Global

Billboard‘s International Power Players annual list recognizes leaders driving the success of the music business in countries outside the United States. Universal Music Japan President and CEO Naoshi Fujikura was chosen from the music industry leaders of the world for inclusion in the list a third consecutive time, making this his fourth appearance on the list.
Billboard Japan spoke with Fujikura in recognition of his selection for the list, where he delved into Universal Music Group’s expectations for Japan and the challenges involved in creating global hits.

You were chosen for the fourth time this year in recognition of your successes, such as making King & Prince a million-seller. How has reaching a million CD sales been seen by the Universal Music Group as a whole?

Naoshi Fujikura: Here in Japan, the market is changing and digital is also a priority, but we have still been able to achieve huge success with CD sales, utilizing our unique business insights and data analysis to better understand what fans want, what the market wants and how to maximize the opportunities for each artist. For UMG as a whole, it provides renewed perspective on how dynamic the Japanese music market is, because for any artist to sell a million CDs today is a huge achievement for any project – creatively, commercially and for the company as a whole, especially when it is done in one country and in one week. 

What is UMG expecting from Universal Music Japan?

Fujikura: We’re always told, “now it’s your turn…” but that’s not something specific to Japan alone, it is a companywide goal. Our global leadership trusts us to lead and innovate here in Japan, but also encourages us to find and produce “global stars.” In the past, these were generally artists that have signed with international labels that had strong fanbases in North America, U.K. and Europe. Today, in the streaming age, there are many artists from outside the Anglosphere now claiming the top chart positions around the world – from BTS, Karol G or Bad Bunny. This is thanks to both the global reach of streaming, and the age of content sharing and discovery. Language is no longer the barrier it once was in exporting music to new markets, and that fits both with the global ambitions of the company, but also our own desire to introduce the best Japanese music and culture to new audiences worldwide. 

What is Japan’s strategy for producing a global star?

Fujikura: We’re now considering multiple different approaches. The first is to produce artists that become stars with the support of a fandom, like BTS and King & Prince. 

The second is what we call the “IP-based” approach, creating a hit linked to some form of video entertainment, whether that is Anime or another piece of Japanese culture that exposes global audiences to new sounds. For example, in recent times we had great success for RADWIMPS with Your Name, and in the last two years we’ve had Ado with One Piece Film Red and Hiromi Uehara with Blue Giant respectively. 

The third is through hits that generate a viral buzz on local, regional or even global social networks and spread further through UGC, which we have achieved with our artists Fujii Kaze and imase. Fujii Kaze’s “Shinunoga E-wa” became popular through UGC in Thailand, and from there it spread to South Asia, India, Europe, and the U.S. Imase’s “Night Dancer” was popularized by BTS’s Jungkook and Stray Kids, and now he’s well-known in Korea, rather than just in Japan.

Joe Hisashi, one of Japan’s most respected composers, is now being listened to more than ever globally, thanks to his music being featured on playlists designed to mirror audience mood and lifestyle, with themes like “Sleep” or “Focus”. These plays have helped boost awareness of his skill as a composer, and helped to drive his most recent album – A Symphonic Celebration – Music from the Studio Ghibli films of Hayao Miyazaki, (Deutsche Grammophon) to the top of the U.S. Billboard Classical Albums and Classical Crossover Albums charts in July. In this area, there is a lot of generic faceless music produced, but Joe is a prime example of where great art and music can cut through the noise and captivate new listeners. 

The number of ways that musical works can be shared with the world is steadily growing, so we expect these four approaches to evolve as fan discovery and consumption changes in the future.

The rapid penetration of global streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music must also be an extremely significant factor. Now music from Japan can be shared everywhere, and people around the world can listen to new releases at the same time. This can generate a furor of excitement worldwide, with zero time lag.

Fujikura: Yes, but while this provides Japan with opportunities, it also provides everywhere else in the world with those same opportunities. The markets of China and India have over 1.4 billion people, and in every country, people tend to love their local artists. But what makes a superstar, a true global superstar is the ability to transcend cultural, language and geographical barriers. You can’t forget where it all begins, with the strengths of individual artists, having talented artists and great music is the still the most important factor of all. 

