The most significant factor contributing to YOASOBI's success overseasーYour biggest success story so far would be YOASOBI. What do you think was the most significant factor contributing to YOASOBI's success overseas?Masuda I think it was their quick responsiveness. Being able to respond promptly on social media when there were signs of potential success was crucial.
ーThe artists themselves? Masuda Yes, that's right. The first time I thought YOASOBI could sell well overseas was around the release of their third single. Just before releasing the song “Haven’t” (“たぶん”), they had already started to gain popularity, particularly in Taiwan and across Asia. Looking at the data, we could see who was listening and from where. So, when we released "Haven’t," (“たぶん”) we officially started pitching overseas. We made it clear that we wanted to expand internationally, created English materials, and started presenting. From there, things really took off, especially in Asia. It wasn't just Japan or Japan and Taiwan; the numbers started rising in various regions simultaneously, catching the attention of our New York team. With the numbers growing relatively significantly, we began discussing what we could do globally, including in the United States. This was about three years ago.
ーWhen did the members of YOASOBI start thinking about expanding overseas?Masuda In terms of timing, it might have been around the time we heard the massive response from the crowd in Jakarta (December 2022). We naturally believed they would succeed, and we made sure to let them know why we thought so. Ikura has good English skills and has a strong interest in activities overseas. Ayase had been talking about wanting to go overseas and perform live for a long time as well. However, they probably couldn't believe there were actually so many fans overseas until they went and saw them in person Considering YOASOBI debuted during the peak of the pandemic, they hadn't even performed live in front of Japanese fans, let alone overseas. So, their initial thought was to go and meet the people who had been waiting for them, people they could not meet due to the pandemic. During that time, we suggested releasing an English version of “Into the Night” (“夜に駆ける”) and provided advice and support to them, considering how to keep international fans engaged while they were unable to perform live overseas.
ー“Idol” (“アイドル”) incorporates elements of current music like hip-hop, trap, R&B, and EDM, but overall, it still strongly retains the essence of J-pop that we are familiar with. Conversely, I think it's incredibly important that a song so distinctly J-pop resonated worldwide.Masuda The members of YOASOBI also expressed their desire to make their mark in the J-POP scene. They want to be known for delivering the finest J-POP.
ーA while back, a record company executive said that the farthest market for Japanese artists in terms of distance is America. They said that instead of going there straight away, Japanese artists should start from Asia, gradually move west to Europe, and then go to America. Does that still hold true today?Masuda I think that's still the case. It's the most straightforward approach. When it comes to America, SXSW is significant, but participating requires a lot of resources. It's costly both in terms of money and energy. It's not a guaranteed source of income because it's more of a showcase event. Besides that, organizing a tour on your own involves a lot of hard work, including visa applications. It's almost impossible for independent artists to do it alone. That's why we’re in discussions with independent artists and distributors, expressing our desire to provide support with international expansion.
ーIs the language barrier high for Japanese artists?Masuda Nowadays, you can still be listened to and appreciated even if you sing in Japanese. However, in cases like interviews and interacting with fans, it’s good to be able to speak a little English, I think. In that sense, I don't think Japanese artists need to change their music for an international audience, but I think it’s important to understand a few words of English or the local language for things like social media posts or live events.
ーFor artists who can come up with and execute their own ideas , it seems that partnering with major companies doesn't make much sense nowadays.Masuda However, in reality, there are surprisingly few artists like that, aren't there? Artists who write songs, sing, perform live, and do everything within the limited time of 365 days in a year are not that common. Many artists want to have a clear division of roles, where they focus on writing and performing well and let management take care of the business and promotional aspects. Those kinds of artists should be with a specialized company. However, some artists want to handle everything themselves and make decisions independently. Some artists would prefer to spend their advertising budget on a particular director for their music video or use a specific guitar in a particular studio for recording. The artists we usually have meetings with are the ones who want to think about those kinds of details themselves.
ーThere are more of those kinds of artists these days, aren’t there??Masuda There are more of them indeed. It's really exciting because more artists have that mindset from a young age. So, instead of forcing ideas onto the artist, we share past experiences and insights as examples, engage in discussions, and learn from each other. Ultimately, we work with artists to develop a customized plan and provide the tools to help them reach their goals.
The Orchard JapanMusic distribution company founded in 1997 with over 40 locations worldwide.
Opened its Japan office in August 2019.
https://www.theorchard.com/jp/ 
