Yahoo! News is reporting today that some Japanese musicians are trying to join iTunes Japan, even though their recording labels, such as Sony, are not. The Japanese iTunes Music Store has been a huge success, breaking through the one million downloads mark in only 4 days (it took 7 in the U.S.). It only makes sense that a recording artist would want his/her work to be as accessible as possible to the fans (and paid for of course). But as tightly controlled as the music business is in the U.S., it is even more so in Japan where many artists receive a salary rather than royalties and the typical music CD sells for nearly $40. In such an environment, for artists to publicly move against the wishes of their labels is nothing less than a revolt. But the Japanese consumer has spoken, very loudly, in favor of iTunes so anyone whose work is not availble via iTMS is going to be left behind. I just don’t see how $40 CDs are going to survive with iTMS around. Even CD rentals, which are popular in Japan, are likely to suffer as many people will likely prefer the convenience and lower cost of iTunes downloads.
Right now in Japan, RIAA’s worst nightmare is unfolding. Given access to legal, low cost digital access to music, not only are consumers moving away from overpriced CDs, the recording artists are as well. At least in the U.S. market, CDs have begun to fall in price but even now, a new CD from a popular artist may cost $15-$20 which is still too high. If the artist revolt in Japan spreads, and there have been U.S. artists who also have been breaking with their labels, then maybe the artists and the fans will get a better deal in the end. As for the labels themselves, they can either get with the new program, or be left behind.