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Insiders • 7 min read

EP02: Interview with Goshi Manabe

By David Weiszfeld

Published April 11, 2019

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About This Episode

On the second episode of Insiders, we sit down with Goshi Manabe, one of the leading international experts on the Japanese Music Industry, who has dedicated his career to opening up the global music business to Japan and vice versa. Right now, Goshi is President of Trigger Entertainment Network and the LA-based International Rep & Advisor for RecoChoku, Japan’s largest digital music provider.

In this episode, we talk with Goshi about his career and finding a place halfway between Tokyo and New York; RecoChoku and its role in Japan’s digital music landscape; as well as the inevitable transition of the Japanese Market and opportunities it can bring to international artists all over the world.

Enjoy the talk, and, in case you want to learn more about Japan’s unique music industry — check out our recent article on the Japanese market!

Topics and highlights

07:57 — On his first experience coordinating between Japan and the US

Goshi Manabe: My last year in college, my grandmother passed away and she left me an inheritance. It's about, I would say, around six thousand dollars. So, I figured I should make the most of this and take a chance. And I decided to approach the head of the New Music Seminar and said "Hey! Can I hold after-hours parties?", during that time, and he's like "Sure it’s really cool".

I rented this venue [...] and I had these after-hours parties for three nights straight — but lost money as a result, because I didn't know what I was doing. But the interesting thing about that is that it turned out that the owner of that space was a gentleman called David Mancuso. There was a long-running party in New York called The Loft — it's actually going to be the 50th anniversary next year. So, through that, I got to meet him and then I ended up working the door and helping manage his parties for a while too, for a couple of years.

From that New Music Seminar experience, I got my first real job because the founder of a New Music Seminar introduced me to his friend [...] This guy used to run a club in New York called Mars, [and he] was getting into Japanese music coordination business. The Japanese music industry, they wanted to record, shoot videos in the States. So, they needed people to coordinate that. That took me all the way up to the end of the 1990s — I was there in New York for about 10 years.

David Weiszfeld: That first experience is already a Japanese-US exchange and the role of a facilitator between the two markets.

Goshi Manabe: That was great. For me as a young kid, how I got to meet a lot of the Japanese music industry. Back then, in the 90s. So, now they're all executives, today. So, it all connects.

12:43 — On RecoChoku, his role in the company and music distribution in Japan

David Weiszfeld: We actually know each other through RecoChoku, the company that you're consulting today […] Could you explain what RecoChoku is, and maybe how you're working with them on a day-to-day basis?

Goshi Manabe: RecoChoku and Bob from Techstars would put it is as a “connective tissue of the record industry in Japan”. [RecoChoku formed] back when there were ringtones. Only the publishers were making money [on them] because they were all covers. So, the Japanese record industry […] the domestic and all the global majors got together and they were like "let's invent master ringtones". They got together and formed RecoChoku to create this master ringtone business which in a matter of a few years was a couple of hundred million dollar business, just in Japan.

David Weiszfeld: I had never thought about the fact that early, early ringtones [were all] publishing, they were recreating the master. And when it came polyphonic ringtones, where it was an actual extract of the song, [...] the master side came in. Never looked at this that way...

Goshi Manabe: Yeah, they created this couple hundred-million-dollar business in a few years and the stakeholders were all the record labels. And then [...] it just naturally progressed into Smartphones, iTunes [and] downloads. Then obviously they were the first players in streaming in Japan. Back then and still today, they power the top two mobile carriers in Japan's, their download stores. For the number one carrier which is DOCOMO, they also power their streaming service [...] d hits [that was the first streaming service] to launch in Japan. NTT DOCOMO then became another stakeholder for RecoChoku.

The interesting thing about DoCoMo though, is that one of their subsidiaries is Tower Records Japan. It would be surprising in 2019 to hear that Tower Records Japan still exist. All I could say is that they're alive and well in Japan. They've got I'd say over 80 stores across Japan and they're the largest physical music retailer in Japan.

16:10 — On his role at RecoChoku

David Weiszfeld: So RecoChoku, kind of like Deezer was a few years ago in France, is a huge player locally. So, you've been working with them trying to branch out and also trying to learn a lot from the non-Japanese market. Could you explain a little bit what you do as a consultant?

