A Gaijin Musician In Japan

"Non Japanese Japan based bands have a limited fan base currently. Outside of Japanzine, no media publication seems to focus on foreigner bands."

The above quote is part of a message from a radio station that purports to promote Japanese music around the world. We contacted them with the view to getting some exposure, but were told that there simply isn't any interest for foreign bands plying their trade in Japan. So I guess Japanese music means Japanese language music then right? Anyway, that got me thinking to how difficult it has been, and continues to be, to get any form recognition in Japan. Basically being a Gaijin musician in Japan is hard work and takes a lot of determination from those hoping to succeed.

Great Music, No Audience
In the last few years I have met, and played with, some really great musicians. A lot of the foreign musicians I meet are really talented and dedicated people. When I think about, say, Laurier Tiernan, DieByForty, PlayFight, The Oversleep Excuse, Atom B, The Simones and even The Watanabes (whom I haven't met, but have had some limited recognition in the English language media in Japan), that is a considerable range of musical styles and talent, all competing within the same space to win over the hearts and minds of not only their immediate friends and loved-ones, but also trying to reach a more far-reaching Japanese audience too.

The major problem seems to be how to reach that audience, the same audience that will buy Muse, Foo Fighters and Green Day albums, but aren't aware that there are bands within their own borders that are making great 'foreign music' too.

Compounding this problem is the issue that there has been a gradual shift in taste within the Japanese music market in the last few years. Walk into any HMV these days and you'll notice how difficult it is to find foreign music, especially compared to 5 to 10 years ago. Sure, the big artists can still do business both in terms of record sales and concert tickets, but they're not as prevalent and as all conquering as they were 10 years ago. Japanese music has come on leaps and bounds (production and song-writing) and the domestic market is as strong as it's ever been.
That makes our job even more difficult, as there seems to be a very limited audience for foreigners playing rock and its derivatives in Tokyo, and next-to-no market-place for it. After all, why would you watch, or listen to, a band that you couldn't understand well when you could do the same with a band that you could? Makes perfect sense to me.

Expensive Engagement
Put quite simply, it's bloody expensive to play in Tokyo. The pay-to-play system means that unless you can persuade your friends to come and see you you will likely be playing to an audience made up the venue staff and the other bands you are playing with, and you'll likely be paying through the nose for the privilege. It's a ludicrous system and it means that you really have to choose your events and the nights you play so that you can make some impact. The Tribal Rock events that I have been involved in organizing have been, by-and-large, successful, but no-one really sees gigs as a chance to make money or reach a new audience. The chances of a A&R man from a Japanese label turning up to your show are extremely slim and if they do they are unlikely to see anything in your music that isn't already being done by a Japanese act.

Digital Or Physical
One of the other difficulties for Gaijin bands is how to get a Japanese audience to listen to your latest offering. So you've spent all your hard earned cash on that great sounding 4 track EP, now who's going to hear it?
Your friends on facebook might, but your Japanese friends on mixi won't, your family and friends back home will, but your Japanese colleagues and acquaintances will be shocked to know that you are in a band, those who can be bothered to make the few effortless clicks to your myspace or reverbnation page might listen, but those with a fear of English language sites may be frightened away.

How many of these people will be your potential Japanese audience? Chances are that your music will never reach the audience that you are maybe intending it for. A lot of Japanese people I speak to tell me that they either still buy CDs from a record store in the traditional way or download to their cellphones. So unless you're willing, and financially secure enough, to get your music into HMV or onto the Japanese music distribution sites you are limiting yourself to how foreigners now get their music...file-sharing and iTunes being the most obvious. So again you are unlikely to reach a Japanese audience.

Safety In Numbers
Now, all of this does paint a rather negative and gloomy picture doesn't it? And you might be thinking "why bother?" The problem is that most musicians are inherently unfocused and happy to just blunder along until something magical happens, like they get heard or noticed by accident. This might happen back home, but is highly unlikely to happen in Japan. Japanese radio play, singing songs in Japanese, seeking out Japanese management and playing with Japanese bands are all good ways of potentially reaching an Nihon-jin audience, just don't hold your breath that they will lead to any form of wide-spread recognition.

Laurier Tiernan, Benjamin Pruvost, and myself have started to address some of these issues and difficulties by trying to create a sense of community with the IMAP (The Independent Musicians' Association for Positivity) group and Tribal Rock live events. Hopefully we can help to shape a scene and create some interest in Gaijin Music in Japan from outside of our immediate friends and families. This is not an easy thing to do, and it can seem like an up-hill struggle at times, but a little positivity and proactive planning and who knows? In ten years time people might be talking about the foreign music explosion in Tokyo in the same way they did about Seattle or Manchester in previous times.

So, come along to some of the Tribal Rock shows coming up later in the year and help to support our cause. Just make sure to bring along your rock-music-loving Japanese friends!