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If you were asked about the Japanese music industry...


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Say you were asked by someone with absolutely no knowledge of the Japanese music industry, to explain the Japanese music industry and their artists, who would you tell them about? 

 

I'm not asking about your favorite artist, but I'm talking about the ones they should know to understand the industry: current big artists & idols, the legendary artists, the uprising ones (the ones you think are gonna be big) etc... and why did you choose that artist(s)? 

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I would give them examples on simple Japanese music to listen too, because if you start simple you might love it more than just listening to a complex group. I would also take in consideration their country of origin, for example, if someone from Puerto Rico asks me then I would explain that there is Idol and Non-idol, rock, pop, ballads, hip hop and such. Then I would give then songs based on hiphop or the genre they are fond with so from there we can move on.

 

Is a complex situation that goes from various stages.

 

Sent from my SM-G935P using OneHallyu mobile app

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I would try to give facts like 

 

It is the second biggest music industry

They keep it in their country that is why we do not much about it

They have an idol system and girls debut super young, and graduate once they complete their period

 

That's it I guess, I would go into details or about my faves if the person asks 

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Idols

At the turn of the century, Hello! Project was the dominant company for producing female idols such as Morning Musume. Around 2008-ish, AKB48 took over and up until now, they have been at the top along with their sister groups. As of right now, AKB48's cousin/rival groups, Nogizaka46 & Keyakizaka46 have started their take over and will very soon be at the top, if they aren't already.

 

For male idols, Johnny's and Associates have produced most of the top male idols for like the past 30+ years and still continue to dominate, with Arashi definitively being the most popular group in Japan by a wide margin. The only other company that's managed to carve out its own niche in the Johhny's dominant landscape is LDH who have produced groups such as Sandaime J Soul Brothers and EXILE.

 

There was an idol boom of sorts around 2008-2009 that came along with the rise in popularity of AKB48. It eventually led to an over saturation of idol groups which caused a general decline in interest in idol groups. Interestingly enough, the oversaturation forced people to be more creative with how they produced and marketed idol groups, and thus the alt-idol scene was born. The most notable examples being Momoiro Clover Z and Babymetal. Anime idol groups are starting to become more of a regular thing now too with the rise in popularity of stuff like Love Live and Idolmaster

 

Solo artists

Don't know much about it's progression unfortunately. The most notable female artists that people should know are probably Hamasaki Ayumi, Amuro Namie, Koda Kumi, and Utada Hikaru. They made up the bulk of female artist popularity from like the mid '90s to late 2000s. With Amuro Namie announcing her retirement next year, Utada Hikaru will be the only one from that era that's still relevant and popular. A more recent popular female artist would probably be Nishino Kana, who's been doing pretty well the past few years.

 

Male solo artists, I got nothing, besides Hoshino Gen who's been reigning at the top for the past couple years.

 

Bands

There's a fuck ton of them. Japan's band scene is huge

 

Vocaloid

Can't forget about vocaloid. Even if interest in it has died down a lot in recent years, the internet phenomenon seemed to have provided an avenue for people to produce music without needing to sing it themselves or to sell it to companies. Each vocaloid had their own identity with which fans could create and recreate artworks and videos using their own style. Combine these two aspect together, and you had a whirlwind of collaborative creativity that allowed a niche genre to grow to pretty epic proportions.

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You could start with female soloists who used to be big like Ayumi Hamasaki, Kumi Koda or even Namie’s prolific career and Utada’s unchanging popularity then you can move to bands like One Ok Rock , B’z or even Ling Tosite Sigure for male soloist you can talk about Fukuyama Masaharu and Hoshino Gen rising popularity you can’t forget idols like Keyakizaka46 and AKB48 for female idols or Arashi for the male idols. If you want to go a bit deeper there are also famous anisong singers like Nana Mizuki or May’n

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I'd tell them the simplest thing:

 

It's like the American music scene, diverse genres, different genres can top the charts, enka which is like the equivalent of America's country music can still sell well. So it's basically America but they sing in Japanese.

 

As for artists, like Documentaly said.

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Since you asked for categories...

 

Current big artists:

Hoshino Gen

Utada Hikaru

 

Current big idols:

Arashi

Keyakizaka46

 

Legendary artists:

Southern All Stars

Yumi Matsutoya

 

Uprising artists:

Yonezu Kenshi

WANIMA

back number, Radwimps?

Also Mr Children

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I would give them examples on simple Japanese music to listen too, because if you start simple you might love it more than just listening to a complex group. I would also take in consideration their country of origin, for example, if someone from Puerto Rico asks me then I would explain that there is Idol and Non-idol, rock, pop, ballads, hip hop and such. Then I would give then songs based on hiphop or the genre they are fond with so from there we can move on.

 

Is a complex situation that goes from various stages.

 

Sent from my SM-G935P using OneHallyu mobile app

 

I think it's really important to explain the idol system in Japan. I remember when I first learned about idols and it being  a foreign concept for me because they weren't exactly the singer/songwriters you would usually see but they were in the business of singing.. 

 

 

Not to derail your thread, but I wouldn't tell them about any idols at all. Especially since many of them can't sing.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using OneHallyu

 

Why not? We know that most idols cant sing, but the idol industry is still a big part of the music industry. 

 

 

Since you asked for categories...

