The music industry of East Asia, a region that includes Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea and Taiwan is a rapidly growing economic sector that is home to some of the world's largest music markets.
In 2003, South Korea became the world's first music market where digital music sales surpassed those of physical formats. [1] [2]
In 2012, Japan surpassed the United States as the world's largest recorded music market for the first time, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Though the U.S. remained the largest if licensing fees are included into the figures. [3] However, in the following year, Japan fell back to the second-largest music market after experiencing a 16.7 per cent decrease due to the country's reliance of CDs and slow adoption of digital services. [4] [5]
In 2019, there were 750 million digital music users in China. [6] It was also estimated that its digital music market hit a yearly revenue of approximately 13.2 billion yuan in 2020. [7] China is expected to become one of the largest music markets in the world by 2020. [8]
Although global physical music sales (such as CDs) have been declining in recent years, in East Asia (particularly Japan and South Korea), however, physical music sales have been rising consistently. [9]
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry credits this phenomenon to "K-Pop fans who want high-quality physical formats and deluxe box sets". [9]
According to a music executive from Universal Music Group, CDs are becoming "the new merchandise in Asia". [10]
Several controversies have arrived based on the way the industry has been treating its artists.
It is not uncommon for record labels to prohibit their pop artists from dating for a certain period of time or for as long as they have a contract with the company. [11] In Japan managers may attempt to discourage their artists from dating or engaging in behavior that may tarnish their images by keeping a busy schedule and only letting artists know about their schedules a day at a time. [11] Artists who break this contract, as in the case of Minami Minegishi from AKB48, run the risk of getting dropped from their music group or contract. [12]
Korea has similar rules for musical pop artists. Artists have more freedom to date and get married, however managers have strong control over their personal lives and behaviors. [12] In Taiwan, artists are also expected to behave in certain ways, as they cannot discuss taboo topics such as politics. [12]
The following table lists the largest music markets of East Asia:
Rank | Country |
---|---|
1 | Japan |
2 | China (PRC) |
3 | South Korea |
4 | Taiwan |
5 | Hong Kong |
Notes ^
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1933 by Francesco Braga. It operates a secretariat based in London, with regional offices in Brussels, Hong Kong, Miami, Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Nairobi.
K-pop, short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, rock, jazz, gospel, reggae, electronic dance, folk, country, disco, and classical on top of its traditional Korean music roots. The term "K-pop" became popular in the 2000s, especially in the international context. The Korean term for domestic pop music is gayo, which is still widely used within South Korea. While "K-pop" can refer to all popular music or pop music from South Korea, it is colloquially often used in a narrower sense for any Korean music and artists associated with the entertainment and idol industry in the country, regardless of the genre.
Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; later influences came from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkien pop, and in particular the Campus Song folk movement of the 1970s. 'Mandopop' may be used as a general term to describe popular songs performed in Mandarin. Though Mandopop predates Cantopop, the English term was coined around 1980 after "Cantopop" became a popular term for describing popular songs in Cantonese. "Mandopop" was used to describe Mandarin-language popular songs of that time, some of which were versions of Cantopop songs sung by the same singers with different lyrics to suit the different rhyme and tonal patterns of Mandarin.
The music industry refers to the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, represent and supply music creators. Among the many individuals and organizations that operate in the industry are: the songwriters and composers who write songs and musical compositions; the singers, musicians, conductors, and bandleaders who perform the music; the record labels, music publishers, recording studios, music producers, audio engineers, retail and digital music stores, and performance rights organizations who create and sell recorded music and sheet music; and the booking agents, promoters, music venues, road crew, and audio engineers who help organize and sell concerts.
The Korean Wave or Hallyu is a cultural phenomenon in which the global popularity of South Korean popular culture has dramatically risen since the 1990s. Worldwide interest in Korean culture has been led primarily by the spread of K-pop and K-dramas, with keystone successes including BTS and Psy's "Gangnam Style", as well as Jewel in the Palace, Winter Sonata, Boys Over Flowers (2009) and Squid Game. The Korean Wave has been recognized as a form of soft power and as an important economic asset for South Korea, generating revenue through both exports and tourism.
Common Jasmine Orange is the fifth studio album by Taiwanese recording artist Jay Chou, released on 3 August 2004, by Alfa Music. The album's lyrics were written by a team of songwriters including Chou, the singer's frequent collaborator Vincent Fang, Alang Huang, Devon Song, and Will Liualong, whilst composition was handled entirely by Chou himself. Musically, Common Jasmin Orange is primarily a R&B and pop record with influences from rock and traditional Chinese and Japanese music.
