Oricon

Oricon Inc.
株式会社オリコン
Holding company, owner of Oricon Entertainment Inc.[1]
Traded as JASDAQ: 4800
Industry Broadcast of music entertainment
Founded November 1967 (as Original Confidence)[1]
October 1, 1999 (as Oricon Direct Digital)[2]
June 2001 (as Oricon Global Entertainment)
July 2002[2]
Headquarters Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Key people
 Ko Koike: CEO
Owner see List of Oricon's shareholders
Number of employees
 222 (except part time workers, As of March 31, 2007)[2]
Parent Oricon Entertainment Inc. (October 1999 – June 2001)
Subsidiaries Oricon Entertainment Inc. (June 2001 – present)
Website Official Site of Oricon Inc.
Official Site of Oricon Charts

Oricon Inc. (株式会社オリコン Kabushiki-gaisha Orikon), established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as Original Confidence Inc. (株式会社オリジナルコンフィデンス Kabushiki-gaisha Orijinaru Konfidensu), which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts.[1] Oricon Inc. was originally set up as a subsidiary of Original Confidence and took over the latter’s Oricon record charts in April 2002.

In 2006, Oricon sued journalist Hiro Ugaya when he was quoted in a Cyzo magazine article suggesting that Oricon was fiddling its statistics to benefit certain management companies and labels, specifically Johnny and Associates. Ugaya condemned the lawsuit as an example of a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) in Japan.[3] The charges were later dropped by Oricon after a 33-month battle that devastated the reporter's life. No charge was held against the journalist.

They are compiled using data drawn from some 39,700 retail outlets (as of April 2011) and provide sales rankings of music CDs, DVDs, electronic games, and other entertainment products based on weekly tabulations.[4] Results are announced every Tuesday and published in Oricon Style by subsidiary Oricon Entertainment Inc. The group also lists panel survey-based popularity ratings for television commercials on its official website.[4]

History

Original Confidence Inc., the original Oricon company, was founded by the former Snow Brand Milk Products promoter Sōkō Koike in 1967. That November, the company began publishing a singles chart on an experimental:basis. Entitled Sōgō Geinō Shijō Chōsa (総合芸能市場調査) (it means "surveys of total entertainment markets"), this went official on January 4, 1968.

Like the preceding Japanese music charts provided by Tokushin Music Report which was started in 1962,[5] early Original Confidence was an exclusive information magazine only for the people who worked in the music industry. However, in the 1970s, Koike willingly advertised his company's charts to make its existence prevail among Japanese public. Thanks to his intensive promotional efforts on the multiple media including television programs, the hit parade became known by its abbreviation "Oricon" by the late 1970s.

The company shortened its name to Oricon in 1992 and was split into a holding company and several subsidiaries in 1999. Since Sōkō Koike's death, Oricon has been managed by the founder's relatives. In 2004, Hirakawachi 1-chome made Oricon history by reaching the 7th spot, making their debut, Enpitsu de tsukuru uta, the youngest j-pop male artists' album charted in the top 10.

Policy

Oricon monitors and reports on sales of CDs, DVDs, video games, and entertainment content in several other formats; manga and book sales were also formerly covered. Charts are published every Tuesday in Oricon Style and on Oricon’s official website. Every Monday, Oricon receives data from outlets, but data on merchandise sold through certain channels does not make it into the charts. For example, the debut single of NEWS, a pop group, was released only through 7-Eleven stores, which are not covered by Oricon, and its sales were not reflected in the Oricon charts. Oricon’s rankings of record sales are therefore not completely accurate. Before data was collected electronically, the charts were compiled on the basis of faxes that were sent from record shops.

Controversy

In 2006, Oricon sued journalist Hiro Ugaya when he was quoted in a Cyzo magazine article suggesting that Oricon was fiddling its statistics to benefit certain management companies and labels, specifically Johnny and Associates. Ugaya condemned the lawsuit as an example of a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) in Japan.[6]


Oricon does not include download sales. In Japan, single sales decreased sharply in the 2000s, while download sales hit three to four times the amount of single sales. Therefore, this chart is considered by many as not a reliable source in the current market.[7]

The lawsuit filed by Oricon on 17 November 2006 accused Ugaya of “mendacious comments” and demanded 50 million yen (318,000 euros) in damages. In his interview for the magazine Saizo (or Cyso), Ugaya questioned the validity Oricon’s hit chart on the grounds that its statistical methods were not transparent.

Many NGOs including Reporters Without Borders denounced the lawsuit as a violation of free expression. A Tokyo District Court initially ordered Ugaya to pay 1 million yen (7,400 euros) in damages but Ugaya appealed to the Tokyo high court.

