Though South Korea has developed a reputation for high-quality electronics and competitively-branded cars on a par with their Japanese rivals, the meteoric rise of Korean pop has pushed the East Asian country into the limelight in recent years. Boy bands like Super Junior, FT Island, MBLAQ and B2ST have captured the hearts of millions of girls worldwide. SNSD, Kara, 4minute and other South Korean girl groups have experienced similar levels of success with their male fan bases.
It’s little wonder Korean music and culture “has the potential to become a new economic growth engine by fueling exports and improving the country’s overall image abroad,” according to a report by the Hyundai Research Institute (HRI).
Across the Sea of Japan, the Japanese music industry is struggling to keep its head above the water. The 2010 figures from The Recording Industry Association of Japan indicate declines of 6% (volume) and 5% (value) in Japan’s digital music market compared with the same figures from 2009. Internet downloads also experienced a 1% decline, falling to 10.1 billion yen in total revenue. Total market size fell by 8.3% in 2010. Though it remains the second largest market for music in the world, Japanese pop could certainly use some of the vigor and enthusiasm so closely associated with the meteoric rise of its Korean counterpart.
( Read more...Collapse )Source: japantoday
This article is a bit different than the others. It went into the economic benefits for J-pop to expand internationally.
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