Japan is much smaller than the US, yet they get all the music?

Question

Why are so many albums only available as 'Japanese Imports'. It seems like the music market in the States must be considerably larger than little Japan, but there's so much music that you can find there that's not available here. What's the deal? Plus the Japanese versions of cds that ARE available here often have extra bonus tracks. What's their secret?

*Chris A*

-So you're saying that the import CDs I see for sale on Amazon and other places, with Japan-only extra tracks, are all stolen? I find that hard to believe...

Answer 1

Japan is a smaller country, but their economy is much larger than most of the countries in the world. The fact that there is more money there makes it easier to sell CDs.

Also, one of the reasons for the bonus tracks is that most Japanese CDs are pressed with better sound quality than American or other CD pressings. This raises the price of Japanese CDs, even in Japan.

In fact, it would be cheaper for someone in Japan to import an American version of the CD with lower quality, than to spend extra money on the better quality of the Japanese version.

But this would take money out of the Japanese CD production/distribution companies and put it into other markets. So, Japanese CDs have to come with extra incentives to justify the price, in case the person buying the CD could care less about the superior sound quality of the CD.

Thus: bonus tracks, added videos, extra interview CDs, stickers, handwritten Japanese liner notes, lyrics in English & Japanese, etc.

As for the music that's available in Japan, but not in America, that might be dependant on the cultural tastes of Japan, compared to other parts of the world. For example, progressive rock (Steve Vai, Dream Theater, etc.) are much more widely accepted in Japan than in the US. The bands can issue extra releases and they will be worth the production cost in Japan, since it is a smaller country, and the population is not spread out over such a large area as the US, which would increase distribution costs, and there may be virtually no demand for some of these smaller releases from bands that do not enjoy mainstream popularity in America.

That's one reason for the unavailability of some CDs that are available in Japan that aren't in America. There might be other reasons, as well, but that's the most common one I've heard of. I hope that explains the bonus tracks question a little bit better, as well.

ForeclosureFish
http://www.foreclosurefish.com/

Answer 2

It has to do with distribution. Japan is where 80% of all cd's are pressed. Theses cd's are stolen out of the factory and produced & then sold.

Answer 3

Plus if you think about it Americans have a narrow view of selection of music anyway.