Marketing Japan: The Next King of Music is Born - and She's Japanese

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

Move over Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson... And, you too, better roll over Beethoven. The next king of  music has been born and he's not a he, he's a she... And she's not even human.

Meet Hatsune Miku. Hatsune means "first sound" and Miku means "music." She was "born" August 31, 2007. "Hatsune Miku is the next superstar of music. She does everything and is the embodiment of everything that pop music aspires to be...

Hatsune Miku

She can sing, compose music, play all instruments and doesn't need an agent or a manager. She is the ultimate rock star. She is the ultimate Pop Idol. And she doesn't even really exist.

Since she doesn't really exist, her music and songs are all free. There is no copyright for her music.

Today, I went to a meeting at Japan's #1 music TV station, Music On! TV (no, MTV is dead last in this country!) There I met with a man with a vision. His name is Youichi Endo. Endo san introduced me to Hatsune Miku. Now, I'm introducing her to you.

Do you remember in the movie, "Blade-runner"? The girl Rachel? Well, I say, "girl" but was she really a girl or was she an android? Do you remember at the end of the movie thinking, "Wait a minute! Is Rachel human?" I did.

Well, you will think the same thing about Hatsune Miku.

Hatsune Miku sings, and can play, but she doesn't really exist. She is an android. Miku is what is being termed as a Vocaloid. She has a voice synthesizer... In fact, many of the numbers she does feature voices as instrumentation as a sort of Sci-Fi acapella.

Here is what Wikipedia says about "Vocaloid":

Vocaloid is a singing synthesizer application developed by the Yamaha Corporation that enables users to synthesize singing by typing in lyrics and melody. It utilizes Yamaha's Vocaloid synthesizing technology with specially recorded vocals of voice actors or singers.


Hatsune Miku is causing a sensation now in Japan and in Europe, especially France, where her songs have been picked up and are covered by real-life musicians. Some of the most bizarre stuff is on Karaoke in Japan too!

Hatsune Miku "performing" Sebastian Bach "Fugue in G"

The cultural impact of Hatsune Miku cannot be over-stated, folks. This is a real revolution in music. If real humans playing music is considered "Music 1.0". Then remix DJ's sampling music could be considered "Music 2.0." Then, taking the logical progression one step further, then Vocaloid music or Hatsune Miku could be considered "Music 5.0." It is music without rights... Anyone is free to use any track as they see fit. There is no ownership. This music is community owned, so no one person can own it.


This will revolutionize the music industry. Once again, from Wikipedia:


As the recognition and popularity of the software grew, Nico Nico Douga became a place for collaborative content creation. Popular original songs written by a user would generate illustrations, animation in 2D and 3D, and remixes by other users. Other creators would show their unfinished work and ask for ideas. 


(Nico Nico Douga is like a YouTube members only community in Japan).


The impact of Hatsune Miku and soon to be coming "artists" like her will surely change the world as we know it. There will surely be ”musicians" who pooh-pooh what I have written here as nonsense, but mark my words; "Hatsune Miku is a music revolution that is coming very soon."


Hatsune Miku has several videos on YouTube that have over two million views! Not bad for a girl who doesn't even get up in the mornings.


My musician friends... Think about that!


See Wikipedia: Vocaloid


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Keywords:


Yamaha, Mike Rogers, Vocaloid, Hatsune Miku, Japan, YouTube, Nico Nico Douga, Michael Jackson, Beethoven, Marketing Japan, Elvis Presley, Sebastian Bach,

The Tokyo Reporter - Japan's Best, er, Weirdest News...

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

Let me introduce you to the Tokyo Reporter. Tokyo Reporter is, in my opinion, the best place to find out the weird news on Japan. Why? Because the Tokyo Reporter doesn't report on the news from some idiot foreigner's point of view. Tokyo Reporter is run by my friend, and old Japan hand, Brett Bull and Brett doesn't make silly assumptions about what the Japanese do.

Shukkan Jitsuwa (Weekly True Story)

Brett allows the Japanese to report for themselves the bizarre goings-on in Japan through some of the biggest Japanese weeklies and gossip magazines. Tokyo Reporter expertly translates the articles and you get the real thing. NOT what some fresh-off-the-boat person from Nebraska thinks about Roppongi.

