Inside the World’s Second-Largest Music Market: Satoshi Yamashita, OTONAMI, and Japan’s Hidden Music Scene
- Yuliana Arles
- 23 hours ago
- 13 min read
When people think about Japan’s music industry, they often think of J-Pop, anime soundtracks, or the global return of city pop. Yet behind these recognizable symbols exists one of the most powerful, self-contained, and still deeply mysterious music ecosystems in the world.
According to the IFPI Global Music Report 2026, Japan remains the second-largest music market globally, second only to the United States. It is estimated to generate around 15% of global music industry revenues. And yet, unlike many Western markets, Japan continues to follow its own rhythm.
Here, physical music still matters. CDs and vinyl are not nostalgic objects, but living parts of fan culture. Tower Records still has cultural weight. Local repertoire dominates. More than 80% of music sold in Japan comes from domestic artists. Even pricing systems protect physical releases in ways that feel almost impossible to imagine in many other countries.
For artists outside Japan, this market can feel fascinating, magnetic, and difficult to read.
For Japanese independent artists, the question is just as complex, but turned in another direction: how does music born inside such a distinctive culture travel outward into the world?
Satoshi Yamashita has spent much of his life standing inside that question.
A drummer, founder of OTONAMI, an AI-powered music pitch platform connecting Japanese
independent artists with international curators, Secretary General of the Independent Labels Council of Japan, and leader of ROUTE14band, he moves between the stage, the industry, and technology with unusual ease. His journey began far from polished strategy decks: in visual-kei bands, on the streets of Los Angeles, and in moments when strangers stopped to listen without understanding a single word.
Perhaps that is where the real story begins.
Not with a platform. Not with AI. Not with the ambition to scale.
But with a belief that music can reach places language cannot.
In this conversation, we speak about Japan’s independent music scene, the hidden logic of its market, the challenge of crossing cultural borders, the future of AI in music, and what it really means to help artists be heard beyond the world that already knows them.
Yuliana Arles: First of all, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Your journey spans music, entrepreneurship, cultural exchange, and technology, making your perspective especially valuable in today’s rapidly changing creative landscape. Today, you represent more than 70 independent music labels across Japan, but your story began long before that. Looking back to the very beginning, who was that young man who first realized that music would become more than a passion and ultimately shape the direction of his entire life?
Satoshi Yamashita: Honestly, I was just a young guy who couldn’t picture a life without music. In high school I played in the Visual Kei cover band, and the reasons were pretty ordinary: I wanted to be popular with girls, and there was an older student whose band looked so cool that I thought, I want to be like that.
It wasn’t really that I chose music. It was more that music was the only language in which I could express my whole self. I had no clear plan, and no idea this would ever become a career. I just felt that only when I was making music could I finally be myself.
Looking back, the turning point wasn’t a dramatic moment but a quiet realization that kept coming back to me: I’d rather live a life with music than an easier life without it. Leaving university, the years that followed, starting ROUTE14band, all of it grew out of that plain, stubborn conviction. I think a lot of musicians know that feeling.
Yuliana Arles: Your path has taken you through very different worlds: Visual Kei, street performances in Los Angeles, international festivals, industry leadership, and now OTONAMI. When you look beyond the titles and projects, what do you feel has been the deeper purpose guiding your decisions throughout all these years?
Satoshi Yamashita: Over the years I’ve done a lot of different things: playing drums, managing artists, taking part in the Independent Labels Council of Japan, and starting my own company. But underneath all of it, there’s one feeling that hasn’t changed since my days playing on the streets of Los Angeles.
Back then, people who didn’t understand a single word of Japanese would still stop, listen to me play, and smile. That’s when I learned that music can make people happy even when the words don’t get through.
So my goal has always been simple, even when a project looks complicated on the surface. I want good music to reach the people who’ll love it, wherever they are. And I want the artists who made that music to be properly recognized and protected. Whether I’m on stage or writing code on my laptop, to me it’s the same job: removing the wall that stands between an artist and a listener.
Yuliana Arles: Japan is one of the world’s largest music markets, yet many extraordinary independent artists remain largely unknown internationally. What do you feel the world still misunderstands, or perhaps has not yet discovered, about contemporary Japanese music?
Satoshi Yamashita: The most common misunderstanding, I think, is the view that Japanese music is already complete with what people know: anime songs, that nostalgic city-pop sound, a few famous artists. All of those are wonderful, but they’re only a small part of what’s actually here.
As Secretary General of the Independent Labels Council of Japan, I work together with more than seventy independent labels, and what amazes me almost every day is the sheer range and depth. Jazz fusion, experimental music, songs that would move anyone who heard them, much of it is made by artists that people abroad simply haven’t had the chance to hear yet.
What’s missing isn’t quality. Japanese independent music lacks nothing as music. What’s missing is a bridge. Because so much of it never crosses the language barrier, the world hasn’t yet noticed how deep this scene runs. I’d be happy if people realized that what they’ve heard so far is only the entrance.
Yuliana Arles: For a listener from Europe, North America, or the Middle East who has never explored Japan’s independent scene, how should that journey begin?