Oricon’s decision to drop the action is extremely unusual in Japan. According to Japanese supreme court figures, only 0.1 per cent of the cases closed in 2007 were terminated as a result of the plaintiff’s decision to abandon the claim.[8]

Shareholders

(as of March 31, 2012)

Charts

Current charts

Past charts

Artists' total sales revenue by year

Year Artist
1974 Yōsui Inoue[9][9]
1975
1976 Yumi Arai[10]
1977 Pink Lady[11][12]
1978
1979 Alice[13]
1980 Yellow Magic Orchestra[14]
1981 Akira Terao[15]
1982 Off Course[16]
1983 Akina Nakamori[17]
1984 Seiko Matsuda[18]
1985 Akina Nakamori[19][20][21]
1986
1987
1988 Hikaru Genji[22]
1989 Yumi Matsutoya
1990 Southern All Stars
1991 B'z
1992 CHAGE and ASKA
1993 ZARD
1994 TRF
1995
1996 Namie Amuro[23]
1997 GLAY[24][25]
1998 B'z[25][26]
1999 Hikaru Utada[27][28]
2000 Ayumi Hamasaki[29][30][30][31]
2001
2002 Hikaru Utada[28][32]
2003 Ayumi Hamasaki[33][34]
2004 Hikaru Utada[35][36]
2005 ORANGE RANGE[37][38]
2006 Kumi Koda[39][40][41][42]
2007
2008 EXILE[43][44]
2009 Arashi[9][45][46]
2010
2011 AKB48[47][48]
2012
2013 Arashi[49][50]
2014

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "日本音楽スタジオ協会". Japan Association of Professional Recording Studios. Retrieved 2007.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Overview of Oricon.Inc". Oricon Inc. Retrieved March 2007.
  3. ↑ Libel suit attacks free speech: defendant The Japan Times Online
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Policy of the Oricon Weekly Charts". oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  5. ↑ "会社案内 – tokushin music report". Tokushin Music Report. Retrieved 2008.
  6. ↑ Libel suit attacks free speech: defendant The Japan Times Online
  7. ↑ Statistics will be given below: RIAJ.or.jp
  8. ↑ http://en.rsf.org/japan-abandonment-of-the-claim-against-a-06-08-2009,34102.html
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 2010年音楽ソフト市場　嵐、いきものがかりが部門首位　メーカー別ではソニーがV2. Oricon. 2011-01-14 4:00.
  10. ↑ コンフィデンス年鑑 1977年版. 31p.
  11. ↑ コンフィデンス年鑑 1978年版. 28p.
  12. ↑ コンフィデンス年鑑 1979年版. 30p.
  13. ↑ オリコン年鑑 1980年版. 30p.
  14. ↑ オリコン年鑑 1981年版. 31p.
  15. ↑ オリコン年鑑 1982年版. 30p.
  16. ↑ オリコン年鑑 1983年版. 27p.
  17. ↑ オリコン年鑑 1984年版. 28p.
  18. ↑ オリコン年鑑 1985年版. 28p.
  19. ↑ オリコン年鑑 1986年版. 345p.
  20. ↑ オリコン年鑑 1987年版. 379p.
  21. ↑ オリコン年鑑 1988年版. Capital 17p.
  22. ↑ オリコン年鑑 1989年版別冊 オリコン・チャート・データ'88. 28p.
  23. ↑ オリコン年鑑 1997年版別冊 オリコン・チャート・データ'96. 29p.
  24. ↑ オリコン年鑑 1998年版別冊 オリコン・チャート・データ'97. 23p.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 オリコン、「第35回日本レコードセールス大賞」を発表。. Narinari.com. 2002-12-29.
  26. ↑ オリコン年鑑 1999年版別冊 オリコン・チャート・データ'98. 23p.
  27. ↑ オリコン年鑑 2000年版別冊 オリコン・チャート・データ'99. 25p.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 オリコン「第35回日本レコードセールス大賞」発表. Musicman編集部. 2002-12-12.
  29. ↑ オリコン年鑑 2001年版別冊 オリコン・チャート・データ2000. 26p.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 浜崎あゆみ、CD売り上げ2年連続ナンバーワン. SANSPO.COM. 2001-12-14.
  31. ↑ オリコン年鑑 2002年版 データ本. 25p.
  32. ↑ オリコン年鑑 2003年版 データ本. 62p.
  33. ↑ オリコン年鑑 2004年版 データ本. 60p.
  34. ↑ あゆ２年ぶり｢セールス大賞｣ . スポニチアネックス. 2003-12-15.
  35. ↑ オリコン年鑑 2005年版 データ本. 76p.
  36. ↑ 倖田來未、年間セールス127億円で初の大賞!. Oricon. 2006-12-21,14:00.
  37. ↑ オリコン年鑑 2006年版. 77p.
  38. ↑ 2005年 アーティストトータルセールスランキング. Oricon. 2005-12-19.
  39. ↑ オリコン年鑑 2007年版. 76p.
  40. ↑ 2006年 アーティストトータルセールスランキング大発表!. Oricon. 2006-12-21.
  41. ↑ オリコン年鑑 2008年版. 76p.
  42. ↑ 2007年 アーティストトータルセールスランキング大発表!. Oricon. 2007-12-18.
  43. ↑ オリコン年鑑 2009年版. 100p.
  44. ↑ 2008年 アーティストトータルセールスランキング大発表!. Oricon. 2008-12-11.
  45. ↑ 2009年 アーティストトータルセールスランキング. Oricon. 2009-12-18.
  46. ↑ 2010年 オリコン年間ランキング アーティストトータルセールス. Oricon. 2010-12-20.
  47. ↑ 2011年 オリコン年間ランキング アーティストトータルセールス. Oricon. 2011-12-19.
  48. ↑ 2012年 オリコン年間ランキング アーティストトータルセールス. Oricon. 2012-12-20.
  49. ↑ 2013年 アーティストトータルセールスランキング. Oricon. 2013-12-15.
  50. ↑ .Oricon. 2014-12-20.

External links