Goshi Manabe: So my role, the title's International Rep and Advisor. I'm basically RecoChoku's eyes and ears because, like you said, they don't conduct any business outside of Japan. At the same time as you can imagine, all the top global players whether it would be Apple or Amazon or Google, are all in Japan already. And there are other domestic services that they have to compete with.

So, they want to be ahead of the curve. [RecoChoku] always looking for new ways to expand their business by creating new partnerships or finding new business models and business opportunities. So that's where I'm the conduit. I try to seek those out for them and that's how we came about to meet with Techstars Music.

18:40 — On the Japanese music market

David Weiszfeld: We talked a little bit about the lack of knowledge of the English language, [...] the size of the local Japanese music. [...] There is obviously the difference and the local players like RecoChoku that us, as non-Japanese, don't know. If you had to pick one or two of these or maybe something else: what are the things that we should really think about when we think about Japan?

Goshi Manabe: Considering the time of now, in 2019, and how outside of Japan streaming is just booming: In Japan, I would say last year, of all the recorded music sales, only 10 percent is coming from streaming. And then streaming just surpassed downloads. But downloads didn't really take off too, as much as outside of Japan, in the Western, developed countries. I think we're at a time where Japan, as you know, is still a very physical market. And there's going to be this transition. It's going to probably be abrupt. It's only going to happen once, this big shift.

So, trying to aim at that and finding out on how you could try to maximize that opportunity — I think that would be the key for people that want to enter Japan. I mean the chances there… it is the second largest market in music in terms of sales. [...] Despite "Japan is difficult", the language, the business culture, all these differences; [...] this change has to happen. It's inevitable, so it's just about how that's going to happen. In Japan, nobody knows but everybody's just trying to position themselves.

21:27 — On breaking into the Japanese market and collaborations with local artists

David Weiszfeld: So I guess, if you're an international artist especially from the US you can get a number one album or a Grammy [just with digital release]. Like Chance [the Rapper], I think it was a digital-only album. Imagine you have one of those releases in Japan. [...] If it's a digital release, the maximum you can reach is 10 percent of the [total] market on streaming, and 80 percent of that is local music. Which means for the second market in the world, for a non-Japanese artist, you're actually reaching a very very small share of that market.

Goshi Manabe: So, yes. But what I don't see that much happening is people really trying to research Japan or [...] find out who are the influencers in Japan, the trendsetters. Who are the acts that sell out in Japan but also are open to collaboration? That would be the obvious one: back from years ago — the same kind of music marketing style but collaborating with local artists, with the stars. That's another way to do it.

David Weiszfeld: Collaborating with local Japanese talent is a definite one. Not the easiest one. Due to also the nature of the difference between [...] what you consider a good Pop-Song in one market or another. But definitely that is something that is, maybe not under-done, but something that people don’t try enough.

Goshi Manabe: I think that it goes both ways. Japanese, especially young artists, [...] are interested and are ambitious about going global. They want that collaboration because it's inevitable. They see K-Pop blowing up all over the world. And it's like "well why can't we do that?". I'm confident there are artists that are seeking that, but they also don't know how. They need to do their homework. Those are the things that I'd love to help out.

28:14 — On the future of the Music Industry

David Weiszfeld: So to wrap up, a couple of questions that I want to ask everybody [on this show]: What is the most exciting thing for you looking ahead or right now?

Goshi Manabe: I would say there's this shift going on. It's been going on, from what I call the 20th-century music business to the 21st-century music business: it's all basically about transparency. Right? And how things are going to accelerate faster and it'll still take some time. But I think that's really exciting. It'll be like once that whole transformation happens, we won't see that kind of transformation for quite some time. So that's exciting that I get to live through that time.

David Weiszfeld: Especially because you're working between the U.S. and Japan. Japan has been the first Walkman, Sony and like a lot of innovation came from there. Right now the Japanese market is actually a little bit late on some of the digital innovation. So you're still seeing that transition from both worlds where if you're a young 19-year-old in the US to kind of use the previous example, the past three-four years you kind of assume that the market is digital. You forget that in a lot of European markets it's still a lot of physical cities, that in Japan it's a big majority.

