Release Your Music to the World—What Was Impossible 30 Years Ago Is Now Possible for Everyone

To today's creators

First of all, let me say this.

I want you to spread your music to the world as much as you can.

There is no need to hesitate. There is no need to hold back. As someone who knows what it was like 30 years ago, I truly believe how blessed you are to be able to create music in this day and age.

The era of distributing cassette tapes by hand

Let me talk about something from about 40 years ago.

Back then, you couldn't even make a CD on your own. If you wanted someone to listen to your music, you had no choice but to record it onto a cassette tape and distribute it by hand.

That was what "music activity" meant.

Even if you could create music, there was no environment for people to hear it. Unless you were recognized by "someone," your music could not be spread to the world.

The filter of record company directors

At that time, the first step for creators and artists to appear in public was to be recognized by the "record industry."

You would make a demo and send it to a record company. If it caught the ear of a record company director, they would contact you. That was finally the start.

But just because a director reached out to you didn't mean your debut was guaranteed. You had to listen to what the director said, adapt to the director's tastes, and sometimes suppress your own identity. And the reality that awaited you after finally achieving a debut was often that you "didn't sell."

Even among the creators and artists who managed to win a debut this way, those who actually sold were just a "pinch." Not even a handful.

The record industry at the time was also desperate to survive as an industry. They were frantically searching for "seeds that would bear fruit." Because there were also plenty of seeds that wouldn't bear fruit—artists who couldn't even make their debut.

Then, they would carefully package and decorate the fruits of their labor and have them placed in stores (record retailers) where they were likely to sell for more and in greater quantities. That was the job of those directors.

That is why the music released into the world had to be 'music that sells'.

Things are different now.

But now, it is not the record company directors who decide that.

There is YouTube. There is TikTok. You can even distribute music at an individual level. If you make full use of social media, you can get a significant number of people to listen to your music.

Whether it sells or not is up to the public. We can put our music out into the world ourselves.

What subscriptions and digital downloads have changed

Actually, when subscriptions and digital downloads first appeared, I was a little worried.

What would happen to the music scene when music that hadn't passed through the filter of 'a record company director's ear' flooded the world directly? I was worried that low-quality music would run rampant—that was the nature of my concern.

But when I opened the lid, it turned out to be an unfounded fear.

Unbound by anything. Free from any constraints. Such wonderful music was flooding the world. I was happy.

Of course, there is still a commercial music scene today. But in the same, or perhaps even larger, vortex, creators who are expressing themselves are striding about.

That makes me incredibly happy.

Social media is a double-edged sword

There is just one thing I want to convey.

Social media is, in a sense, a double-edged sword.

It is important to have a mindset that does not worry about what others think. As I mentioned before regarding the 'qualifications of an artist,' if you do not have the strength to stick to your own worldview, you will be swallowed up by the evaluations on social media.

But at the same time, it is also very important to care about how your music is being conveyed and how it is being perceived.

Music only comes to life when it is heard by others.

Selling well and being heard are not synonymous. First, get people to listen. That is your initial goal.

So, do not hesitate.

What was impossible 30 years ago is now possible for anyone.

As someone who knows the era when we handed out cassette tapes by hand, I wanted to convey just how blessed this current era is.

Your music has value. I want you to express yourself freely without hesitation.

The world is waiting for that music.