First MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN Categories Revealed, Including Fan-Voted Categories Via Spotify

As reported earlier, MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN is a brand-new award established by the five major organizations in the Japanese music industry — Recording Industry Association of Japan, Japan Association of Music Enterprises, the Federation of Music Producers Japan, Music Publishers Association of Japan, and All Japan Concert & Live Entertainment Promoters Conference. The specifics of the more than 60 categories slated to be recognized in this new music award, the voting method, and the selection and voting method for the more than 5,000 voting members have been revealed.

The inaugural event is set for May 21 and 22, 2025, at the Rohm Theatre Kyoto. Day 2 will be broadcast live via a domestic terrestrial TV channel and delay-streamed on YouTube for a global audience. Nominees will be awarded in over 60 categories including the six major ones such as Song of the Year and New Artist of the Year. Details of the 23 divisions in the song category, seven in the international song category, five in the album category, twelve in the artist category, and three in the “Alliance Category” have been announced.

The song category will celebrate a wide variety of music genres and cultures, with genre divisions honoring J-pop, rock, hip-hop, idol culture, anime and more, as well as special divisions for revival (resurgent hits), Vocaloid culture, and music videos, among others. There will also be two awards decided by inviting votes from general music listeners via Spotify. In the album category, leading with Album of the Year, projects from genres that add color to music culture awards will be recognized including jazz, classical music, movie music/original soundtracks albums, and video game soundtracks. In the artist category, there will also be a prize for artists who have been active in the Japanese music industry for a long time and contributed to its enrichment called MAJ Timeless Echo.

“We are very honored that our data is being used as one of the core data sets for the songs entered in MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN,” says Billboard Japan chart director Seiji Isozaki. “We will continue to improve the accuracy of our data so that we can convey how people enjoy music and the joy of music itself.”

Tallying period will be from Monday, Feb. 5, 2024 to Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, excluding some categories.

Six major categories:

Song of the Year: Celebrates songs considered to be musically creative and artistic.

Method of selection: An original, MAJ-specific chart will be created by combining the weekly points of the top 100 tracks on the six metrics (radio airplay, CD sales, downloads, streaming, video views, and karaoke) comprising Billboard Japan’s Hot 100 song chart, and on the Top User Generated Songs chart. Two months will be considered a single period, and songs charting in each period will be nominated for Song of the Year. Domestic and international songs are eligible for this category.

Album of the Year: Celebrates albums considered to be musically creative and artistic.

Method of selection: An original, MAJ-specific chart will be created by combining the CD and downloads data comprising Billboard Japan’s Hot Albums chart, and GfK’s streaming data. Two months will be considered a single period, and albums charting in each period will be nominated for Album of the Year. Domestic and international albums are eligible for this category.

Artist of the Year: Celebrates artists considered to be musically creative and artistic.

Method of selection: The Artist of the Year will be decided from artists with either songs or albums nominated for Song of the Year or Album of the Year. Domestic and international artists are eligible for this category.

New Artist of the Year: Celebrates new artists considered to be musically creative and artistic.

Method of selection: The New Artist of the Year will be decided from artists of songs extracted from those nominated for Song of the Year, according to Billboard Japan’s Heatseekers Songs rules.

1. Excludes artists who have entered the top 20 on the Japan Hot 100 or top 10 of the Japan Hot Albums tallies in the last six months (26 weeks).

2. Excludes artists who have logged at least four months (17 weeks) in the last six months (26 weeks) on the Heatseekers Songs top 20.

Groups and projects that include the above excluded artists are also excluded. However, artists who perform under completely different names are not excluded.

Top Global Hit From Japan: Celebrates domestic songs that have become hits around the world.

Method of selection: The Top Global Hit From Japan award will be decided by selecting the top 5 songs from the global chart created by extracting Japan-based songs from the global viewing data (streaming, downloads, music videos) compiled by Luminate, excluding the number of views in Japan.

Only the highest-ranking song will be considered for acts with multiple songs on the list. Five songs by five acts will be nominated for this award.

Tallying period: From Friday, Feb. 2, 2024 to Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

Best Song Asia: Celebrates Asian songs that have become hits in Asia.

Method of selection: The Best Song Asia award will be decided from the top 3 songs from the 2024 year-end charts of Asian countries/regions excluding Japan.

For the inaugural MAJ, songs from the following East and Southeast Asian countries and regions will be considered: South Korea, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan.

General voting categories: One best work will be decided from 30 works chosen as nominees through Spotify’s voting function.

Listeners’ Choice: Best Global Song of the Year powered by Spotify: An award given to the Best Global Song decided by general vote from Spotify users from both within and outside Japan, from among domestic songs that have become global hits.

Listeners’ Choice: Best Song of the Year powered by Spotify: An award given to the Best Song decided by general vote from Spotify users from both within and outside Japan.

MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2025 KYOTO 

Date of Ceremony: Wednesday, May 21 and Thursday, May 22, 2025

MAJ Week: From Saturday, May 17 to Friday, May 23, 2025

Venue: ROHM Theatre Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

Live broadcast on domestic terrestrial TV and global stream on YouTube scheduled (some regions excluded)

*Tickets to attend the ceremony will not be open to the public. Details of the awards ceremony and related events will be announced later.