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I don't know if it's why they didn't create the iPod but there are some noticeable differences in the music industry in Japan It is (was?) almost impossible to

I don't know if it's why they didn't create the iPod but there are some noticeable differences in the music industry in Japan It is (was?) almost impossible to find Japanese music online in legitimate ways. What I means, search for almost any western song and it will be on youtube either by the band itself, their publisher, or VEVO. Search for nearly any Japanese song and you won't find them on youtube, at least not officially. You might find a music video but it will often be edited in the middle with some interruption to basically make it not what you actually want (the full song). I don't know why this is. I assume the Japanese music industry believes they'll make no money if the full music videos are available online. (note: this might be changing but it was true for many songs a year ago). Example: The theme to Demon Slayer: LiSA - Gurenge (紅蓮華), searching brings up "officially" a short edited version, a practice version, and a live version but not the hit full song version. Another example: Spice by Tokyo Karankoron the official music video cuts out after 1:30 and effectively says "buy it" For whatever reason that's very different than the west. Other random examples of differences: * CD stores still exist in Japan (although they are clearly getting fewer in number) * The Mini Disc was huge in 1997-2004ish. Normal models ran for > 200hrs on a single charge something no mp3 players I know of have ever come close to.

innocenat 5y ago
> Example: The them to Demon Slayer: LiSA - Gurenge (紅蓮華), searching brings up "officially" a short edited version, a practice version, and a live version but not the full song version. Official Gurenge MV is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZBSjwVWaKQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZBSjwVWaKQ Previously, it was available, but is heavily geo-restricted. Also nowadays almost everything is on streaming: Apple Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, etc. But with everything Japan, it's geo-restricted.
- tecleandor 5y ago
  From Spain appears as "This video is only available to Music Premium members" :'( Also, I remember the JASRAC to be very vigilant and strict...
  - user5994461 5y ago
    Same error in the UK
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
aspaviento 5y ago
For some reason I don't know, the Japanese entertainment industry is quite against globalization. I don't know if it's the fear of losing control over their product (through digital copies) or an archaic mindset. They have a lot of products that are demanded all over the world and they are letting those opportunities to go to waste. Only very recently I have seen some movement in this regard, like the portal created by Shueisha Inc. to publish mangas online.
- konschubert 5y ago
  I think is just a result of a nationalistic mindset and xenophobia. I don't think it's rational.
  - burntoutfire 5y ago
    Either protecting your culture against foreign influences (the Japanese way) or pursing profit above all else (the US way) are rational or irrational per se, they just represent different value systems.
- nindalf 5y ago
  Another data point supporting this - it took till 2020 for Studio Ghibli’s back catalogue to appear on a mainstream streaming service for western consumers. They definitely faced the innovators’ dilemma of not wanting to cannibalise the DVD sales gravy train. Better late than never I guess.
- user5994461 5y ago
  >>> For some reason I don't know, the Japanese entertainment industry is quite against globalization. Alternative explanation: Most companies aren't global because it's too difficult to be. That requires to translate/dub the product to other languages. To support multiple currency and payment systems. To have local stock for physical products. To adjust to each country's taxes, regulations and export controls. To market locally to the target audience. It's very remarkable with tech companies. They try to corner the US market and get billions in funding, before they try to expend to the rest of the world.
puzzlingcaptcha 5y ago
The article begins by setting up language/display barrier but looking at MiniDisc players of that era (which did in fact have displays and often a second one on a remote) all of them used English menus. And judging by sales the Japanese consumers were fine with that. Also, in 2001 Sony introduced USB connectors on their portable MD lineup so they didn't miss the train by much (by Japanese standards).
- ekianjo 5y ago
  > Also, in 2001 Sony introduced USB connectors on their portable MD lineup so they didn't miss the train by much (by Japanese standards). It was still ridiculously tedious to transfer songs to a Sony device with USB. They did not support MP3 initially so you had to convert everything into their own proprietary format. Completely useless piece of hardware.
  - rmetzler 5y ago
    And from what I learned from my DJ friends, who wanted to record their sets, it was impossible to get it out digitally. The only way out was analog.
    - ekianjo 5y ago
      Yup! They were completely going amok trying to control everything.
- djpr 5y ago
  I had a number of Sony digital music players like the NM-MS10: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NW-MS10.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NW-MS10.jpg Their main drawbacks you're required to convert all the MP3 into Atrac3 using their atrocious software. It is hard to imagine now, but iTunes was a few generations ahead of anything else in speed and ease of use.
  - pessimizer 5y ago
    They were a few generations ahead of other extremely locked down devises. They were terrible when compared to devices that just allowed you to copy files to them.
ekianjo 5y ago
> I don't know why this is. Strong aversion to anything digital. Even nowadays the number of ebooks in Japanese is ridiculously small compared to how easy it is to find most books online in English (through Amazon or other book stores). And that's despite Japan owning the Kobo platform (through Rakuten).
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
Razengan 5y ago
A lot of Japanese music is available on Apple Music and iTunes
simonh 5y ago
Sony are the archetypal media savvy consumer products company in Japan, but they completely blew it with their rigid vertically integrated strategy. They tried to control the media production end with Sony Pictures and Sony Music, controlled the media format with Mini Disc and control the end user device with the players and Hi-Fi systems. The problem with this is the other media companies - movie studios and record companies - saw them as competition. That means they wouldn't touch any of Sony's media formats or distribution platforms with a barge pole. This massive strategic foot gun has crippled their medial initiatives for decades. The media companies are nice businesses, I shed no tears for Sony, but they could never do what Apple did and cut ground breaking deals with all the major labels and studios.
- user5994461 5y ago
  >>> That means they wouldn't touch any of Sony's media formats or distribution platforms with a barge pole. Sony made and pushed Blu Ray, which is the dominant media of the past decade.
  - simonh 5y ago
    The founders of the Blu-Ray Disc Association were: Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Thomson, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Sharp, Samsung Electronics and Sony. The studios did try to push HD DVD but it failed in the market, they only went to Blu-Ray when they had no other choice. So yes that's a case where you could argue Sony 'won', but it was a lot more than just Sony and not at all comparable to the situation with say Mini-Disc which was a purely Sony technology.
  - theandrewbailey 5y ago
    Sony also helped develop Compact Disc and 3.5 inch floppy. Sony didn't develop Compact Casette, but forced Phillips to make it an open standard. It's not like anyone used those things in the 80s and 90s. \s
    - simonh 5y ago
      My point was that Sony entering the film and music industries, which happened in 1991, soured their relationships with the other studios and labels. Compact tapes predate that by several decades and CD and 3.5” discs both do by 9 years. Clearly Sony had no problems getting their media formats adopted before that strategy shift. After that they had to fight tooth and nail.
Tijdreiziger 5y ago
> Example: The theme to Demon Slayer: LiSA - Gurenge (紅蓮華), searching brings up "officially" a short edited version, a practice version, and a live version but not the hit full song version. The first hit for me is the full version on the 'LiSA Official YouTube' channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IkopJwRDKU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IkopJwRDKU
- kalleboo 5y ago
  That link is not available here in Japan. It says “This video is unavailable”
moksly 5y ago
If I type 日本女歌手紅蓮華 into google it gets me videos. I’d I type 紅蓮華 into Apple Music it gives me the song you mention as well as the artist LiSA. I’ve never searched for anything like it before, and I’m from Danish.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

