Japanese "Nikkei Asian Review" article on March 22, original title: In Japan, even Taylor Swift cannot reach the top of the music charts Japanese people used to like European and American musicians, this is their understanding of Western culture part of the cult, but now things have changed. Today, Korean pop songs, whose styles are similar to those of the West, are increasingly popular among Japanese. Even songs by American pop music queen Taylor Swift (also known as "Taylor Swift") do not sell well in Japan, even though her tour in Tokyo in February made headlines.
A 23-year-old Japanese graduate student told the Nikkei Asian Review, "I don't listen to Western music anymore. It's a natural thing because I'm always following trends." He likes to listen to K-pop music while commuting or at home , a playlist filled with songs from K-pop groups such as Newjeans and Ive.
Taylor Swift
In 2023, not a single Western song entered Apple Music Japan’s annual Top 100 Songs chart. A review of the weekly charts by "Nikkei Asian Review" shows that in 2023, only 0.3% of Western music entered the weekly list of Japan's Hot 100 Singles Chart, while in 2008 this proportion was as high as 29.8%. Swift's song "Anti-Hero" released in 2022 topped the US weekly charts both that year and in 2023, but it never topped the 34th place in Japan. On the contrary, with the increase of Korean pop music, Korean pop songs accounted for 14.2% of Japan's annual top 100 songs in 2018, exceeding the proportion of Western songs (8.8%) for the first time.
"K-pop has supplemented Japan's demand for Western songs," said Isao Matsushima, president of Japanese music marketing company Arne. In fact, as more and more American producers become involved in K-pop song production, many K-pop songs incorporate English lyrics and other Western musical elements. Isao Matsushima also said that Japanese songs are increasingly becoming popular on TikTok and becoming popular songs. As a result, Western songs are being pushed out of the charts.
Universal Music Japan executive Nobuhiko Kakihara said that for previous generations, "the demand for Western music stemmed from the Japanese's admiration for the West and its music. Now, people listen to music less concerned about which country it comes from." Years ago, Western artists such as the Beatles captured the hearts of young Japanese people as objects of worship. Western music remained popular until the 1990s, influencing the creations of many mainstream Japanese artists. But now that admiration has faded, and Japan's youth are less concerned about the nationality of the artist and only listen to popular music on social media, or the type of music they feel comfortable with.
The Japanese market is unique in terms of pop song genres. Nobuhiko Kakihara of Universal Music Japan said rap music, which typically ranks high in the U.S., struggles to attract listeners in Japan, where melody is more important.
Western record labels are trying to come up with new marketing ideas. When Swift visited Tokyo in February, her company Universal Music hung dozens of banners in the middle of the trendy Shibuya district saying "Swiss, welcome to Japan" and passed them on billboards lining the main shopping street. Her songs play from the speakers.
The number of young Japanese studying abroad in Europe and the United States has also declined in recent years, raising concerns that the Japanese have become more introverted. But in fact, as far as music is concerned, today's young people are not aware of the issue of national borders at all, and they can listen to whatever they want. When many people listen to the songs as background music on TikTok videos, they don’t even know who the artist is or where they come from. There's a good chance that one day a Western song will once again resonate with Japanese audiences and cause a stir. (Author Mai Shiping, translated by Ren Chong)