 

Current big artists:

Hoshino Gen

Utada Hikaru

 

Current big idols:

Arashi

Keyakizaka46

 

Legendary artists:

Southern All Stars

Yumi Matsutoya

 

Uprising artists:

Yonezu Kenshi

WANIMA

 

Utada as a current big artist? I feel like shes a mix of big artist and legendary status...

 

Idols

At the turn of the century, Hello! Project was the dominant company for producing female idols such as Morning Musume. Around 2008-ish, AKB48 took over and up until now, they have been at the top along with their sister groups. As of right now, AKB48's cousin/rival groups, Nogizaka46 & Keyakizaka46 have started their take over and will very soon be at the top, if they aren't already.

 

For male idols, Johnny's and Associates have produced most of the top male idols for like the past 30+ years and still continue to dominate, with Arashi definitively being the most popular group in Japan by a wide margin. The only other company that's managed to carve out its own niche in the Johhny's dominant landscape is LDH who have produced groups such as Sandaime J Soul Brothers and EXILE.

 

There was an idol boom of sorts around 2008-2009 that came along with the rise in popularity of AKB48. It eventually led to an over saturation of idol groups which caused a general decline in interest in idol groups. Interestingly enough, the oversaturation forced people to be more creative with how they produced and marketed idol groups, and thus the alt-idol scene was born. The most notable examples being Momoiro Clover Z and Babymetal. Anime idol groups are starting to become more of a regular thing now too with the rise in popularity of stuff like Love Live and Idolmaster

 

Solo artists

Don't know much about it's progression unfortunately. The most notable female artists that people should know are probably Hamasaki Ayumi, Amuro Namie, Koda Kumi, and Utada Hikaru. They made up the bulk of female artist popularity from like the mid '90s to late 2000s. With Amuro Namie announcing her retirement next year, Utada Hikaru will be the only one from that era that's still relevant and popular. A more recent popular female artist would probably be Nishino Kana, who's been doing pretty well the past few years.

 

Male solo artists, I got nothing, besides Hoshino Gen who's been reigning at the top for the past couple years.

 

Bands

There's a fuck ton of them. Japan's band scene is huge

 

Vocaloid

Can't forget about vocaloid. Even if interest in it has died down a lot in recent years, the internet phenomenon seemed to have provided an avenue for people to produce music without needing to sing it themselves or to sell it to companies. Each vocaloid had their own identity with which fans could create and recreate artworks and videos using their own style. Combine these two aspect together, and you had a whirlwind of collaborative creativity that allowed a niche genre to grow to pretty epic proportions.

 

Wow, this is really well said. 

 

I'd tell them the simplest thing:

 

It's like the American music scene, diverse genres, different genres can top the charts, enka which is like the equivalent of America's country music can still sell well. So it's basically America but they sing in Japanese.

 

As for artists, like Documentaly said.

 

It's true, it's like the American music scene where it's widely diverse. However, if you were to ask the same question about the American music scene, most people would say artists like: Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga etc.. 

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I think it's really important to explain the idol system in Japan. I remember when I first learned about idols and it being  a foreign concept for me because they weren't exactly the singer/songwriters you would usually see but they were in the business of singing.. 

 

 

 

Why not? We know that most idols cant sing, but the idol industry is still a big part of the music industry. 

 

 

 

Utada as a current big artist? I feel like shes a mix of big artist and legendary status...

 

 

Wow, this is really well said. 

 

 

It's true, it's like the American music scene where it's widely diverse. However, if you were to ask the same question about the American music scene, most people would say artists like: Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga etc.. 

 

She's still a bit young for me to put her there.

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In my own understanding, Japan's Idol =/= Korea's Idol. Japanese Idols are all around talent. And when I meant all around, it's from modeling, singing, dancing, MCing, composing, instrumental players, actors/actresses, Variety TV hosts, Comedian(ne), Producers, etc. An all around entertainer that does whatever it can. Why this is? It's because to make more money for themselves and their companies. Most of the times, idol images are restricted to either being foolish/ditzy, cutesy, sporty, intelligent, and many more stereotypes (any -Dere you can think of types too)

 

I'd start with going through the decades of Japanese music industry, then talk about each decades most popular artists. Then talk about how it became diverse and all the sub categories under the Japanese Music Industry's Umbrella. Gradually go to the dark side of Japanese music industry and how its not all rainbows and sunshine. There's lots of Jimusho backings in Japan, most likely from Yakuza. Scandals of past artists/idols etc are always a good topic to go into, also.

 

Edit: Also explain the Umbrella labels too. 

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In my own understanding, Japan's Idol =/= Korea's Idol. Japanese Idols are all around talent. And when I meant all around, it's from modeling, singing, dancing, MCing, composing, instrumental players, actors/actresses, Variety TV hosts, Comedian(ne), Producers, etc. An all around entertainer that does whatever it can.

 

There is a considerable difference between K-pop idols and most J-pop idols. The main one is that the Korean idol is cloistered and trained before being debuted, on the other hand, the Japanese idol is debuted without much training and learns the ropes as his/her career progresses, giving the audience an opportunity to "witness their growth", so to speak. Idols also do all kinds of things, but this is different from company to company. For example, Babymetal does not do any MC, Radio/TV shows, modeling. It's all centered around the group's musical  performance.

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