Sun, May 24, 2009 (10:00pm EDT)
JASRAC has released its annual report on music royalty payments for the 2008 year. The numbers cover all formats, including internet distribution and karaoke machines.
Thelma Aoyama's "Soba ni Iru ne" was #1 in royalty revenues, earning much of it through mobile phone and computer distribution. At #2 was AKINO's "Sousei no Aquarion" ("Genesis of Aquarion") theme song, which has also been licensed for other uses such as pachinko machines.
GReeeeN ranked 3rd with "Kiseki" and 5th with "Aiuta," while the background music of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" ranked 4th.
Overall, royalties in 2008 totaled about 112.9 billion yen, a 2.4% drop from 2007.
Thelma Aoyama's "Soba ni Iru ne" was #1 in royalty revenues, earning much of it through mobile phone and computer distribution. At #2 was AKINO's "Sousei no Aquarion" ("Genesis of Aquarion") theme song, which has also been licensed for other uses such as pachinko machines.
GReeeeN ranked 3rd with "Kiseki" and 5th with "Aiuta," while the background music of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" ranked 4th.
Overall, royalties in 2008 totaled about 112.9 billion yen, a 2.4% drop from 2007.
Sun, May 24, 2009 (8:33pm EDT)
29-year-old announcer Tomoe Shinbo of the Nippon Broadcasting System got married last month, it has been learned. Her husband (29) works in the station's sales department and began working there at the same time she did.
The two began dating shortly after they both joined the company in 2003, so they had been dating for about six years before registering their marriage on April 20. The couple has scheduled their wedding ceremony for May 31.
The two began dating shortly after they both joined the company in 2003, so they had been dating for about six years before registering their marriage on April 20. The couple has scheduled their wedding ceremony for May 31.
Sun, May 24, 2009 (7:07pm EDT)
JaME reports that France's Japan Expo has invited several more music artists to attend this year. The expo already announced last month that AKB48's Team A will be present.
The new additions are Kobe-based punk trio TRILL-DAN, rock group Ra:IN (fronted by X Japan's PATA), pop group School Food Punishment, seiyu/singer Yui Makino, and metal band SUNS OWL.
JaME also recently learned that pop duo Puffy will be performing at the Japan Expo, as part of the JE LIVE HOUSE event on July 4-5.
Japan Expo takes place in Paris on July 2-5, 2009. More information is available on the official website.
The new additions are Kobe-based punk trio TRILL-DAN, rock group Ra:IN (fronted by X Japan's PATA), pop group School Food Punishment, seiyu/singer Yui Makino, and metal band SUNS OWL.
JaME also recently learned that pop duo Puffy will be performing at the Japan Expo, as part of the JE LIVE HOUSE event on July 4-5.
Japan Expo takes place in Paris on July 2-5, 2009. More information is available on the official website.
Sun, May 24, 2009 (6:03am EDT)
On Friday, popular boy band KAT-TUN completed their record-setting run of eight consecutive days of concerts at the Tokyo Dome. With a full house of about 55,000 fans at each show, a total of roughly 440,000 people attended the concerts.
Last year, KAT-TUN performed four consecutive days at the Dome. At the time, it tied for the record with British rocker Sting, who also did a four-day stretch there in 1988. However, KAT-TUN's recent concerts have now doubled that record.
Their management agency, Johnny's Jimusho, is hoping to have this achievement officially recognized as a Guinness World Record under "most consecutive concerts at a venue with a capacity of 50,000." It appears that someone affiliated with Guinness happened to be at the Tokyo Dome, so the agency has requested verification of the record.
With the success of these concerts, KAT-TUN has scheduled many more to extend their tour. They had originally planned for these 8 shows to be followed by 3 at Osaka Dome on May 29-31 and 2 more at Tokyo Dome on June 14-15. They have now added 17 more shows in 6 other cities, starting in July.
Last year, KAT-TUN performed four consecutive days at the Dome. At the time, it tied for the record with British rocker Sting, who also did a four-day stretch there in 1988. However, KAT-TUN's recent concerts have now doubled that record.
Their management agency, Johnny's Jimusho, is hoping to have this achievement officially recognized as a Guinness World Record under "most consecutive concerts at a venue with a capacity of 50,000." It appears that someone affiliated with Guinness happened to be at the Tokyo Dome, so the agency has requested verification of the record.
With the success of these concerts, KAT-TUN has scheduled many more to extend their tour. They had originally planned for these 8 shows to be followed by 3 at Osaka Dome on May 29-31 and 2 more at Tokyo Dome on June 14-15. They have now added 17 more shows in 6 other cities, starting in July.