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Full Transcript

David Weiszfeld [00:00]: Hi everybody. We're here with Goshi Manabe. Goshi is a friend of mine and he is living in California — has been there for the better part of his life now, moving back and forth between Tokyo, Japan, and the US. This is kind of at the heart of who Goshi is. He's been a connector in the industry for quite a while now helping digital companies from Japan understand the rest of the world and also, currently, helping the relationship between RecoChoku and Techstars that Bob Moz, who we had on our first episode, is running. So, okay Goshi, how are you?

Goshi Manabe [00:45]: All right. How are you doing David?

David Weiszfeld [00:47]: Cool. Yes, I'm fine too. I'm actually in New York so I’ve changed the settings from the palm trees in the previous episode. So, before we kind of get into it the relationship between Japan and the U.S. and understanding the differences between the market. I'm hoping that everybody can understand really who you are and where you come from. So, do you mind summarizing very quickly the first 20 years of your life?

Goshi Manabe [01:14]: Sure. I was born in Tokyo and basically raised like a regular Japanese kid until first grade and then around second grade, my mother who was educated in L.A., for college, decided that the world was going to be more global. So, you know, “you should learn English” and just sent me off actually to my mother's college buddy’s house in L.A, when I was going on second grade and I was there for a few months and after that, you know, I had an aunt who lived in San Francisco.

So, I moved to San Francisco, did one year of school there, didn't understand English at all but then after one year I was like a sponge: so I knew English. And when I came back to Japan actually I couldn't speak Japanese for about six months, but then I enrolled in an international school, and it was great because they had about 100 nationalities of different kids and I grew up all through the 80s basically until I graduated, in a high school in Tokyo.

David Weiszfeld [02:22]: Even when you were back in Japan, you were kind of raised in an International School which is very specific. People might not know it, but the general level of English for Japanese people especially for your generation, even more than today — it's quite low. And I think the consequence of that is a general lack of understanding of maybe the outside market, or would even push it further — maybe a lack of interest because the Japanese industry has been so thriving.

Just like we as non-Japanese usually don't really understand the Japanese market. The Japanese market is not fully so open. At this point, you're finishing high school, you're a bilingual kid in Tokyo. What's next for you?

Goshi Manabe [03:15]: The summer I graduated, in Japan back then was called the “bubble days” and people were going out a lot more and, you know, we grew up going to clubs, discos and I was very fascinated by that and was really into music. So, I got my first assistant job with a party promoter. Her name was Connie Yee. She was a Singaporean woman and she was holding like the coolest parties in Tokyo back then, bringing all these international deejays. So, one of the first summer jobs I got to do was to bring over this band called UR — Underground Resistance — to Tokyo for the first time. It's kind of funny you know we were under a budget, so they ended up staying over my mother's place during the tour. That's how I kind of started getting my foot in the door in the music industry.

David Weiszfeld [04:14]: At this point, you're like in your early 20s or something going to college and doing parties... What happened? Did you move back into the US?

Goshi Manabe [04:24]: Well, I went to college in school in Brooklyn called Pratt Institute, it was an art school, and I was first trying to be a graphic designer. Everybody wanted to be a graphic designer, but just to give you an idea: back then computer graphics was an elective, right. It wasn't mandatory. And we were doing for that like a program called Quark, which doesn't even exist anymore, right?

So, by the time I graduated college, it was like those people who went to school learn Photoshop in six months they were getting the job. So my whole college education was not that much worth it because of the times. But Brooklyn was not like Brooklyn back then, and it was really rough. It was a time when like Biggie Smalls was just rapping at the corners of Brooklyn. That was the era. So, when I was in New York though, I really liked music and I was just doing internships all the time. I first did a stint at MTV International then I was also at a recording studio called Chung King being like an assistant, and then I've...

David Weiszfeld [05:44]: Chung King is the studio in Chinatown that all the Def Jam Records were...

Goshi Manabe [05:47]: Now it's posh and it's in Soho, but the original one, the rough one I would say is in Chinatown, where all the Def Jam original recordings were recorded. At the time when I was there was like Puffy was just starting to launch Bad Boy. And Mary J. Blige just finished her recording. First recordings there like NAS. I was in the studio when NAS was first dropping as a guest M.C.

