CD sales reign supreme in Japan, but streaming service is out to change that
Most of the world's music market has moved online
A new music streaming service in Japan aims to make a dent in the world's second-largest music market, but it could face a tough challenge from the undisputed king of the sector - the good old compact disc.
While digital music now eclipses CD sales in the US, Japanese music lovers tend to be big on showing off their disc collections - e-books have also struggled - and the industry is heavily geared toward sales of physical media.
Mobile messaging giant Line last week said it was going where others including Sony and games giant DeNA had failed: a streaming service that offers unlimited access to a collection of more than 1.5 million songs for 1,000 yen (HK$63) a month.
The announcement came weeks before tech giant Apple is expected to enter the Japanese market with its own streaming business - part of a wider digital download strategy that will offer a heavyweight rival to online services such as Spotify, Pandora and Jay Z's fledgling Tidal.
Line Music says it will run a two-month free campaign before rolling out the fee-based business, which will also offer budget-conscious consumers 20 hours of listening time for 500 yen (HK$32). It says it plans to boost its collection to 30 million songs by next year.
Last month, information technology firm CyberAgent and music giant Avex Group rolled out their AWA streaming service.