. 15,000) on 29 October this year, featuring a mix of domestic and international acts.

Charli XCX, Jamie xx, Years & Years and Lany are among the artists slated to perform across the main arena and the sub arena.

“We aim to create a new-generational music festival that brings together the diverse sounds and colours of Tokyo”

“This autumn, a new urban festival will be born in our Tokyo. Tonal means ‘timbre’ or ‘colour’. We aim to create a new-generational music festival that brings together the diverse sounds and colours of Tokyo and sends them out from Tokyo to the world,” says the event’s organisers.

Tickets for Tonal Tokyo go on sale on 3 September, with general admission billed at ¥16,500 (€123) and VIP tickets going for ¥30,000 (€224).

Elsewhere, Asian-American music powerhouse 88rising is preparing to bring its US-festival Head in the Clouds to Jakarta, Indonesia, this winter.

The festival will take place at Community Park PIK2 on 3 and 4 December, featuring performances from “artists around the world” – though the line-up is yet to be announced.

Head in the Clouds Jakarta will follow the California edition on 10 and 11 August, which is co-produced with AEG Presents.

Jackson Wang, Jay Park, Rich Brian, MILLI, Chung Ha, eaJ and Bibi are among the artists slated to perform in Los Angeles.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Japan’s leading promoter Creativeman says it is “seeing light at the end of the tunnel” as restrictions are gradually lifted.

The Japanese government recently announced plans to increase the cap on the number of people entering Japan from 3,500 to 5,000 per day starting in March.

In addition, the quarantine period for arrivals will be shortened from seven days to three from March, when the country opens to returning foreign residents (not tourists).

However, the quarantine requirement for international artists won’t be determined until next week, according to Japanese promoters’ association ACPC.

Regardless, Creativeman is bullish its marquee festival Summer Sonic will return to Tokyo and Osaka this summer for the first time since 2019 – international artists and all.

“We are confident Summer Sonic will happen this August,” says Creativeman’s Layli Odamura. “The reception at the announcement was so fantastic on every platform. Everyone is very eager and ready for it to happen and feel the heat.”

“We are confident Summer Sonic will happen this August”

The 1975 and Post Malone were recently announced as headliners of the festival, due to take place on 20–21 August simultaneously at Zozomarine Stadium & Makuhari Messe Convention Center in Chiba, a suburb of Tokyo, and at the Maishima Sonic Park in Osaka.

Other international artists lined up for the event are Carly Rae Jepsen, Kasabian, The Libertines, Maneskin, Megan Thee Stallion, One OK Rock, The Offspring, Primal Scream, St. Vincent, Yungblud, All Time Low, Beabadoobee, Easy Life, Fishbone, Kacey Musgraves, Inhaler, Kula Shaker, Rina Sawayama, Squid and the Linda Lindas.

“More and more artists are reaching out and eager to visit or revisit Japan,” maintains Odamura. “We as a promoter are ready for the live market to return and we will continue to assess the situation with the government. There will be multiple headline shows happening towards the autumn onwards too.”

Despite Japan’s strict border controls and quarantine requirements during the past two years, Creativeman has had some success in bringing overseas artists to the country.

Last September, the promoter pulled off Japan’s first large-scale music event that included overseas artists since the pandemic began, Supersonic.

Zedd, Steve Aoki, Clean Bandit, Alan Walker and Aurora were among the overseas artists that performed at the two-day event at Zozomarine Stadium.

“More and more artists are reaching out and eager to visit or revisit Japan”

The festival was considered a test case for reopening Japan’s live industry to foreign acts and, a few months later, Creativeman promoted the first headline tour of an international artist in Japan in 18 months with King Crimson.

In another win for international promoters in Japan, a Creativeman-led alliance successfully lobbied the government to amend its compensation scheme to include domestic shows by foreign artists.

The International Promoters Alliance Japan, which was officially announced last year, includes Live Nation Japan, Udo Artists, Smash Corporation, Hayashi International Promotions and Kyodo Tokyo.

The consortium, completed by Avex Entertainment, Hanshin Contents Link/Billboard Japan, M&I Company and Promax, complements the work of existing music association ACPC, with which it shares members.

The consortium’s next goal is to ease the business visa restrictions for foreign artists to enter Japan with no quarantines, which Asia-based execs say is the biggest challenge facing the market.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Supersonic promoter Creativeman says the event was a ‘big step’ towards the resumption of festivals and concerts in Japan.

The festival was Japan’s first large-scale music event that included overseas artists since the pandemic began, and has been considered a test case for reopening Japan’s live industry to foreign acts.

Zedd, Steve Aoki, Clean Bandit, Alan Walker and Aurora were among the overseas artists that performed at the Creativeman-promoted event in Zozomarine Stadium, Tokyo.

The event took place across 18 and 19 September and the promoter says that in the two weeks subsequent, there were no reports of infection from visitors, performing artists, or staff.

At the festival, attendees were asked to comply with a number of measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 that included eating meals in silence, abstaining from alcohol, maintaining social distancing and “quietly waiting” for admission to the event.

Attendance for each day was estimated at between 10,000 and 13,000.

“Japanese entertainment has finally restarted”

“The time that had been stopped for over a year due to coronavirus has begun to move, and Japanese entertainment has finally restarted,” reads a statement on the festival’s website.

“We were able to take a brilliant first step toward revival by taking thorough infection control measures, but the road has just begun. We will continue to make trial and error, and aim for Summer Sonic 2022 one year later. I would like to expect entertainment in a new era.”

The one-off event was held in lieu of Creativeman’s annual Summer Sonic festival which was cancelled this year due to the fact that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics used venues normally rented for the event.

Originally, Supersonic was to be held in Tokyo and Osaka but the latter was cancelled after Creativeman decided that holding the event in two locations was not feasible, considering state-of-emergency restrictions.

Japan lifted its Covid-19 state of emergency, covering 19 prefectures, at the end of September amid a dramatic fall in cases and rapid progress in its vaccination rollout.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.