Following on the heels of the IFPI report on the worldwide music industry, the Recording Industry Association of Japan recently released its annual report for 2016.

According to the RIAJ, the volume of production of physical music (both audio and video formats) was 212.98 million, 95% of 2015’s total. Revenue from physical music was 245.7 billion yen, 97% of 2015’s total.

On the digital front, revenue was at 112.9% of 2015’s total, at 52.9 billion yen. This is the third year of consective growth in the digital market.

When combined, the physical and digital markets were at 99% of 2015’s total, at 298.5 billion yen.

In 2016, the revenue split between physical and digital was 82% to 18%, respectively.

Looking at the phyiscal market further, 72% of revenue came from audio formats (primarily CDs), while the remaining 28% was composed of video formats (primarily DVDs and blu-rays).

Looking at the revenue breakdown of the digital market, a first has occured. Streaming services (such as LINE MUSIC and Spotify) now make up the bulk of the digital market, with 38% of digital revenue coming from that sector. It is followed by single track sales (songs purchased individually off of sites such as Recochoku and iTunes) at 33%. Digital album sales off of these sites make up another 18% of the digital market’s revenue. Rounding out the digital market are ringback tones at 5%, master ringtones and music videos at 1% each, and other digital products at 4%.

Note: The IPFI report says that the Japanese music industry grew by 1.1% in 2016, while the RIAJ report says that music sales in total were down 1%. It should be noted that the IFPI report also counts performance rights, which the RIAJ doesn’t. This may very well make up for the discrepancy.

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