Tokyo---A new music streaming service in Japan is aiming to make a dent in the world's second-largest music market, but it could face a tough challenge from the undisputed king of the sector -- the good old compact disc.
While digital music now eclipses CD sales in the United States, Japanese music lovers tend to be big on showing off their disc collections -- e-books have also struggled -- and the industry is heavily geared toward sales of physical media.
This week, mobile messaging giant Line said it was going where others including Sony and games giant DeNA had failed, with a streaming service that offers unlimited access to a collection of more than 1.5 million songs for 1,000 yen (US$8) a month.
The announcement comes weeks before tech giant Apple is expected to enter the Japanese market with its own streaming business -- part of a wider digital download strategy that will offer up a heavyweight rival to online services such as Spotify, Pandora and Jay Z's fledgling Tidal.
Line Music said it would run a two-month free campaign before rolling out the fee-based business, which will also offer budget-conscious consumers 20 hours of listening time for 500 yen. It said it plans to boost its collection to 30 million songs by next year.
Last month, information technology firm CyberAgent and music giant Avex Group rolled out their AWA streaming service.
Experts on Japan's music business said the new offerings may supply a shot in the arm for a struggling industry, luring business from a young generation used to spending their yen on online games and messaging services while cruising YouTube and other websites for a free music fix.
"Young people are spending their time and money on mobile phones and games so their spending on music has declined," said Yuko Tanno from the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
"We're hoping that (streaming) is a growth market."
- 'Promising attempt' -
Japan is the world's number two music market, estimated to be worth $2.6 billion in 2014, trailing only the $4.8 billion US market.
But about 78 percent of the Japanese market accounts for packaged sales, such as CDs, contrasting sharply with the US where about 70 percent of the music industry's sales now come from digital offerings.
"The challenge for Line will not only be dealing with competitors, but also overcoming the Japanese music market's longstanding aversion to the web, adding enough content into the service in a reasonable time and Japanese users' unique penchant for buying and renting CDs like in no other country in the world," said Serkan Toto, a Tokyo-based mobile industry consultant.
AFP
