Google launches music streaming service in CD-mad Japan

Google has launched a music streaming service in Japan, with its local version of Google Play Music offering 35 million tunes available for ¥980 ($A11.66) a month.

Sami Valkonen, Director of International Music Partnerships for Google Play Music, expressed confidence in its Japan service at a press conference late last week.

The US company is the latest to take on the world’s second largest music market, worth $US2.6 billion ($A3.71 billion) after America’s $4.8 billion. This year streaming arrived in Japan, first with local messaging app Line, which integrated the service in the popular app. It offered 1.3 million tracks from Sony, Universal, Warner and Japan’s Apex and King for a monthly ¥1,000 for unlimited access and ¥500 for 20 hours of streaming, and discounts for students. It promises to provide 30 million tracks by end of 2016, putting it in the same league as Spotify or Deezer.

It has been followed by Apple and Awa, a joint venture by multi-divisional digital firm CyberAgent and Japanese entertainment conglomerate Avex Group.

The problem with Japan is that 80% of its sales are still on CD format – and last year the music market fell by 5.5%. Problems with licensing has been an obstacle to the rise of streaming, and early attempts at providing that service by Sony’s Sony Music Unlimited) and Japanese games company DeNA have folded. Spotify has been trying to enter the market for some time but is yet to come to an agreement with record labels. It took Netflix this month to arrive after launching in 50 countries.

So far Japanese consumers have not taken to streaming. According to the Recording Industry of Japan mobile streaming subscription revenue totalled just ¥5 million (A$58,420) last year.

Following similar moves in Europe, Australia and New Zealand to impose a “Netflix” tax, Japan plans to introduce an 8% “consumption tax on electronic services by offshore providers” effective October 1, 2015.