BigBang is a South Korean boy band formed by YG Entertainment. The group consists of three members: G-Dragon, Taeyang, and Daesung. Originally a five-piece band, Seungri retired from the entertainment industry in March 2019 and T.O.P left in May 2023. Dubbed the "Kings of K-pop", they helped spread the Korean Wave internationally and are considered one of the most influential acts in K-pop. They are known for their trendsetting musical experimentation, self-production, and stage presence.
Yeh Hui-Mei is the fourth studio album by Taiwanese recording artist Jay Chou. It was released by Alfa Music on 31 July 2003, and was distributed throughout Asia in physical and digital formats. Chou enlisted various collaborators to assist with the album's lyrical content, including Vincent Fang, Alang Huang, Tseng Yu-ting, and Vivian Hsu, while Chou served as the album's sole composer. Named after the singer's mother, Yeh Hui-Mei utilizes genres such as alternative rock and R&B, whilst containing influences from classical music, opera, and hip-hop. The record's production and visuals utilize both retro and contemporary elements.
Hokkien pop, also known as Taiwanese Hokkien popular music, T-pop, Tai-pop, Minnan Pop and Taiwanese folk, is a popular music genre sung in Hokkien, especially Taiwanese Hokkien and produced mainly in Taiwan and sometimes in Fujian in Mainland China or Hong Kong or even Singapore in Southeast Asia. Hokkien pop is most popular amongst Hoklo people in Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, and the Overseas Chinese and Overseas Taiwanese in Southeast Asia, such as Chinese Singaporeans, Chinese Malaysians, Chinese Filipinos, Chinese Indonesians, etc.
In the first decade of the 21st century, the rise of digital media on the internet and computers as a central and primary means to record, distribute, store, and play music caused widespread economic changes in the music industry. The rise of digital media with high-speed internet access fundamentally changed the relationships between artists, record companies, promoters, retail music stores, the technology industry, and consumers. The rise of digital music consumption options contributed to several fundamental changes in consumption. One significant change in the music industry was the remarkable decline of conventional album sales on CD and vinyl. With the à la carte sales models increasing in popularity, consumers no longer downloaded entire albums but rather chose single songs.
G-Music Limited is a company built in 2002 by Rose Records and Tachung Records, both are the largest local music retails and wholesale chains in Taiwan. The physical retail arms have been kept separate, for different customer bases and brand identity, but the e-retailing, wholesale and distributor business is unified as Rose Tachung Records.
The vinyl revival, also known as the vinyl resurgence, is the renewed interest and increased sales of vinyl records, or gramophone records, that has been taking place in the music industry. Beginning in 2007, vinyl records experienced renewed popularity in the West and in East Asia amid steadily increasing sales, renewed interest in the record shop, and the implementation of music charts dedicated solely to vinyl.
Rain's World is the fourth Korean-language studio album by South Korean recording artist Rain. It was released on October 14, 2006, through JYP Entertainment. Building on the success of its predecessor, the album further established him as one of the top musical acts in Southeast Asia. A repackaged edition of the album was released on December 22, 2006.
Recording Industry Foundation in Taiwan, also known as IFPI Taiwan, formerly IFPI Members Foundation in Taiwan, is the organization that represents the interests of the music industry in Taiwan, and a member of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).
The album era was a period in popular music during the latter half of the 20th century in which the physical album was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption. Usually defined as lasting from the mid-1960s until the mid-2000s, it was driven primarily by three successive music recording formats: the 33⅓ rpm long-playing record (LP), the cassette tape, and the compact disc (CD). Rock musicians from the US and UK were often at the forefront of the era, which is sometimes called the album-rock era in reference to their sphere of influence and activity. The term "album era" is also used to refer to the marketing and aesthetic period surrounding a recording artist's album release.
Record sales or music sales are activities related to selling music recordings through physical record shops or digital music stores. Record sales reached their peak in 1999, when 600 million people spent an average of $64 on records, achieving $40 billion in sales of recorded music. Sales continued declining in the 21st century. The collapse of record sales also made artists rely on touring for most of their income. By 2019, record sales accounted for less than half of global recorded music revenue, overtaken by streaming. Following the inclusion of streaming into record charts in the mid-2010s, record sales are also referred to as traditional sales or pure sales.
The music industry of Asia is an industry in which people sell music-related products to earn money. The business structures of the industry include recorded music, live music, radio broadcasting, and digital and online distribution. The Asian music industry consists of music industry of Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and West Asia. The music industry of Asia influences Asian culture and economy. The music industry of Asia also has a worldwide impact.
...It's also the first country where digital surpassed physical sales.
According to IFPI, global physical format sales declined from 61% in 2011 to an estimated 58% in 2012. However, in Japan, CD and DVD sales posted strong increases (sales numbers or percentages were not provided). While in South Korea physical sales are expected to rise for the third consecutive year, with IFPI crediting K-Pop fans who want high-quality physical formats and deluxe box sets, with driving the format's sustained popularity.