innocenat 5y ago

> Example: The them to Demon Slayer: LiSA - Gurenge (紅蓮華), searching brings up "officially" a short edited version, a practice version, and a live version but not the full song version. Official Gurenge MV is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZBSjwVWaKQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZBSjwVWaKQ Previously, it was available, but is heavily geo-restricted. Also nowadays almost everything is on streaming: Apple Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, etc. But with everything Japan, it's geo-restricted.

tecleandor 5y ago
From Spain appears as "This video is only available to Music Premium members" :'( Also, I remember the JASRAC to be very vigilant and strict...
- user5994461 5y ago
  Same error in the UK
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

aspaviento 5y ago

For some reason I don't know, the Japanese entertainment industry is quite against globalization. I don't know if it's the fear of losing control over their product (through digital copies) or an archaic mindset. They have a lot of products that are demanded all over the world and they are letting those opportunities to go to waste. Only very recently I have seen some movement in this regard, like the portal created by Shueisha Inc. to publish mangas online.

konschubert 5y ago
I think is just a result of a nationalistic mindset and xenophobia. I don't think it's rational.
- burntoutfire 5y ago
  Either protecting your culture against foreign influences (the Japanese way) or pursing profit above all else (the US way) are rational or irrational per se, they just represent different value systems.
nindalf 5y ago
Another data point supporting this - it took till 2020 for Studio Ghibli’s back catalogue to appear on a mainstream streaming service for western consumers. They definitely faced the innovators’ dilemma of not wanting to cannibalise the DVD sales gravy train. Better late than never I guess.
user5994461 5y ago
>>> For some reason I don't know, the Japanese entertainment industry is quite against globalization. Alternative explanation: Most companies aren't global because it's too difficult to be. That requires to translate/dub the product to other languages. To support multiple currency and payment systems. To have local stock for physical products. To adjust to each country's taxes, regulations and export controls. To market locally to the target audience. It's very remarkable with tech companies. They try to corner the US market and get billions in funding, before they try to expend to the rest of the world.

