Originally Posted by
LapLap
Spaniards tell me the same thing about flamenco in Japan. Made me wonder what kind of numbers are involved.
Simplest was to look at record sales, with 2014 figures being available:
US sales for Jazz and Classical were 1.8%
In Japan it was 4.6%
Even accounting for those of us who buy classical music but spurn jazz, I can see how the idea that one's passion is shared by more than double the proportion of people than where one lives is exciting.
This is an interesting point. On a similar note, I find that in Austria I have far more peers that prefer classical to other genre than anywhere else in the world I travel.
I think the homogeneity of the Japanese market causes greater size chunks of the market to be allocated to a given genre. In the US with all the various ethnic groups, income levels and the use of music to express the sentiments if entire segments of society, it seems we are much more fragmented.