{
  "id": 16493338,
  "title": "Musikindustrie: Heavy Metal als Exportgeschäft – Wacken bekommt Japan-Ableger",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/musikindustrie-heavy-metal-als-exportgeschaft-wacken-bekommt-japan",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-25T16:07:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/wacken-goes-japan-wie-das-deutsche-metal-festival-asiens-musikmaerkte-erschliesst/100264433.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "The heavy metal music festival Wacken has undergone a Japanese transformation. The concerts are now held inside a hall, rather than outdoors. Ticket-holders receive assigned seating instead of standing on the grass. The atmosphere is jovial as the German power metal band Powerwolf concludes the festival on Sunday. A festival-goer remarked, \"This is the music of my youth.\" The visitor is wearing a black shirt that reads \"Metal is Religion\" on the back and \"Powerwolf\" on the chest. Arms swing in rhythm to the music, heads bob, wearing short hair and custom-made black tasselled capes. Well-behaved, enthusiastic, row upon row. The festival's name \"Full Metal Japan – powered by W:O:A\" marked its debut in Yokohama, Japan. W:O:A stands for Wacken Open Air, one of the largest open-air metal festivals held annually in the same town in northern Germany. Altogether, 10 bands attracted around 10,000 fans over Saturday and Sunday at the Pia Arena MM in Yokohama. The Wacken organizers and their financial backers are venturing into uncharted territory in their internationalization strategy – in the second-largest music market in the world. A festival from Germany with global reach. For years, the event has expanded its brand. The Full Metal Cruise offers concerts on cruise ships, while the Full Metal Holiday provides a Mallorca trip with a music program. Since 2024, there is the Wacken Metal Battle, a youth competition held in multiple countries, with winners performing at Wacken. Now, the festival itself is being exported to Asia. However, it will be scaled down like a bonsai tree, to a smaller yet meticulously curated format. The original in Wacken lasts twice as long as the Japanese one, with four days versus the Japanese festival's shorter duration, and attracts up to 80,000 visitors. In Japan, however, interest is still nascent. Yet the potential is significant: Japan is the world's second-largest music market after the USA, according to figures from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) estimates the Japanese music market, combining CDs and digital sales, at 398.8 billion yen for 2025, which translates to 2.3 billion euros even with the current weak yen. Additionally, the concert market is more than twice as large as music for personal listening. According to the Pia Research Institute, it is more than double the size of music downloads. For the premiere of the Wacken festival in Japan, bands were invited whose performances were known to succeed: alongside Japanese heavyweights like Loudness from Japan and Stratovarius from Finland, German musicians took center stage. Powerwolf from Saarbrücken, a German band, made its Japan debut on this appearance. On Saturday, British rock guitarist Michael Schenker, co-founder of the Scorpions, also performed. For the 71-year-old, Japan was a homecoming: the performances of his \"Michael Schenker Group\" in Japan were all sold out at the beginning of the year. The German Foreign Trade Chamber (AHK) and the embassy supported the premiere of the Wacken festival in Japan on request of the organizers, giving their official endorsement to the event. The AHK has maintained several contacts between Japan and Germany over the years. \"Supporting German culture abroad is part of the mandate of German diplomatic missions,\" explains the German Foreign Ministry the ambassador's engagement. Assistance is purely ideational, not organizational or financial. The German embassy regularly takes on the sponsorship of cultural events, showcasing German artists and German-related culture in Japan. \"Adult playground for adults\" The festival came to fruition thanks to German and Japanese partners: concert promoter Tokyo Onkyo and the Lucky Bob Music Agency from Leverkusen, an agency representing artists. They approached Wacken's founders to act as organizers. Tokyo-Onkyo manager Yumi Miura says Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen responded, \"We trust you, and we wanted to start in Asia anyway – so yes!\" The Japanese involvement is risk-averse: ticket risk is borne by the Japanese partner. The festival has been moved from the fields to the hall to cater to Japan's heavy metal fans. Miura describes them as middle-aged people who experienced the genre's heyday in their youth and now have \"a bit more financial freedom.\" It is precisely this age group for whom outdoor festivals have become a bore. The concept is thus marketed as \"adult playground for adults,\" says Miura: inside, fully booked and comfortable. The festival should be enjoyed without fatigue. For Falk Maria Schlegel, the keyboard player of Powerwolf, performing here was an honor. \"It was overwhelming even at the airport and in the hotel,\" she says behind the scenes. Everywhere, fans had been waiting. This is not usual at a first appearance in a country. \"I am sure we will come back next time,\" she concludes, \"I am sure we will come back.\"",
  "summary": "Das norddeutsche Metal-Festival drängt in den zweitgrößten Musikmarkt der Welt – mit einem Gütesiegel der Bundesregierung. Kann deutsche Festivalkultur in Japan funktionieren?",
  "key_points": [
    "Wacken festival adapts to Japan with indoor hall and assigned seating",
    "10 bands perform for 10,000 fans over two days in Yokohama",
    "Japanese music market is second-largest globally, offering growth potential"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}