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
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