Apple has opened a new Apple Music studio in Tokyo, marking the company’s first such facility in Asia and its seventh globally.
The new production hub, unveiled Monday (April 21), joins Apple Music’s existing facilities in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, London, Paris, and Berlin.
Apple Music says the studios provide a space for artists to showcase their creativity and connect more closely with fans. The move comes as streaming services increasingly look for new ways to offer exclusive content and artist relationships to fans.
Japan remains the second-largest recorded music market globally, according to the IFPI.
Commenting on the launch, Rachel Newman, Apple Music’s Global Head of Content and Editorial, told MBW that “Japan has an incredibly vibrant and flourishing music community and we see so much of that growth reflected on our platform as listeners all around the world discover these artists and fall in love with their music”.
The Tokyo radio station will serve as the production hub for Apple Music’s Japanese radio programs and host video recording facilities for live sessions, documentaries, and artist interviews.
To mark the studio’s opening, Apple Music is launching ‘Snow World Radio,’ a new program hosted by members of J-pop group Snow Man. The nine-member group, which will hold its first stadium concerts at the National Stadium and Nissan Stadium this year, will discuss their musical influences and share behind-the-scenes insights about their work.
“We’re excited to do something new and challenge ourselves. ‘Snow Man Radio’ is an opportunity for us to share what we think is the best in music,” said Snow Man member Daisuke Sakuma.
Fellow member Raoul added: “We can’t wait to have conversations with each other about our favorite tracks and give our fans insight into the band that they haven’t had before.”
Additionally, Apple Music radio hosts Mino and Kentaro “Ochiken” Ochiai will also be based at the new location, with global hosts Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden joining for the launch celebration.
Kentaro Ochiai is a prominent Japanese radio DJ. Currently, Ochiai hosts local radio shows on Japanese FM radio as well as his Apple Music show which plays the latest J-Pop hits and exclusive artist interviews.
Mino is a Japanese musician and video creator who hosts “Tokyo Highway Radio”.
“We want to highlight the cultural and global impact of genres like J-pop and JHip-Hop and provide artists with a dedicated home in Tokyo.”
Rachel Newman, Apple
Apple Music is also debuting another original program from the Tokyo studio called ‘Listening to,’ which features artists sharing songs that have influenced them, along with personal stories and reflections. Initial episodes will showcase talents including viral artist Marcy, singer-songwriter Ai Tomioka, and rapper Bonbero.
The timing of Apple’s Tokyo studio launch comes amid growing international interest in Japanese music. Apple Music noted that streams for J-Pop outside of Japan on Apple Music have grown at three times the rate of overall streams over the past three years.
According to Luminate’s 2023 Year End report, Japanese language music saw its market share of the world’s Top 10,000 streaming tracks increase – from 1.3% in 2022 to 2.1% in 2023.
“We want to highlight the cultural and global impact of genres like J-pop and JHip-Hop and provide artists with a dedicated home in Tokyo where they can come share their music with our listeners, tell their stories and connect with their fans worldwide in an authentic and meaningful way,” added Newman.
Apple Music has been rolling out new features and offerings to attract more users. Last month, the platform integrated with DJ apps to enable subscribers to build and mix sets directly from the platform’s catalog of over 100 million songs.
The platform also launched a promotional subscription rate of $2.99 for six months in February in a bid to attract more subscribers.
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