Right, Universal Music is a global music company, so it also has the mission of making artists in parts of the Universal Group outside Japan into hit artists in Japan, too.

Fujikura: Exactly. Until about 20 or 30 years ago, international music accounted for roughly 30% of music releases in Japan, and domestic repertoire accounted for roughly 70%, but now Japanese and Korean music account for roughly 90% or more. The idea that when an artist makes it big in the U.S, they will also become a hit artist in Japan is now 30 years out of date. The global spread of UMG’s repertoire, particularly through IP-based and UGC consumption has also proven effective for bringing international artists to Japan, and I think these approaches will continue to become more defined in the future.

The rise in streaming sales is driving ongoing, positive music market growth in Japan and worldwide. However, the rate of growth of that streaming is slowing, and new market development is starting to take place. What can you share with us about Universal Music’s future moves?

Fujikura: At UMG, we’ve always had an unrelenting dedication to discovering talented artists and bringing them to the world. Each market is uniquely different, and while streaming services got off to a slow start in Japan, there is still a lot of room for growth. As the world-leader in music based entertainment, UMG is dedicated to innovating, improving the user experience and to finding ways to attract new audiences to engage with the power of music. Also, as I mentioned at the start, in Japan we can still optimize the potential of physical product sales for our artists, and overall, I think the Japanese music market still holds great potential.

The first music I bought were vinyl records. Since then, technology has advanced (to cassettes, CDs, downloads and to streaming) and the formats used to deliver music have also changed dramatically. Today, fandom for artists has also stimulated demand for physical and collectible products, and we are now at a two-decade high in global vinyl sales once again. Technology will continue to change, and we’ll see new products, services and models created. One thing that will remain constant is that there will always be talented people out there who excite listeners. Our job is to discover these artists, help polish them, and share them with the world. Even if the ways we offer music change, we’ll continue to share the value and appeal of artists.

—This interview by Seiji Isozaki and Naoko Takashima first appeared on Billboard Japan

Rising singer/songwriter TOMOO spoke with Billboard Japan for its Women in Music interview series featuring female players in the Japanese entertainment industry. The WIM initiative in Japan began in 2022 in the same spirit as Billboard’s Women in Music that launched in 2007, honoring artists, producers and executives who have made significant contributions to the music industry and empowered women through their work.
The 28-year-old artist began playing piano from a young age and eventually found joy in writing her own lyrics and singing during junior high. After launching her music career as an independent artist, she signed to a major label in 2022. In this series inviting artists to share their views on the industry’s current landscape, TOMOO carefully articulated her thoughts on her experience during her teenage years that shaped her current view towards gender, her songwriting process and more.

I heard you used to play male roles in school theater before you began focusing on writing songs and singing.

TOMOO: Yes. I went to an all-girls’ school in junior high and high school, and played male roles in the theater club. Since there were only girls around, it was the norm for those with low voices to play the male roles. Back in elementary school, though, the ratio was three boys to one girl, so I had to be competitive to win and used to wish I were a boy. So I willingly played male parts in theater later on. I’d play different characters each time so I studied the “masculinity” of those character by extracting elements from what I’d seen before in other works and by watching a lot of anime. Aside from performing on stage, there weren’t too many opportunities to be aware of gender differences in daily life because of the all-girl environment, so it was hard for me to be a “girly” girl.

That’s interesting how playing male parts in plays helped you become aware of gender differences. Were there any women you admired as a child before entering an all-girls’ school?

I grew up watching Studio Ghibli movies and especially loved San from Princess Mononoke. I thought San was cool because she was like a sharp blade, able to keep Ashitaka in check with her harsh tone like her wolf mother, running around in the mountains and good with a knife. I also admired her emotional intensity. When I was a kid, I was taught to stand up to bullies who tried to pick on me. Maybe the reason I wasn’t the modest type was because of my admiration for San. I guess it’s like that “which comes first, the chicken or the egg” kind of thing.

