Global J-pop boom spurs copyright reform

The success of artists like Yoasobi and Fujii Kaze has prompted the government to approve a bill that also recognises royalties for singers, musicians, and producers. This change aligns Tokyo with international standards and could generate billions of yen for artists. Concerns remain about the costs to venues, while a three-year preparatory phase is planned.

Tokyo (AsiaNews) – Japanese pop music is experiencing global success for the first time in its history, led by artists like singer-songwriter Fujii Kaze, and the duo Yoasobi, whose song "Idol" brought Japanese pop to the top of the Billboard charts for the first time ever.

J-pop's new international success is also driving a revolution in copyright law in the Japanese music industry. On 15 May, the government approved a bill aimed at reforming the law so that singers and musicians can be paid when their works are played as background music in public places.

In this domain, Japan is 60 years behind in adopting the international standard that could unlock billions of yen (millions of dollars) for artists. Tokyo joined the 1961 Rome Convention in 1989, a key international treaty protecting copyright, signed by over 140 countries, but has enforced the aforementioned provision for singers and musicians. The reason for this was reciprocity.

For decades, imported music dominated in Japan, and paying for background music would have resulted in high outflows to foreign artists, with nothing paid to Japanese artists since they were rarely played abroad.

Currently, when venues in Japan play music, copyright management companies, such as the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC), collect and distribute royalties exclusively to the songwriters. This excludes singers, studio musicians, and record producers who contributed to the work.

The Japanese music industry is celebrating this historic breakthrough, achieved after years of lobbying and pushing their demands for recognition of the output by the music industry.

This recognition rewards artists like Fujii Kaze, Kenshi Yonezu, and the group Creepy Nuts, who under the previous system were considered equal to any ordinary person who sang a song.

In 2024 alone, potential revenue from overseas was estimated at 2.4 billion yen (US$ 15.1 million). With the reform, the government now aims to position the industry as a “key sector”, and boost overseas music sales tenfold, up to 1 trillion yen by 2033.

Still, the bill's approval is raising concerns among venue owners, who fear rising costs. Indeed, an estimated 1.57 million businesses, or 30 per cent of all industries, could be subject to the new royalties.

Recognising these concerns, Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs has proposed a preparatory period of approximately three years after adoption to publicise the change and facilitate negotiations between artists and business groups.

Photo from Twitter account:  @YOASOBI_staff

• japan
• music industry
• bill
• royalties
• j-pop
• copyright reform
• yoasobi
• fujii kaze