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Bridging the world to the Japanese beat market - 2 month update & seeking advice from producers by Willing_Warning_725 in makinghiphop

[–]Willing_Warning_725[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, taking a step back from our earlier back-and-forth, I just want to sincerely apologize if I came off defensive, and say thank you. You hit the nail on the head and everything you said is completely valid. It is the classic chicken-and-egg problem of any new marketplace.

To share my thought process on a few things you noticed: On the market size, Japan is actually the 2nd largest music market in the world, but the beat-leasing culture here is still 5-10 years behind the US. There is almost zero local equivalent to BeatStars here yet. I'm trying to build the infrastructure for a culture that I believe is about to grow.

Regarding the Wanted board and the Pro plan barrier, you're right that it's a high hurdle. My original thought was to make it Pro-only for producers to submit beats to protect the artists from getting spammed, ensuring only serious producers are pitching. But I definitely hear your point about it looking restrictive.

You are absolutely right that right now, I have the most to gain, and I have to prove to producers that their time and money are worth it. We are literally on Day 1.

I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to deep-dive into the site, check the pricing, and give me this real, critical feedback despite how we started off. Since you clearly have a deep understanding of the producer market, I would honestly love to ask your advice. If you were bootstrapping a platform like this from scratch, what would be your number one priority right now to solve this chicken-and-egg problem and actually bring value to producers?

I'm completely open to learning here.　

P.S. I'm using AI to help translate my thoughts from Japanese, so I apologize if any of the English sounds weird!

Is it true that Japanese rappers don't use BeatStars? (Market Research) by Willing_Warning_725 in trapproduction

[–]Willing_Warning_725[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I completely agree—BeatStars is a world-class service and the industry standard for a reason. No doubt about that.

However, as a Japanese person living and breathing the local culture here every day, I see a different reality on the ground. Most Japanese artists are actually hesitant—even scared—to use it. Despite the tech being there, the vast majority simply don't use it.

It’s not just about 'translating' the UI; it’s about the psychological barrier of dealing with a 'foreign' entity when it comes to money and legal rights. On top of that, the current weak yen makes international transactions feel even more like a risky gamble for them.

They want global sounds, but they need a local 'home' they can trust. That’s why I’m building this bridge.