Then I got an internship for over a year at Arista back when Arista was independent. You know Clive Davis' label, 57th street. I was working there for over a year and then I think my last year in college, my grandmother passed away and she left me an inheritance. It's about, I would say, around six thousand dollars. So, I figured I should make the most of this and take a chance. And I decided to approach the head of the New Music Seminar and said "Hey! Can I hold after-hours parties?", during that time, and he's like "Sure it’s really cool".

And I rented this venue that I got introduced to and I had these after-hours parties for three nights straight — but lost money as a result, because I didn't know what I was doing. But the interesting thing about that is that it turns out the venue I rented from, and the owner of that space turned out to be this gentleman called David Mancuso, and it was the longest running party in New York, and it's actually going to be the 50th anniversary next year, called The Loft, you know? And so, through that, I got to meet him and then I ended up working the door and helped him manage his parties for a couple of years.

And also from that New Music Seminar experience I got my first real job because the founder of a New Music Seminar introduced me to his friend, who was looking for some bilingual assistant at the time, and this guy used to run a club in New York called Mars, who was getting back into Japanese music coordination business. Which means the Japanese music industry, they wanted to record, shoot videos in the States, so, they needed people to coordinate that or licensing music. I really learned about music licensing at that time. That took me all the way up to the end of the 1990s. I was there in New York for about 10 years.

David Weiszfeld [08:30]: That's kind of your first consulting gig already doing the bridge between Japan and the US. I know you then opened Trigger, moved back to Japan and actually did consulting in Japan for filming and music as well. That kind of the first experience is already a Japanese-US exchange and the role of a facilitator between the two markets.

Goshi Manabe [08:58]: That was great. For me as a young kid, how I got to meet a lot of the Japanese music industry back then, in the 90s. So, now they're all executives, today. So, it all connects.

David Weiszfeld [09:17]: At this point you decide to go back to Japan and this is where you open Trigger. Can you kind of explain what is Trigger? It's still your company today? That’s still the name of your business today?

Goshi Manabe [09:28]: Yes. So, it came as a natural progress, because the company I was at wasn't able to sponsor my green card. So, I was like: I'm Japanese I should go back to Japan so I could do anything I want. And then the reality hit was that, with my background being in the music business and having these odd jobs. I tried to apply for corporate jobs and whatever, but I couldn't get any, so, I was "Well, at least I'm in my own country so I could start a company".

I partnered with a good buddy of mine: Yumi Tanabe. And at the time she was launching Nickelodeon in Japan. She was a producer-director, and we launched in 2000. So that was the whole you know “Internet bubble days” and at the same time, Napster was coming. I was like at the same time thinking "maybe I should diversify, not just be in music". She was in more TV,  films. Anything plus music-TV-film and you know digital because everything was getting influenced and touched by digital. We did everything there with anything that came along.

So just to give you an idea, on Nickelodeon, she produced a show, and I was actually one of the featured characters on the Nickelodeon. It was funny because I was a D.J. character called Nick JG.G. with orange hair, and then a few years later Yo Gabba Gabba comes out with the same color and a DJ at a Nickelodeon US and we're like "Hum". But from that to working with like anywhere from NFL to PGA to a lot of the World Cup stuff because Japan and Korea had the World Cup. I was booking shows.

David Weiszfeld [11:15]: For the Americans, you have to say it's the soccer World Cup.

Goshi Manabe [11:21]: The soccer world cup, yeah. And through that MTV connection was Jackass, the one where they go to Japan. So, we were hired to get all the licensing, or permits, I should say, to film what they’ve filmed.

David Weiszfeld [11:47]: Ye, and they were doing a lot of stupid stuff. I guess you need a lot of authorization for that...

Goshi Manabe [11:52]: Yeah. That's when I learned how to delegate, and I have someone do the actual job with those guys, crazy guys. And besides that, I was doing all the music related stuff, whether it was licensing music, helping production, internationally. And again, the whole digital things were happening. For example, Avril Lavigne, she had her first online digital Japanese fan club. We did that with Excite which was a portal in Japan and also live-streaming of her a concert. I was trying to just get my hands on anything that was entertainment-related.

