Warner Music Japan has agreed a strategic partnership with LAND, a creative house based in Jakarta, Los Angeles and Tokyo, known, according to Warner, for its work with “world-class” artists.
The deal will see LAND produce music involving collaborations with prominent global artists and WM Japan will lead the rollout that music in all formats worldwide.
LAND and WM Japan will also jointly develop global marketing strategies, as well as engage in digital distribution services and media promotion worldwide.
With the rising global popularity of Japanese culture, including anime and games, artists and music from Japan have been gaining international attention.
Accoridng WM Japan and LAND, their strategic partnership aims to leverage their joint “creative and commercial firepower” to create a new wave of “Japan-originated” global hits.
“This partnership aims to create global hits based on the genius of Japanese artists, using the combined creativity and global firepower of LAND and Warner Music,” said Kaz Shimada, Chief Operating Officer of WM Japan.
“We’ll put together thoughtful campaigns that’ll amplify artists’ voices and help connect them with fans around the world with a sense of speed.”.
In a recent interview with MBW, Shimada and WM Japan President & CEO Kaz Kobayashi stressed that Japan is an exciting opportunity for international artists.
However, Kobayashi emphasized the primary challenge at hand for Japanese artists who are looking to make it big on the international stage, stating, “The biggest question we face today is, ‘how do we break the Japanese artists internationally?'”
“This partnership aims to create global hits based on the genius of Japanese artists, using the combined creativity and global firepower of LAND and Warner Music.”
Kaz Shimada, WM Japan
While some Japanese artists have made attempts in the past, only a handful have achieved significant global success. Recognizing the global success of K-pop, Kobayashi said there is a need to overcome hurdles such as language barriers and cultural differences.
“We must find ways to move forward and make a new success model for the Japanese artists at a global level. A lot of Japanese culture, notably Anime, is hugely popular around the world. WMG can play a big role by finding the balance of retaining Japanese artists’ originality, but understanding that we sometimes need a slightly more international production sound to help them breakthrough globally,” Kobayashi had said.
In an earlier interview with Kobayashi in 2021, the executive said that while the language and cultural barriers can be huge, “these barriers are crumbling in a more globalized, streaming-led market.”
“Our timely partnership with LAND is designed to help more amazing Japanese artists make an impact on the global scene, as interest in music and other creative content from the country continues to grow worldwide.”
Commenting on the partnership with LAND, Simon Robson, President, International, Warner Recorded Music, said: “Japan is a cultural colossus and the world’s second largest music market.
“Our timely partnership with LAND is designed to help more amazing Japanese artists make an impact on the global scene, as interest in music and other creative content from the country continues to grow worldwide.”
“Through this partnership with WM Japan, we look forward to making our artists’ creativity leap further and fostering global connections with fans.”
Naoki Wada, LAND
Naoki Wada, CEO and Creative Director of LAND concluded: “Through this partnership with WM Japan, we look forward to making our artists’ creativity leap further and fostering global connections with fans.” Music Business Worldwide
