2 Platinum Records, 5 Gold, 15 Million Units Sold. So What Is J-Muze?

    /24-7PressRelease/ - TOKYO, JAPAN, March 21, 2008 - Casey Rankin winner of prestigious industry awards, platinum and gold records has now turned his attention to helping others tread the same glittering path across the Pacific from the US to Japan with the founding of J-Muze.com.

Who are you?

Well I'm Casey and J-Muze.com is basically a promoter of quality songs. At least that's how we perceive ourselves to be. We try our utmost to get new songwriters with master quality recordings seen and heard by people here in Japan that continuously need good music for TV, Radio, Film and a variety of commercial reasons. We provide that music through our sister-site j-muzbiz.com.

When did you come to Japan?

I moved to Japan in 1971.

Why?

I basically retired in '71 after an illustrious career in New York as a writer, studio bassist and touring member of a band with records out. My intention was to completely change my lifestyle and get as far away from music and music people as possible. Apparently my reclusive retirement went unheralded ,as well as unnoticed, by some of those around me.

What was your first deal in Japan?

I was asked to write a TV commercial for Morinaga Chocolate by a producer that knew me from the New York days and I thought it might be a bit of fun, so I gave it a go. Next thing you know it gets recorded by The Carpenters and I'm right back where I left from without buying a ticket. This time though, on my own terms.

What was your biggest deal in Japan?

I've always thought that any deal ! ! ! is the biggest deal ever. If you're into music for the money then give it up my friend. There are a lot of better ways to make money, consistently and with far less stress. You've got to do this because it's inside you. On a lighter side, a song I wrote 25 years ago was just licensed for nearly $50,000 for a TV commercial. Another one of about the same age is still being used as the theme song for a Solar Car.

Do you have any gold records?

Yes - At last count there were 7 on the wall leading to the studio, 5 Gold and 2 Platinum. The rest are somewhere in the warehouse.

Do you have any awards?

I've been Best Song Of, Best New Artist, Best Album, Japanese Film Academy Award etc. a few times. I don't mean to treat it lightly, it's just never been my goal to win anything with music. It's always been my goal to have people like what I do and I guess, in a way, sales is confirmation.

Did you do the songs for a Jackie Chan movie?

Yes - I did the Soundtracks for the Jackie Chan 'Monkey Series' but only for the Japanese Film release. If you watch the Hong Kong release you'll notice right away that it's not me. I'm proud to say that I get requests from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China for my soundtrack. Life goes on . . .

Tell me about J-Muze.com?

J-Muze.com eliminates the middle man in the music business when it comes to licensing music for commercial use. So many 'middlemen' operate on the 'buddy system' terms, shopping only their friends music. The industry has always been like that, but it's a new era and while the buddy system, personal hands-on representation system will never change, the industry has grown so fast and become so big that the old system can't keep up. Though it won't ever go away, the new generation are much more 'net friendly' and willing to surf for exciting new music. Ad agencies, Film companies, both indie and major, are more willing to spend time going through our library looking for something different, rather than having something written to spec. It's exciting to see it happen and though it's going to take a while, we believe that we're at the forefront of the next new wave of commercial licensing. There are two or three similar companies in the US and Europe that have become quite successful, but none of them have ever licensed anything into Japan. They're not here, they don't know the industry. We do, and basically that's the bottom line. It's still not enough to just be on the web, you've got to be on the ground too.

What do you hope to achieve?

I've seen sites that say "We've licensed over XXX thousands of tracks in the past year alone. We'd like to achieve that, but much more important is the next One Licensing Deal. Getting our writers listened to and understood is where we're at. Everything must start there. If not, there's nowhere to go. So paving the road is our goal - Once paved we'll expand and eventually turn it into a super highway. For now though, a paved road will suffice.

How does it work?

When the client chooses a track that fits whatever project they're working on, they order it using our order forms. The writer will immediately be notified that one of their recordings is to be licensed and the licensing fee. If our client can use the mp3 then they can do so, but for the most part an AIFF file must be sent by us along with a bill for the Licensing Fee. 65% of that fee will be paid to the writer.

Is this appealing to the Japanese?

To be honest, it's too early to say - I will say that the Japanese do enjoy something new. Their musical tastes are vast and so far we've had no complaints.

What does the songwriter get out of it?

In addition to recognition for a song well done - Cash of course!

J-Muze.com is a music placement company. We specialise in placement of international songwriters works within the Japanese market. For further information visit http://www.j-muze.com

# # #