Satoshi Yamashita: I don’t think you need to start from genres or knowledge. Just pick one song and listen, even if you don’t understand the words.
Japanese independent music has a real sensitivity to quietness, space, and small shifts of emotion. There’s often more richness in what’s left between the lines than in what’s loud. The warmth of city pop, the playfulness of jazz fusion, the honest words of a singer-songwriter, any of these can be your way in.
What matters is to feel it rather than try to understand it. That’s what I realized busking on the streets of Los Angeles: even when the words don’t land, the sound does. The first thing I’d want someone to feel is that, something that reaches you beyond language.
Yuliana Arles: Many artists from Europe and North America dream of reaching audiences in Japan, but the market can feel mysterious from the outside. If an independent artist wanted to build a real audience in Japan today, where would you advise them to begin?
Satoshi Yamashita: I think the Japanese market really values relationships. So instead of pushing hard right away, it’s better to build trust from something small.
For example, find playlist curators, bloggers, or radio people whose taste fits your music, and reach out carefully, not just once, but staying in touch over time. Japanese listeners often look for sincerity and consistency more than flashiness.
Live-house culture is still very much alive here, so if you ever get the chance to come and play in person, that’s powerful too. It may look like the long way around, but trust built one person at a time is, in the end, the fastest path.
OTONAMI is something I hope can help with making that first connection. And if anyone is looking for a foothold in Japan, feel free to reach out to me. I’d be glad to introduce you to curators or labels that might be a good fit.
Yuliana Arles: Beyond global platforms such as Spotify and YouTube, which channels, communities, or platforms matter most for artists who want to connect with Japanese listeners?
Satoshi Yamashita: I think Japan has several of its own cultures that live outside the global platforms. X, formerly Twitter, is still very strong among Japanese music fans. The writing culture on platforms like note matters. Real places like live houses and record stores are important too.
The fact that physical media, places like Tower Records, still holds real power here is actually quite rare in the world. Local radio stations, personal blogs that introduce Japanese music, and word of mouth within communities shouldn’t be underestimated either.
Rather than one big push, the accumulation across these small channels often works better. It’s a part that’s hard to see from outside Japan, but I think this is where the real points of contact with Japanese listeners are.
Yuliana Arles: In Europe and the United States, artists increasingly build audiences through short-form video, storytelling, personal branding, and consistent content marketing. How does this compare to Japan?
Satoshi Yamashita: In the West, I think there’s a strong culture of the artist stepping forward and sharing their story and personality. In Japan, there’s a deep-rooted aesthetic that’s more like “let the work speak” and “keep yourself a step back.” So very strong self-promotion can sometimes feel off-putting here.
Short-form video and TikTok are definitely growing in Japan too, and they’re effective, especially among younger people. But even with the same methods, a tone of “listen to this song” tends to land better here than “look at me.”
It’s not that one is right and the other wrong. It’s a cultural difference. If an artist from abroad wants to reach Japan, being a little mindful of that modesty might help close the distance.
Yuliana Arles: What mistakes do international artists most often make when trying to enter the Japanese market? And on the other side, what fears or misconceptions do you see among Japanese artists who want to reach audiences abroad?
Satoshi Yamashita: For artists from abroad, the most common mistakes are skipping relationship-building, pitching one-sidedly, and not being very careful with translation. In Japan, the politeness of your first words and your respect for the other person go a long way.
On the other side, what I often see in Japanese artists is the assumption that “my music won’t work overseas,” and a real anxiety about English. The quality of the work is genuinely high, yet so many people stop right at the language barrier.
Most of that fear, I think, is about confidence rather than ability. One reason I built OTONAMI was to lower the hurdle of that very first step.
Yuliana Arles: Japan is often described as one of the most distinctive music cultures in the world. In your experience, should artists from abroad adapt to local expectations, or remain fully themselves and let Japanese listeners discover a different cultural perspective?
Satoshi Yamashita: I think Japanese listeners deeply value courtesy, sincerity, and trust that lasts. A careful, ongoing way of engaging reaches them more than a single flashy approach.
So should you adapt your music and communication for Japan, or stay true to yourself? I believe staying authentic is what matters, but with respect for the other person. There’s no need to pander at all.
In fact, the different cultural perspective that only you can offer is exactly what feels fresh and appealing to Japanese listeners. The key isn’t to bend who you are, but to offer your music honestly while respecting the other culture. When you can hold both at once, that’s when a real relationship begins.
Yuliana Arles: Which genres or artistic directions have the strongest potential today to cross borders and connect with audiences in different parts of the world?
Satoshi Yamashita: Right now, I think the music that crosses borders most easily is music where the language barrier is low. City pop, for example, is already being rediscovered all over the world and has a strong presence as a sound that came from Japan.
Jazz fusion and instrumental music, since they don’t rely on lyrics, reach people in any country more easily. Ambient, lo-fi, and game music also have large fan bases overseas. Since I play in a jazz-funk-fusion band myself, I feel the potential in this area especially.
More than the genre itself, the key to crossing borders might be whether the emotion comes through even without words.
