[JEWELian]

Originally Posted by orbitalaspect

The fact that Japan, even today, has a fraction of the population of the US or many European countries, but that Japanese artists still chart in the top 10 weekly global sales for all music is a testament to how smart businessmen were when commercializing music in Japan in the 80s

Quick fact check:

Japan is the 10th most populous country in the world with 126 million inhabitants. It is the 2nd most populous developed country behind the USA (with 322 million). These figures alone indicate that it's not surprising Japan has the 2nd largest music industry in the world.

That said, I do agree that the way the industry worked traditionally was an immense factor in its success, however it has failed to keep up with modern times and technologies and is hence waning, which is a shame - but we all know that the record labels know this and instead of exploring digital options that are going to last, are choosing to simply invest in live concerts as a revenue raiser.