puzzlingcaptcha 5y ago

The article begins by setting up language/display barrier but looking at MiniDisc players of that era (which did in fact have displays and often a second one on a remote) all of them used English menus. And judging by sales the Japanese consumers were fine with that. Also, in 2001 Sony introduced USB connectors on their portable MD lineup so they didn't miss the train by much (by Japanese standards).

ekianjo 5y ago
> Also, in 2001 Sony introduced USB connectors on their portable MD lineup so they didn't miss the train by much (by Japanese standards). It was still ridiculously tedious to transfer songs to a Sony device with USB. They did not support MP3 initially so you had to convert everything into their own proprietary format. Completely useless piece of hardware.
- rmetzler 5y ago
  And from what I learned from my DJ friends, who wanted to record their sets, it was impossible to get it out digitally. The only way out was analog.
  - ekianjo 5y ago
    Yup! They were completely going amok trying to control everything.
djpr 5y ago
I had a number of Sony digital music players like the NM-MS10: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NW-MS10.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NW-MS10.jpg Their main drawbacks you're required to convert all the MP3 into Atrac3 using their atrocious software. It is hard to imagine now, but iTunes was a few generations ahead of anything else in speed and ease of use.
- pessimizer 5y ago
  They were a few generations ahead of other extremely locked down devises. They were terrible when compared to devices that just allowed you to copy files to them.

ekianjo 5y ago

> I don't know why this is. Strong aversion to anything digital. Even nowadays the number of ebooks in Japanese is ridiculously small compared to how easy it is to find most books online in English (through Amazon or other book stores). And that's despite Japan owning the Kobo platform (through Rakuten).

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

Razengan 5y ago

A lot of Japanese music is available on Apple Music and iTunes

simonh 5y ago

Sony are the archetypal media savvy consumer products company in Japan, but they completely blew it with their rigid vertically integrated strategy. They tried to control the media production end with Sony Pictures and Sony Music, controlled the media format with Mini Disc and control the end user device with the players and Hi-Fi systems. The problem with this is the other media companies - movie studios and record companies - saw them as competition. That means they wouldn't touch any of Sony's media formats or distribution platforms with a barge pole. This massive strategic foot gun has crippled their medial initiatives for decades. The media companies are nice businesses, I shed no tears for Sony, but they could never do what Apple did and cut ground breaking deals with all the major labels and studios.

user5994461 5y ago
>>> That means they wouldn't touch any of Sony's media formats or distribution platforms with a barge pole. Sony made and pushed Blu Ray, which is the dominant media of the past decade.
- simonh 5y ago
  The founders of the Blu-Ray Disc Association were: Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Thomson, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Sharp, Samsung Electronics and Sony. The studios did try to push HD DVD but it failed in the market, they only went to Blu-Ray when they had no other choice. So yes that's a case where you could argue Sony 'won', but it was a lot more than just Sony and not at all comparable to the situation with say Mini-Disc which was a purely Sony technology.
- theandrewbailey 5y ago
  Sony also helped develop Compact Disc and 3.5 inch floppy. Sony didn't develop Compact Casette, but forced Phillips to make it an open standard. It's not like anyone used those things in the 80s and 90s. \s
  - simonh 5y ago
    My point was that Sony entering the film and music industries, which happened in 1991, soured their relationships with the other studios and labels. Compact tapes predate that by several decades and CD and 3.5” discs both do by 9 years. Clearly Sony had no problems getting their media formats adopted before that strategy shift. After that they had to fight tooth and nail.

Tijdreiziger 5y ago

> Example: The theme to Demon Slayer: LiSA - Gurenge (紅蓮華), searching brings up "officially" a short edited version, a practice version, and a live version but not the hit full song version. The first hit for me is the full version on the 'LiSA Official YouTube' channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IkopJwRDKU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IkopJwRDKU

kalleboo 5y ago
That link is not available here in Japan. It says “This video is unavailable”

moksly 5y ago

If I type 日本女歌手紅蓮華 into google it gets me videos. I’d I type 紅蓮華 into Apple Music it gives me the song you mention as well as the artist LiSA. I’ve never searched for anything like it before, and I’m from Danish.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]