Warner Music Japan

Warner Music Japan president and CEO Takeshi Okada, whose company is initiating a ‘full-scale’ expansion into anime music with an NBCUniversal Japan agreement. Photo Credit: WMG

Warner Music Japan (WMJ) has kicked off “a full-scale entry into” the anime music space under a new partnership with NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan.

WMJ, where Takeshi Okada started as CEO 10 days back, revealed the sweeping anime-music buildout today. Beginning on the organizational side, Warner Music Japan has established an “Anime Business Division” under the tie-up.

That newly minted unit has already welcomed as external advisors Koichiro Natsume (previously the head of Sony-owned anime giant Aniplex) and Hiroyasu Shinohara (formerly an exec with Sega’s TMS Entertainment).

Plus, WMJ, which added Kenji Kitatani as chairman in September, is collaborating with the appropriate NBCUniversal subsidiary “to expand and strengthen this team with specialized talent.”

Shifting to distribution, Warner Music’s ADA intends to take over physical and digital distribution for north of 9,000 NBCUniversal Japan catalog works early next year. And when it comes to fresh projects, Warner Music Japan will oversee “the production and promotion of new releases” from NBCUniversal Japan acts “moving forward.”

In a statement, Warner Music Japan’s mentioned CEO, Takeshi Okada, touted the perceived opportunity to deliver “Japanese music to the world through anime” thanks to the pact.

“The popularity of Japanese anime is exploding both domestically and internationally with fans increasingly connecting with it on social media and streaming platforms,” Okada proceeded. “This presents an opportunity for artists to connect with new fans worldwide through music used in anime projects.

“So this partnership will not only enable us to help bring NBCUJ’s catalog to the world through our global network, but also give our artists opportunities to further grow their careers by leveraging anime-related collaborations,” the Universal Music Group vet concluded.

Unsurprisingly, Warner Music is hardly alone in looking to capitalize on the anime sphere’s commercial possibilities. (Though any analysis of a sector’s long-term outlook should be taken with a grain of salt, some recent reports have suggested that the global anime market could expand by about 77% to approximately $50 billion by 2033. Different breakdowns have floated larger estimates yet.)

Universal Music’s Virgin Music Group over the summer scored a digital distribution deal with Animate-owned Frontier Works, while Spotify in August unveiled a partnership with Crunchyroll. Besides launching an “anime hub,” Spotify at the time disclosed that global on-platform anime music streams had spiked 395% since 2021.