Yuliana Arles: Before OTONAMI became a platform, it was first an idea shaped by years of working with artists, labels, and international audiences. What observation stayed with you long enough to become a mission? And why did the name OTONAMI feel like the right expression of that vision?
Satoshi Yamashita: What stayed with me for a long time was the simple fact that Japanese artists making such wonderful music weren’t reaching listeners abroad, often because of nothing more than the language barrier.
I was able to play overseas and sign with a Korean label myself, but looking back, that happened because of people I happened to connect with. I always felt it was wrong that you had to rely on “happening to get lucky” to be heard. That observation became my mission.
The name OTONAMI comes from the Japanese words for “sound wave”: oto means sound, and nami means wave. I wanted sound to travel like a wave, crossing countries and languages to reach people. That’s also why there’s a waveform inside the “O” of the logo.
Yuliana Arles: Platforms such as SubmitHub and Groover have become familiar tools for many independent musicians. What makes OTONAMI different, both for Japanese artists and for curators, playlist editors, media, and industry professionals around the world?
Satoshi Yamashita: SubmitHub and Groover are great tools, and I’ve used them myself. What makes OTONAMI different, I think, is that it focuses on independent music from Japan and Asia.
Because the AI helps write the English pitch, even artists who aren’t confident in English can take that first step. Also, OTONAMI doesn’t accept AI-generated music. We only handle music made by people, and that’s something we really care about.
There are benefits for curators too: they can set for themselves how many credits they receive per pitch, and there’s no obligation to feature anything. For curators and media around the world, I hope it becomes a place to discover a new source of music, the independent scene of Japan and Asia that hasn’t been found yet.
Yuliana Arles: OTONAMI was created to help artists cross borders that are often invisible, yet very real. Looking ahead, how do you see the platform evolving over the next few years?
Satoshi Yamashita: Over the next few years, I’d first like to expand from Japan to Asia as a whole. And someday, ideally, to also create the flow in the opposite direction: from abroad into Japan.
I hope it can grow into a community where artists and curators connect loosely across borders. Rather than aiming for some huge impact, my biggest wish is that talent which had been buried because of language or geography can start to move, even a little at a time.
I think of it as work like building many small bridges.
Without overreaching, I want to keep carefully connecting artists and curators one pair at a time.
Yuliana Arles: Throughout history, every new technology has inspired both hope and concern. Today, artificial intelligence occupies a similar place in the conversation around art and music. As someone working at the intersection of creativity and technology, what should artists embrace about AI, and what should they be careful not to lose?
Satoshi Yamashita: I think AI is a very useful tool. For translation, for finding people whose taste matches yours, for making small tasks more efficient, in those areas it can be a great help to artists. At OTONAMI, we use AI as a bridge for language.
At the same time, there are things we mustn’t lose. That’s the core of why you make the music in the first place. Emotion, lived experience, the expression only you can give. If we hand that over to AI, I feel music stops being music.
What we can leave to AI is “how to deliver”; “what to create” belongs to humans. That’s exactly why OTONAMI doesn’t handle AI-generated music.
Yuliana Arles: In an age increasingly shaped by algorithms, questions of authenticity seem more important than ever. What aspects of music and artistic expression do you believe will always remain uniquely human?
Satoshi Yamashita: What I think will always belong only to humans is expression born from pain, joy, and memory. An algorithm can optimize for what will “go over well.” But why you chose that sound, why you wrote those words, that reason can only come from the time you’ve lived.
Imperfection, hesitation, a little wavering. I think it’s exactly within that “incompleteness” that the things which move people’s hearts live. No matter how far technology advances, that trembling quality, the one that appears when someone truly tries to convey something, feels like it can only dwell in a human being.
I believe that’s where the real value of music lies.
Yuliana Arles: For many years, you have balanced two roles: creating your own music and helping other artists find their place in the world. Which of these brings you the deepest sense of purpose today?
Satoshi Yamashita: Honestly, both are equally important to me, and I can’t really separate them. If anything, what feels meaningful right now is precisely that I know both sides.
Because I’m someone who performs, I understand how artists feel, and I can help speak on their behalf. At the same time, I understand how it feels to be on the side that listens to many tracks and chooses among them.
It’s exactly because I can move between those two positions that I can stand in the middle and connect them. For me, continuing to play drums and helping other artists aren’t two separate things. They run on the same ground.
Yuliana Arles: And finally, if one day someone were to tell the story of your journey, from a young musician searching for his own voice to a person helping connect creative communities around the world, what would you hope remains at the center of that story?
Satoshi Yamashita: If someone were to turn my journey into a story, what I’d most want to remain at its center is just one thing: music can make people happy even when the words don’t get through.
That’s something I actually felt on the streets of Los Angeles, and it has stayed with me as my starting point ever since. A young guy who was struggling just to get his own sound heard somehow ended up helping carry other artists’ music abroad. If it were a story, I’d want it to be that kind of story.
And if someone who read it could feel that “my music, too, will surely reach someone, somewhere,” nothing would make me happier.
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