Recochoku Reveals Its Best Selling Artists and Songs Ever and Announces Service Changes

Digital music service Recochoku was established on July 3, 2001. During its 15 years in service, the company’s main products have been Chaku Uta downloads (ringtones) and Chaku Uta Full downloads (full songs). Times are changing however, and Recochoku has decided to discontinue these products as of December 15.

Recochoku is not ending though; it will continue to sell music that is compatible with smartphones and personal computers, as opposed to Japanese feature phones. The rise of smartphones and the decline of Japanese feature phones is the probable reason behind this. Chaku Uta sales have declined to the point where it is very rare for one to receive a digital certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan. One from 2008 was certified in October of this year, with the next to last certification coming in March 2015 for a song from 2006. In 2014, the RIAJ combined Chaku Uta Full downloads with PC downloads to create a unified digital single certification.

The total number of Chaku Uta and Chaku Uta Full downloads topped 1 billion in 2008, and 1.7 billion by the end of this November.

To celebrate its 15th anniversary and to mark the end of the Chaku Uta / Chaku Uta Full era, Recochoku has released its ranking of its best selling artists and songs. The ranking covers the period of 12/3/02 – 11/30/16. It counts Chaku Uta downloads, Chaku Uta Full downloads, and Chaku Uta Full Plus downloads (ringtone + full song packages).

EXILE tops the artist list, followed by Koda Kumi, with Ayumi Hamasaki rounding out the top 3. GReeeeN’s “Kiseki” tops the song list, followed by Thelma Aoyama’s “Soba ni Iru ne”, with GReeeeN’s “Ai Uta” rounding out the top 3. Check out more of these rankings below!

Artists

1. EXILE

2. Koda Kumi

3. Ayumi Hamasaki

4. ORANGE RANGE

5. Kobukuro

6. Ai Otsuka

7. GReeeeN

8. Utada Hikaru

9. Nishino Kana

10. Mika Nakashima

11. Ketsumeishi

12. Namie Amuro

13. Arashi

14. Kato Miliyah

15. Ikimonogakari

16. DREAMS COME TRUE

17. Shonan no Kaze

18. AKB48

19. BoA

20. FUNKY MONKEY BABYS

See the rest of the top 100 here

 

Songs

1. GReeeeN – Kiseki

2. Thelma Aoyama – Soba ni Iru ne feat. SoulJa

3. GReeeeN – Ai Uta

4. O-Zone – Dragostea Din Tei

5. Kobukuro – Tsubomi

6. ORANGE RANGE – Hana

7. ayaka – Mikazuki

8. AI – Story

9. EXILE – Lovers Again

10. Shonan no Kaze – Junrenka

11. Remioromen – Konayuki

12. Utada Hikaru – Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version-

13. Ai Otsuka – Planetarium

14. Ketsumeishi – Sakura

15. Kobukuro – Sakura

16. EXILE – Tada… Aitakute

17. Ai Otsuka – Sakuranbo

18. REIRA starring YUNA ITO – ENDLESS STORY

19. Koda Kumi – Koi no Tsubomi

20. EXILE – Ti Amo

See the rest of the top 100 here

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