Amazon really wants Japanese music fans to stop buying CDs

Prime Music was the most popular paid streaming service by users in Japan last year, followed by Apple Music, the offering from messenger Line and Spotify in fourth. — AFP

Amazon.com Inc said a shift by Japanese fans from compact discs to streaming is picking up speed, opening the door for its Prime brand in the world’s second-biggest market for music.

Physical media – including CDs, DVDs and vinyl – accounts for about 71% of music sales in Japan compared to just a quarter worldwide, according to the latest data from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. In the last year, a growing number of artists in the country made their music available on digital platforms, René Fasco, the head of Amazon Music in Japan, said in an interview. Twenty of the top 25 best-selling artistes didn’t stream as of late 2018, whereas now only two or three were holding out, he said.