Sometimes it is hard to think beyond life’s daily worries. Human nature is to become parochial or near sighted while coping with the stresses of bills and income. As a result we forget to look at the bigger picture and outside of our own community. Independent recording artists cannot afford to do this. You must look at the whole picture.
Did you know that one of the major buyers of music is Japan? I used to live in Japan and I remember their fondness of soul music, R&B and Gospel. Yes I did type Gospel. CDBaby even states on their website that Japan is their biggest buyer (click here to read). On a more personal note, one of my friends released her album via CDBaby a little over a year ago. She tried to pinpoint where her sales were coming from and low and behold it was Japan. She contacted one of the buyers and he explained that CD stores in Japan buy indie music in bulk from CDBaby. This makes sense considering the structure of the Japanese music market.
International Markets Differ From US
Millions of Americans have never visited another country so they tend to only see music through American eyes. Record labels do not and the majority of them have offices in Japan and Europe. This is another reason record labels have been more successful at marketing. Michael Jackson is not as well received in the United States, but he is worshiped in England. Nick Lachey could not give away a CD in the US, but Europe loves him.
Example Japan
The interesting thing about the Japanese music market is that their government regulates their economic market so that local stores cannot be overpowered. What does this mean? You know how Best Buy opened and put a lot of CD stores out of business in the US? That will not happen in Japan. There are laws that protect small store owners and it was one of those small CD store owners that my friend spoke to when she was tracking her CD sales in Japan. The local CD store owners in Japan go online to find foreign indie music and they buy in bulk.
I Made A Mistake
Remember when I told you guys not to waste time making CDs just sell digitally? This is true of the US market, but not with markets like Japan. The Japanese do not like downloading. In fact they do not like doing things online at all. They rarely use credit cards and pay cash for almost everything. So you’ll have to get CDs made to sell in Japan. Again I recommend using CDBaby to sell your CDs, they have a great reputation internationally and in the United States.
On a stranger note, your CD must have picture of you somewhere on the album or jewel insert. The Japanese store owner explained to my friend that pictures are very important in selling CDs in Japan. The Japanese actually like to build some kinds of relationship with their artists. No, they don’t want to talk to you, but they like to put a face with a name and voice, making it more intimate.
Think Beyond The Waters
In past posts I have explained the advantages of doing things online. One of them is attracting a foreign market. By selling and marketing online you can reach these countries without even entering them, my friend did. Europe and Japan love good quality music, not just the commercial crap that comes on MTV and BET. Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong and other jazz greats would tour overseas frequently because they were better received in other countries. Part of this was due to American racism, the other part is other countries were cultured enough focus on the music, not race.
When it comes to fine arts, America tends to not be as cultured. Before you jump down my throat for such a remark let me ask you this, have you ever been outside the United States? Your mother’s womb does not count. Crank Dat Soulja Boy is hot in the US, but it won’t fly in some countries. They prefer to be stimulated through choice words, vibrato, annunciation and well crafted artistic styles as opposed to just a “hot beat”. When it comes to selling and marketing your music, look beyond the waters and don’t be afraid to cross borders.
Till next time,
By Jamille Luney
Music Analyst
Filed under: How To Market Your Music Online, How To Sell Your Music Online | Tagged: Cdbaby sells music to Japan, Jamille Luney, Jamille Luney Music Analyst, japan music sales, market music internationally, sell music internationally
Great post. If bands ever want to tour in Japan, send me an email. Also you mention that Japanese don’t like downloading. Unfortunately my site might not be of use to everyone here, but I run a digital music store that sells Japanese music to the rest of the world: http://www.hearjapan.com. So now you can still hear all the great offerings that are being offered in Japan without any hassle. But CD sales are still incredibly strong here. In fact even though many stores are closing, often it’s because 80% of their business comes from online orders of the physical CD or vinyl. But you’d be surprised how many bands come over from America and Europe who are nobodies in their home country but come here and play in front of 200 people at each show and pretty much make up the plane ticket fare and everything. Definitely something to look into.
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