Interest
Anime Music Industry Members Discuss the Past 10 Years
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Lantis chief producer Shigeru Saitō (Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club music producer) appeared on the 316th episode of composer Tomokazu Tashiro (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Dusk maiden of Amnesia theme songs) and musician Tomoya Tabuchi's (member of the band Unison Square Garden) TACCHI Radio podcast that debuted on Saturday. The group discussed the past ten years in the anime industry, and Saitō shared his thoughts from working for Lantis since 2005.
According to the trio, the boundaries of the anime world are changing between Japan and foreign countries. Current anime business does not lie solely in Japan, so projects are moving towards targeting foreign markets as well. Companies can now recoup costs even if specific anime disks fail to sell well in Japan.
Distribution and broadcast rights sold to China can help recover production costs. Funds from China are currently making waves in the distribution rights market. A fierce competition is developing between Chinese companies to monopolize distribution rights.
Acquiring rights to simultaneously distribute anime as it airs in Japan has become an advantage. The industry has been shifting to adjust to that new standard.
The anime song industry is now in a transitional period. The industry did not gain a lot of attention in the past, but it has been gaining more attention in the past ten years. Lantis is being supported by The IDOLM@STER and Love Live!, but the company is also waiting for the next opportunity. When Nana Mizuki held her first concert at Tokyo Dome for King Records, Lantis read the atmosphere and cleared the date. The company knew it would become an important day for the industry.
The overseas development of the anime song industry is also taking root. Companies are profiting from holding concerts and selling merchandise in foreign countries. The overseas market is seen as a final frontier for the anime song industry. Industry members are optimistic overall, but they realize they have to be proactive in a time of a low birth rate and aging population in Japan.
Other insiders in the world of anime have previously shared their views on the industry. Director Osamu Yamasaki recently concurred with the common view that the lives of animators in Japan can be harsh, involving an overload of work and low pay. Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani said in February that an anime idol boom is over, and the era of band anime is beginning. However, his company's production of the BanG Dream! multimedia project undoubtedly skewed his viewpoint.
[Via Yaraon!]