David Weiszfeld [12:35]: We actually know each other through RecoChoku, the company that you're consulting for today. We met at Techstars last year and have been in touch since. So, people in the US and outside of Japan sometimes don't know what RecoChoku do in the world of streaming. Could you explain what RecoChoku is, and maybe how you're working with them on a day-to-day basis?

Goshi Manabe [13:05]: RecoChoku and Bob from Techstars would put it is as a connective tissue of the record industry in Japan. It is because the way they formed, it was back when there were ringtones. Only the publishers were making money as you could imagine because they were all covers. So, the Japanese record industry, all the majors, the domestic and all the global majors, got together and they were like "let's invent master ringtones". They got together and formed RecoChoku to create this master ringtone business which in a matter of a few years was a couple of hundred million dollar business, just in Japan.

David Weiszfeld [13:48]: I had never thought about the fact that early, early ringtones where the phone would like a replay with simple sounds. The copyright, the phone. It was a publishing right but they were recreating the master. And when it came polyphonic ringtones, where it was an actual extract of the song, this is when the master side came in. Never looked at this that way. And so, all of the majors came together to form RecoChoku and to take that market...

Goshi Manabe [14:23]: Yeah, they created this couple hundred-million-dollar business in a few years and the stakeholders were all the record labels. And then, from there on, because they launched in 2001, it just naturally progressed into... Smartphones came, also iTunes came, so downloads. Then, obviously, they were the first players in streaming in Japan. Because back then and still today, they power the top two mobile carriers in Japan's, their download stores. For the number one carrier which is DOCOMO, they also power their streaming services and their streaming service was the first one: d hits was the one that launched in Japan. NTT DOCOMO then became another stakeholder for RecoChoku.

The interesting thing about DoCoMo though, is that one of their subsidiaries is Tower Records Japan. It would be surprising in 2019 to hear that Tower Records Japan still exist. All I could say is that they're alive and well in Japan. They've got I'd say over 80 stores across Japan and they're the largest physical music retailer in Japan.

David Weiszfeld [15:35]: Do you think DoCoMo, the telco carrier so what in America would be Verizon and T-Mobile: they own Tower Records?

Goshi Manabe [15:44]: They own Tower Records [Japan].

David Weiszfeld [15:46]: That's highly surprising as well.

Goshi Manabe [15:51]: DoCoMo, they've got about 50 percent market share of Japan. So they really have clout. Yes.

David Weiszfeld [15:57]: You mean market share as a telco.

Goshi Manabe [16:02]: Yes.

David Weiszfeld [16:02]: So RecoChoku, kind of like Deezer was a few years ago in France, is a huge player locally. And Deezer actually started to launch in multiple markets now, but RecoChoku is a Japan-only digital music company. So, you've been working with them trying to branch out and also trying to learn a lot from the non-Japanese market. Could you explain a little bit what you do as a consultant?

Goshi Manabe [16:27]: So my role, the title's international Rep and Advisor. Actually, what it is, I'm basically RecoChoku's eyes and ears because, like you said, they don't conduct any business outside of Japan. At the same time, as you can imagine, all the top global players whether it would be Apple or Amazon or Google, are all in Japan already. Right? And there's other domestic services that they have to compete with.

So, they want to be ahead of the curve. They're always looking for new ways to expand their business by creating new partnerships or finding new business models and business opportunities. So that's where I'm the conduit. And then I try to seek those out for them and that's how we came about to meet with Techstars Music. And ever since Techstars music launched we were fortunate that we were first a Japan specialist mentor and we thought it was so valuable after the first year RecoChoku decided to become a member from the second Techstars music year, which that's where we met you guys. And then now, on the third year, again as a member of Techstars Music.

David Weiszfeld [17:42]: I've seen you around the office. I know that's something that excites you a lot as well. So to focus on the now, what is the focus on the now for you and RecoChoku. I guess obviously the TechStars program and looking at new startups that are not from Japan is definitely one of them?

Goshi Manabe [18:07]: My role last year was all about being on how to interact with startups for RecoChoku. And this year we're moving on, expanding into about strategically getting more involved with these startups. That would be in line with RecoChoku's strategies.

