Japan follows trend to music streaming which made up 54% of sales in 2018 with a 33% year on year growth amounting to 34.9 Bn Yen (~£251 million) according to figures compiled by the RIAJ, The Recording Industry in Japan. In 2018, the total value of recorded music (audio and music videos) increased 4% from the previous year to 240.3 Bn yen, the first year-on-year increase in three years, despite a 4% decline in unit production from the previous year to 194.63 million units. Sales of digital music also increased, rising 13% from the previous year to 64.5 Bn yen, marking the fifth consecutive year-on-year increase and topping 60 Bn yen for the first time in seven years. As a result, the production value of recorded music and digital music sales increased 5% from the previous year to 304.8 Bn yen. This marked both the first year-on-year increase and the first time that value has surpassed 300 Bn yen in three years since 2015.
Audio Recordings
Unit production declined 10% to 139.34 million units and decreased 9% to 157.6 Bn yen on a value basis from the previous year. CD album sales declined 13% to 88.65 million units and 12% to 114.7 Bn yen, respectively. CD singles sales declined 4% to 48.62 million units and their value fell 4% to 39.5 Bn yen. Sales of vinyl discs increased 5% to 1.12 million units while value increased 8% to 2.1 Bn yen, as unit production and value rose for the fifth consecutive year. This also marked the first time in 18 years that the value of vinyl discs exceeded 2 Bn yen.
Music Videos
Production of music videos increased 15% to 55.30 million units with a value of 82.7 Bn yen, a 42% increase, as unit production and value both posted double-digit increases. Unit production and value of music DVDs increased 5% to 41.40 million units and 26% to 45.9 Bn yen, respectively. Music Blu-ray Discs increased 60% year-on-year to 13.90 million units and value increased 69% from the previous year to 36.8 Bn yen.
Digital Music
Digital music sales increased 13% to 64.5 Bn yen on a value basis, marking the fifth consecutive year-on-year increase. Downloads decreased 3% year-on-year on a unit basis to 107.03 million downloads and value declined 5% to 25.6 Bn yen, as sales on both a unit basis and value basis declined from the previous year. Streaming continued to grow with a 33% year-on-year increase to 34.9 Bn yen. Downloads made up 40% of sales and streams accounted for 54% of sales in 2018, marking the first time that sales of streams have surpassed those of downloads.
To download the RIAJ Yearbook 2019 (in English) which contains detailed statistics back to 1952 in some areas go here.
