Hello, this is the ZAIKO editorial department.

On February 9, 2021, musician Kiyoharu streamed his latest live "28TH DEBUT DAY" to commemorate his 28th debut anniversary from the Space Deck studio (scheduled to open in April) adjacent to the ZAIKO office! Space Deck is located on the top floor of the building where the ZAIKO headquarters is situated, and it is a spacious area filled with a sense of openness.
That night, Kiyoharu performed a live show lasting about two hours with two guitarists, K-A-Z and Yoshitsugu Nakamura. After the live performance, they welcomed ZAIKO COO Lauren and Client Success Team Leader Tsuboi as guests to join MC Joe Yokomizo and Kiyoharu for a special talk session with the four of them!

Since last May, Kiyoharu has been conducting live streams every month on ZAIKO. This time, we would like to introduce some interesting topics that were discussed in this rare dialogue, including the impetus for ZAIKO to start ticket-based live streaming and future streaming plans!

Live streaming is not a substitute for real live events

Yokomizo:
What was the motivation for starting live streams together with ZAIKO?

Kiyoharu:
It was introduced to me by Yamamoto (the person in charge of streaming).
I knew what live streaming was, but at the time I was not well-informed, and honestly, when I was doing real live shows, I couldn't really get into live streaming.
When the pandemic began, I thought it would finish around summer or autumn, but then I started hearing information suggesting that it might be prolonged. While there was uncertainty about whether live shows could take place, we decided to consistently do live streaming every month.
There are recordings, tours, promotions, and additionally, ZAIKO's live streaming. But it’s not a substitute for live performances; it’s something new. Doing streaming instead of live shows could get stale after one or two times. So regardless of whether there's a pandemic or not, we should keep doing it every month.

Other musicians around me have been doing limited-capacity live shows or hybrid (simultaneous real and streaming events), and they asked me, "Why aren’t you doing it, Kiyoharu?” I tried a hybrid event in December, but I wanted to focus solely on streaming. I really don’t see streaming as a replacement for live shows; it’s also a TV show, a studio live performance, and even a music video—all of that feeling connected with the ZAIKO staff.

Possibilities of digital events

Yokomizo:
It’s been almost a year since we encountered COVID-19.
About this time last year, I think everyone didn’t know much about streaming, but in this year, it has become something essential for music fans. How do you two from ZAIKO feel about this, and what possibilities do you see for the future?

Tsuboi:
Before live streaming, our company was originally a ticket company for real events. So when COVID-19 hit, all our products disappeared.
In that context, with Lauren’s idea, we were able to implement live streaming at an incredible speed, and I felt that the company grew rapidly from there.
Many event organizers and artists I handle use streaming as a substitute for live performances, but Kiyoharu had a clear concept from the beginning. Every time, he experiments with ZAIKO and delivers visually and audibly stimulating shows, and I’m moved by that.

Yokomizo:
How about you, Lauren? Was live streaming your idea?

Lauren:
I felt that the organizers were really struggling because all the products were gone due to the cancellation of events.
Since our company didn’t sell paper tickets, embedding videos in electronic tickets began as an idea to allow participation in live events online.

Kiyoharu:
When was that?

Lauren:
At the end of February.

Kiyoharu:
That was really quick! The developments since then have progressed rapidly.

Lauren:
At first, we were thinking about live streams due to the lack of audiences, but now it has evolved into digital events where people from all over the world can participate. It has become a form of an event held online with chat and camera work that you can't do in normal live performance, and I feel that the overall experience is becoming more interesting as artists like Kiyoharu continue to level up every time.

The future of streaming

Yokomizo:
Lauren, how do you think streaming will evolve in the future?

Lauren:
For example, being able to participate in events with your face on display like in ZOOM, or creating new forms of chat functions that are currently mainstream on Twitter, or being able to deliver voices from home while watching live streams, and various ways of selling goods, I want to develop things that can excite and enable artists to use.

Yokomizo:
I think this pandemic is a good turning point in some ways. Until now, the music industry has been relatively closed, but now in conjunction with technology, new expressions are being made, and I think the mindset of digital transformation is spreading worldwide, and I hope this will lead to Japanese music expanding globally. There are such wonderful artists in Japan like Kiyoharu, and it is now an era where it’s easy to connect with the world, so I have great expectations.

Kiyoharu:
We’re the same age (with Joe), but I started from live houses, debuted at 25, and it's been 27 years of performing in live houses, halls, and arenas as if it were the norm, and fans also felt it was the norm to come to live shows. But what we had when we were young is no longer there. There are still two or three actors, comedians, or idols who were on TV back in the day, but those who were there when we were in middle or high school are not at the forefront anymore.
Different things have become trends in culture. As I've said before, back then it was BBS, which became blogs, then Twitter, then Instagram, and TikTok, and now clubhouse is trending. It’s strange to expect the same thing, you know? So I thought it was better to establish that live streaming would not disappear regardless of the pandemic,because it’s natural for times to change, and I need to change how I respond to that—just like how you change what you wear.

Live Information
"A NEW MY TERRITORY"
Live Streaming
2.20 (Sat) from 21:00 to 23:00
Performers:
Kiyoharu
Gt. K-A-Z
Gt. Yoshitsugu Nakamura
https://anewmyterritory.zaiko.io/

Profile

Kiyoharu
Debuted in 1994 as the vocalist of Kuroyume.
Amidst the height of his popularity due to his charisma and strongly message-driven songs, he suddenly announced an indefinite hiatus in 1999.
That same year, he formed sads, and in 2000 the theme song “Bōkyaku no Sora” for the TBS drama "Ikebukuro West Gate Park" became a big hit. The album containing that song, “BABYLON,” reached number one on the Oricon charts.
In 2003, he debuted solo with the DVD single "Aurora." In 2004, he appeared as the opening act for the David Bowie JAPAN TOUR Osaka performance. In March 2020, he released his 10th original album "JAPANESE MENU/DISTORTION10" and published his autobiography "Kiyoharu" in October.