David Weiszfeld [18:31]: We were talking a little bit about the differences between the Japanese industry and the US. What do you think are, not the mistakes but the holes in the knowledge that we have as non-Japanese? We talked a little bit about the lack of knowledge of the English language so the toughness to do business orally. Obviously, the size of the local Japanese music which makes that there is a small percentage of success. I know, and we've seen with the Endel app taking off in Japan because of a TV-ad from Avex, how big TV ads are. And TV marketing is actually almost bigger than radio or as big, right? And there is obviously the difference and the local players like RecoChoku that us, as non-Japanese, we don't know.

If you had to pick one or two of these or maybe something else: what are the things that we should really think about when we think about Japan?

Goshi Manabe [19:34]: So, especially considering the time of now, in 2019, and how outside of Japan streaming is just booming right. In Japan, I would say last year, of all the recorded music sales: only 10 percent is coming from streaming. And then streaming just surpassed downloads. But downloads didn't really take off too, as much as outside of Japan, in the Western, developed countries. I think we're at a time where Japan, as you know, is still a very physical market. And there's going to be this transition. It's going to probably be abrupt. It's only going to happen once, this big shift.

So, trying to aim at that and finding out on how you could try to take or maximize that opportunity: I think that would be the key for people that want to enter Japan. I mean the chances are there...it is the second largest market in music in terms of sales you know. So yeah that's what I think in terms of timing and despite "Japan is difficult", it's a homogenic island, the language, the business culture, all these differences. You just heard how the shift is going with the music industry and technology. This change has to happen. It's inevitable. So, it's just about how that's going to happen in Japan. Nobody knows but everybody's just trying to position themselves.

David Weiszfeld [21:17]: So I guess, if you're an international artist especially from the US you can get a number one album or a Grammy for example. Like Chance, I think it was a digital-only album: Chance the Rapper. There was one which is the Boogie wit da Hoodie. He got a number one of the tracks or number-one albums and he sold eight hundred copies. It is like a funny story about how the U.S. market is digitally driven. Imagine you have one of those releases in Japan and you only release a digital single or digital album.

Not only is it tough as a non-Japanese artist. Not only is it tough if you're not in the market trying to defend your album with the media and so forth. But if it's a digital release, the maximum you can reach is 10 percent of the global market on streaming. And I'm guessing 80 percent of that is local music. And then the same kind of 10 percent on downloads, which, I'm guessing, 80 percent of that is also local music. Which means from the second market in the world, for a non-Japanese artist, you're actually potentially reaching a very very small share of that global market. And that's kind of the best chance if you're not a global superstar that can ship physical C.D.s and have a local major work you almost like a domestic act.

Goshi Manabe [22:40]: So, yes. But what I don't see that much happening is people really trying to research about Japan or aggressively trying to find out who are like the influencers in Japan, the trendsetters, who are the acts that sell a lot in Japan but also are open to collaborations? Because that would be the obvious one: back from years ago, the same kind of music marketing style but collaborate with local artists, with the stars. That's another way to do it.

David Weiszfeld [23:16]: I think Amy Winehouse’s Rehab, had Jay-Z on it for the U.S. version because they wanted to break the track in the US. Even if she was already on her way to be a global superstar. She was signed from the U.K. and they felt maybe this R&B'ish kind of song needed something local. And so even in the U.S., they did that a lot. And it still happens today. A lot of the bigger streaming songs are collaborations between Ozuna/Dj Snake/some other U.S. artists just to try to get the crowd to pay attention. So, of course, collaborating with local Japanese talent is a definite one. Not the easiest one. Due to also the nature of difference between sounds in Pop-Music and what you consider the good Pop-Song in one market or another. But definitely that is something that is, maybe not under-done, but something that people don’t try enough.

Goshi Manabe [24:11]: I think that it goes both ways. Japanese, especially young artists, who know what's going on, are interested and are ambitious about going global, right. They want that collaboration because it's inevitable. They see K-Pop blowing up all over the world. And it's like "well why can we do that?". I'm sure, I'm confident there are artists that are seeking that, but they also don't know how. They need to do their homework. Those are the things that I'd love to help out.

David Weiszfeld [24:51]: That has been amazing. I'm sure there's already so much learning in this. I wanted to go maybe more on a segway to the concluding part of the interview. It's great to meet people that have a lot of experience and with experience comes also the potential to sometimes look back and of course to keep looking forward. I asked Bob that question and I think I will ask anybody that is not 19 that we will interview: If you met the 19-year-old Goshi, what would you tell him? As an advice, as a word of wisdom, what is the best learning that you've had?

