Delicious Deli

Universal Music in Japan is charting new territory by starting a new label for Japanese artists. The new label will be called Delicious Deli Records and will start operations in January of ’09.

The label will originate under Universal International but will really seek to build domestic Japanese artists. Universal has 5 other labels within Japan (Universal J, Nayuta Wave Records, Universal Sigma Records, Far Eastern Tribe Records, Milestone Crowds).

The focus of Delicious Deli will be to find Japanese artists who are either active or are based in other parts of the world and bring them to the motherland in an attempt to build homeland support. Conversely, Delicious Deli will seek to export popular Japanese artists internationally and to connect them with collaborating partners around the world.

I think this is a great idea. Especially with Universal seeking to connect people musically. My main concern though is that this happens at the corporate superficial level as opposed to a natural, grassroots collaborative effort amongst willing musicians. We’ll see how this new label turns out in this difficult time for the music industry, specifically the record labels.

Stay tuned,
Erik
erikrostad.com