Here is a taste of today's Tokyo Reporter that just cracks me up. It's about some guy who just got married who, two days after returning from his honeymoon, goes out and gets arrested for hiring an under-aged hooker:

On July 19, that was certainly the case for a 37-year-old employee at a life insurance firm from Kanagawa Prefecture. He was arrested by police from the city of Seya for violating prostitution and pornography statutes by hiring an underage prostitute. But that’s not all: The apprehension occurred two days after he returned from his honeymoon and in the “loving embrace” of his new wife.

“He’s a director of sales and has 15 people under him at the Odawara branch of AXA Life Insurance,” explains a newspaper reporter who covers the police beat in Kanagawa. “He’s suspected of paying 25,000 yen on April 7 for a romp in an Ebina City love hotel with a 17-year-old girl he met on a matchmaking site.”

The suspect was married on July 7 and departed on his honeymoon to Hawaii thereafter. The couple returned to their new home in Odawara 10 days later.

See original article here.

Yes, my friends, that is the real Japan. That's the Japan I know and love.

The Tokyo Reporter does something that no other publication does in English in Japan that I know of; they report the bizarreness from the Japanese perspective. You know if the regular Japanese person thinks that it is bizarre, then it truly is.

The Tokyo Reporter is the Drew Curtis' Fark of Japan.

As for English language perspectives in Japan, it is a refreshing one indeed. I get so sick and tired of reading these other English language publications that report on Japan and it's obvious that, from reading the articles, these writers have only a superficial knowledge of Japanese culture and the language. After all, as anyone knows, language is the key to culture and Brett from Tokyo Reporter is an excellent Japanese speaker.

I am proud to say that I am a faithful subscriber to the Tokyo Reporter. You can join the club too! Go to Tokyo Reporter web site here.... Tell them that Mike in Tokyo sent you!

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Keywords:
Tokyo Reporter, Shukkan Jitsuwa, Weekly True Story, Drew Curtis' Fark, Honeymoon, hooker, Japanese, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, Marketing Japan, Brett Bull, Japan, Tokyo, love hotel, Odawara, Brett

Women's Only Explosion! (Uh, don't say "explosion" when talking about airplanes!)

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

I guess there must be a lot of perverts and gropers in Japan. I mean perverts  and weirdoes who grab women in crowded areas like the inside of packed trains. That's why now we have cars on trains that are for women only.

I think just about everyone has heard of "Women's Only" cars in Japan on trains that run in the mornings. Right?

Long ago, I produced a very early morning radio show in Japan for many years and I never rode in the early trains (work on that program began at 5 in the morning. There were no trains, so we always took taxis). When that show was taken off the air, I did get a chance to ride the early trains. I didn't know anything about the "Women's Only" cars and didn't pay any attention to the signs on the trains...

I sure paid attention to the glares that the ladies gave me though when I stood at the entrance to the "Women's Only" car the first time. Finally, one women walked up to me and pointed out that the line I was standing in was for "Women's Only" cars... "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

She probably told me because she thought (correctly) that I was just a dumb gaijin who couldn't read Japanese (or English as the signs plainly say "Women's Only" in both languages).

Well, now in Japan, this "Women's Only" deal has been taken one step further. This morning I stumbled upon this short news release from Feb. 2010 stating that All Nippon Airways - Japan's #2 carrier - is now introducing women-only lavatories!

It says:

"ANA introduces women-only toilets

All Nippon Airways is introducing women-only lavatories on its international routes in response to “numerous requests for this service”. The Japanese carrier joins Korean Air as the only other commerical airline to offer such a service."

Well, I guess this couldn't be in response to being groped in those tiny airplane lavatories... You don't have enough room inside those to change your mind! But I will guess that this is in response to guys being slobs and not washing their hands nor closing the toilet seat cover when they are done...

Warning! Women are also guilty of this too! Proper manners for the toilet seat is to close both the seat and the lid upon finishing. Many women complain that guys do not lower the seat when they are done but those same women are often guilty of not properly closing the lid too!