Goshi Manabe [25:26]: I guess, a couple but you know, a basic one I would love to share with any 19-year-old is that despite everything that's going on and how you might see things: there's only 24 hours, for everybody. Time is equal for everyone. The quicker you realize that you become conscious of how you want to fulfill every day and live to the fullest. And it's up to you what you want to do with you 24 hours but whether you're Warren Buffett or somebody on the streets, we all have only 24 hours a day. So that's one. And then the other one is: don't let anyone except yourself define yourself. You know, people always say, "you got to do this" "you should be this" and no it's your life. Find yourself, believe in yourself. And define your life — while you're still alive.

David Weiszfeld [26:29]: Yes, I definitely agree with both. I would add to that you're a perfect example also of how life takes you places that can seem “curvy”. I don't know how you would say that in proper English but if you actually work very hard and you keep good karma you do good business, you don't try to cross people, the network is something that compounds over time. Just like most good things in life do tend to compound over time. And you're you're the proof of that. You've been linking different markets, different people. I'm sure a majority of your business is word of mouth, connections, people introducing you to other people. And as a young person when you are lacking a network that can be something that seems a very very far and distant mountain. Like "oh my god those people know everybody”.

I realize already, I'm like in the middle between 19 and you. And already you see how that compounds: I mean we didn't know each other one year ago. I'm now speaking to you about Soundcharts I'm speaking to you about the artist I manage your asking questions. We know each other. And that puts me one handshake away from a lot of people in Japan, just as a positive result of knowing people and nurturing those relationships. So I know that's hard for you to say that because it's kind of putting yourself forward but that's something that I think you are the best example of that. Your entire life is about connecting people in the creative and digital industries.

So to wrap up, a couple of questions that I want to ask everybody as well: What is the most exciting thing for you looking ahead or right now?

Goshi Manabe [28:22]: I would say there's this shift going on. It's been going on, from what I call the 20th-century music business and the 21st-century music business: it's all basically about transparency. Right? And how things are going to accelerate faster and it'll still take some time. But I think that's really exciting. It'll be like once that whole transformation happens, we won't see that kind of transformation for quite some time. So that's exciting that I get to live through that time. You know of this shift.

David Weiszfeld [29:00]: So yeah, especially because you're literally working between the U.S. and Japan. Japan has been the first Walkman, Sony and like a lot of innovation came from there. Right now the Japanese market is actually a little bit late on some of the digital innovation. So you're still seeing that transition from both worlds where if you're a young 19-year-old in the US to kind of use the previous example, the past three-four years you kind of assume that the market is digital. You forget that in a lot of European markets it's still a lot of physical cities, that in Japan it's a big majority. That some royalty statements still take years to arrive and nobody kind of knows really where the money is sometimes. You know there is unclaimed royalties around and that transparency and real-time flow of information is still not finished revolution. So, the last two questions. I forgot to ask Bob. What is the book or the podcast that you would recommend right now to people?

Goshi Manabe [30:05]: Sure: I would like to recommend a book. It's called the "The Life Energy in Music" and in memory of my friend David Mancuso from The Loft who turned me onto this book. It's a book about how you could enjoy, appreciate music, real fundamental stuff. I think it still holds up decades after it's been published. And, in my opinion, it actually got the key information and hints about where music could go from now. You know, especially now, to all the 19-year-olds and for the people in the industry, I highly recommend that book.

David Weiszfeld [30:46]: The Life Energy in Music. Cool, we’ll link to that. Last question: What are you going to do after the interview. You are in L.A. and it's eleven thirty I guess.

Goshi Manabe [30:57]: I am actually going on a business trip to Tokyo tomorrow okay. So I am going to rush to Techstars Music office right now and make my last rounds to talk to all the startups and Bob and Jen and everybody and just get the latest info before I go.

David Weiszfeld [31:14]: Cool it was great to have you Goshi. We'll be in touch soon. My pleasure. Thanks!

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David Weiszfeld

Founder & CEO, Soundcharts.com & bsharp.biz

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