I can see how that might link to your eventually choosing to play men in plays. Has that ideal changed as you’ve grown older? Do you have any images of women you admire now?

I don’t have any clear vision of the kind of person I want to be gender-wise. I do vaguely want to be someone who knows how to be themselves, who can’t easily be categorized as a woman or a man.

I heard that you decided to get into music after you came up with a song when you were trying to write a letter to a friend and thinking of what to write. It’s a really nice anecdote. Did your thoughts naturally evolve into that song?

I loved playing the piano since I was little, so I used to come up with single phrases of a song while playing melodies just for fun. But that was the first time I wrote a song for someone to hear. It also had a lot to do with the fact that it happened around the time I first came across the music of singer-songwriter Shigi. Her songs were different from the familiar J-pop music I’d heard up to that point in that she expressed her raw emotions in her songs. I was stunned to hear such a way of releasing one’s emotions. That feeling of shock encouraged me to write that letter, and the feelings I wanted to express became a song.

So you performed that song in front of someone for the first time, and that friend encouraged you to pursue a career in music. If you write songs as an outlet for your emotions like you say, how do you reconcile that with the necessity to come up with new material for work?

That happens a lot, actually. The way I do it is, after that key emotional moment, vague feelings gradually build up like drops of maple syrup being collected from a tree to become a song when it’s full. That’s one way I write songs now, and another is working off of seeds of ideas that I have saved up but not yet made into a song. I majored in psychology in university and think I’m more able to objectively analyze the subtleties of the human mind now. For example, when there’s friction in a relationship, I now have the perspective to calmly and deeply read the situation and think, “There must be a reason for this reaction,” and this also helps my songwriting.

You gained the means to express your emotions through music, and also gained the ability to observe the human mind from a psychological point of view. Do you think being a woman has any influence on your songwriting and music career?

I can’t think of any ongoing influences, but when I was just starting out, I was told that my voice was too low although I wrote good songs. They said it was hard to succeed in the J-pop mainstream with my voice, so I should try singing in a higher key. This was more than a decade ago, but I remember thinking at the time that they wouldn’t have said it to a guy and that maybe they placed importance on being cute because I’m a female singer-songwriter.

Your resonant alto voice is what sets you apart, so it’s surprising to hear you were told to change that distinctive feature. How did you react to that?

Actually, through vocal training and years of experience, my key is higher now. But at the time, I gave up trying to change things like the strength of my voice and character because I figured, ”I can’t do what I can’t do.” [Laughs] I wanted to spend more time on what I was feeling at the time rather than waste it trying to change direction like I was told. My hands were full with what I had to do and I couldn’t be bothered with that. I’ve continued to express myself in my own way, and it’s so much easier now that I have fans who are happy to accept who I am. And now there’s a whole new range of female vocalists in the J-pop music scene, so I’ve realized that trends change with the times.

You’re right, a lot of J-pop artists these days don’t reveal their faces or gender. It feels like things have changed so much in the last decade.

I know, right? Back then, I wasn’t sure where to categorize myself, and I think that person’s comment was meant as advice to help clarify where I could be filed under. The name TOMOO is gender neutral and I still get a lot of comments from people who hear my voice and assume I’m a guy. But I’m glad about that. In the music video for my song “Yoake no kimi e,” I sing wearing a jacket and pants. The director saw some videos of my live performances and took note of my manly… Well, “manly” isn’t the right word… gender-neutral way of expressing myself, and I think the music video captures what I’ve always wanted to do.

Your audience has probably changed dramatically since you made your major label debut. If you were to give advice to yourself before you were signed to a major label, what would you say?

When you have no idea what you’re doing, you may think that the words and evaluations of those who tell you to do things a certain way will have lasting effects. But it goes without saying that trends change with the times. So instead of worrying about how other people want to categorize you, you should care more about what you like and what you see. You don’t have to aim for perfection, just don’t let your eyes get clouded.

–This interview by Rio Hirai (SOW SWEET PUBLISHING) first appeared on Billboard Japan