2024
I wanted to discuss Sony Music Japan's global expansion strategy presented by MBW’s World Leaders that while it has some good points is a somewhat erroneous strategy.
First off while I do think anime can help get Japanese music exposure the countries Sony Music Entertainment Japan should be pursuing is not the US or European countries. Unfortunately, Anglo countries have not done much to promote TK's music. I myself am a Hispanic TK fan. That has noted it is not English TK fans that talk about TK. The ones translating his songs heavily on Youtube and keeping accounts on social media for years and years are Spanish TK fans. Many LATAM fans start fan groups and spend a lot of time promoting TK online.
Instead of SMEJ wasting their time and resources promoting to regions where Western music is prioritized they should focus on regions where Japanese music including J-Rock and J-Pop is already embraced. Especially given Spanish-speaking countries are huge consumers of anime and have a more community-oriented approach than their Anglo counterparts. Spanish-speaking fans know community, togetherness which is lacking in more individualistic and unsupportive countries like the US and the UK.
If Sony Music Japan fails to cultivate Japanese music in Spanish-language regions they should not be surprised if Spanish-speaking fans move on. Then not only would they not break through in Anglo regions but they will lose out on the support of Spanish-speaking fans who will just go back to listening to English-language music or Spanish-language music.
If this is truly a global strategy then what country is focused on shouldn't matter as long as it is targeting International markets, right? Plus, the thing is Spanish is as big if not bigger than English in terms of people in the world that speak it. Before England, Spain, was the first major superpower. Underestimating Spanish music is unwise. When today Latin music accounts for some of the biggest portion of global superstars.
I bring this up due to Manabu Tsujino, the president of Sony Music Labels saying:
"Our goal is to develop J-POP as a distinct genre and gain acceptance in regions such as Asia, Europe, and the US, which would be connecting the dots and building a presence."
My concern is Sony Music Japan is heavily unaware of the fan culture that is present in global markets.
