Billboard‘s Global Power Players list recognizes the leaders that are driving the success of the music business in countries outside the United States. Naoki Shimizu, President of Creativeman Productions, was selected for the first time from the many leaders of the music industry around the world. Billboard JAPAN interviewed Shimizu in recognition of his selection for the list, about the potential of the festival industry, such as Creativeman’s own SUMMER SONIC, and about how the event promotion business is changing.
You were part of the launch of Creativeman Productions in 1990, and you were appointed president in 1997. The way people listen to music has changed a lot in the intervening years. Has the event promotion business also changed?
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Naoki Shimizu: Back when physical CDs were the primary way people listened to music, you could get a fairly accurate sense of an artist’s drawing power simply by looking at their sales figures. Today, however, music consumption is largely digital, we have to analyze data at a much more granular level. As a result, the indicators we rely on have shifted to things like social media engagement, video views, streaming numbers, and other digital metrics.
Another major change is how international artists are introduced to the Japanese market. In the past, promotional visits organized by record labels played a central role. More recently, however, we’ve seen a growing number of emerging artists gain exposure through appearances at music festivals.
When people think of your company, a lot of them will picture SUMMER SONIC, which you began in 2000. But you handle a lot of other festivals, too, right?
Shimizu: In addition to our annual festivals, we also have irregularly scheduled events, so we’ve got quite a few events in Japan alone. Specifically, there’s the EDM-focused GMO SONIC, the metal and punk-focused LOUD PARK and PUNKSPRING, the New Year’s event rockin’on sonic, and the surf culture-themed GREENROOM FESTIVAL.
And in 2024 and 2025 you organized SUMMER SONIC BANGKOK in Thailand, right?
Shimizu: Every year, we get approached by people from different countries who are interested in hosting SUMMER SONIC, but none of those conversations had really turned into anything. The promoter in Thailand, though, came to us with a very concrete and detailed proposal. That gave us confidence that it could actually work, and after about a year of preparation, we were able to make SUMMER SONIC Bangkok happen. The strong support from the Thai government, including various subsidies, was also a huge help.
To me, the fact that we’re getting interest from so many different countries shows just how much potential there is. Looking ahead, I’d love to try bringing an event to China as well. It’s a huge market, and people there listen to a lot of Japanese music, from major artists to more niche acts. If relations between Japan and China continue to improve, I’d definitely like to start preparing for that challenge.
As for new festivals, this March, you and 88rising held HEAD IN THE CLOUDS in Japan for the first time.
Shimizu: I’ve known Sean (Miyashiro, CEO of 88rising) for a long time, and we collaborated on SUPERSONIC. Unfortunately it didn’t work out because of the COVID pandemic, but we’ve kept in touch. He respects what we do, and we respect what 88rising does, so we have always been on the same wavelength. The entire process of putting the event together went very smoothly. The decision to hold the event was made in December 2025, and the actual festival itself took place in March 2026, so timeline was extremely tight. Moving forward with the event was certainly a risk, but Sean and I are a lot alike, so we both were like feeling “I’m sure we can work this out.” In the end, we were able to assemble an impressive lineup. One of my goals was also to introduce Japanese artists to the 88rising team. And we ended up bringing together an impressive lineup. One of my goals was to introduce Japanese artists to the members of 88rising.
So it wasn’t like you just decided to launch a new festival?
Shimizu: Right. When we decided to go ahead with the event, we were looking further ahead, it was more about a longer-term vision, focusing on the future of the scene/industry. Of course, just because you perform at HEAD IN THE CLOUDS Japan once doesn’t mean you’d suddenly find success overseas or be offered a world tour. But if HEAD IN THE CLOUDS continues to mature and grow here in Japan, I think it can become a platform that helps open more doors for Japanese artists to expand their activities overseas. I’m not sure if this will be an annual event yet, but I would like to keep working on developing the event.
Over the past few years, people in Japan have mostly been listening to Japanese and Korean music, and the market share of Western music has contracted. What kind of impact has that had on event promotion?
Shimizu: The charts may still be dominated by Japanese artists, but today people have far more ways to discover international music through video platforms and streaming services. Just look at TikTok or YouTube—you can come across countless videos from artists you’ve never heard of before. We’re also seeing more and more fans singing along and participating in call-and-response moments at live shows. That’s because they can learn the songs and even the audience interactions beforehand by watching videos at home. Going to a concert is no longer the first time people encounter an artist or their music.
Today, the live experience isn’t limited to the two hours you spend at the venue. Fans can enjoy it before the show by watching videos and getting familiar with the music, and they can relive it afterward by revisiting performances online. In that sense, a live concert has become something people can enjoy repeatedly, rather than just a one-time experience.
I think that’s an incredibly powerful form of entertainment, and it creates almost limitless possibilities for the future.
What do you see the future as holding in store?
Shimizu: First and foremost, we want to continue building on what we’ve been doing for years—bringing international artists to music fans in Japan and expanding those opportunities even further. We’re proud that Creativeman has been recognized by Pollstar alongside major industry players such as Live Nation and HYBE as one of Asia’s leading promoters. As an independent promoter based in Japan, we’d like more people around the world to recognize that there are companies like ours working hard to develop and grow the live music industry here.
One thing I always tell my employees is, “Don’t make decisions based on sales alone.”
Our greatest strength is our creativity—the ability to build festivals and events from the ground up. That spirit of creativity is at the core of our philosophy, and I want us to remain more innovative and forward-thinking than anyone else. I want us to be the first to take on new challenges.
Of course, if every event lost money, we wouldn’t be able to stay in business. But at the same time, you’ll never achieve anything new unless you’re willing to take risks. That’s why I encourage our team to challenge themselves and pursue new ideas. And when they do start something new, I tell them to stick with it for at least two or three years rather than expecting immediate results. As a leader, I always want to be in a position to support and encourage their creativity, while giving them the confidence and resources to turn their ideas into reality.
The second MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN is going to be held soon. What are your hopes for it?
Shimizu: The awards were established through the collaboration of five major music industry organizations in Japan, which makes them highly significant for everyone involved in the industry. But at the same time, while one of the awards’ greatest strengths is the fact that they bring together people from a wide range of backgrounds and positions, I also feel that their overall focus and direction have yet to be fully defined. There will be many event surrounding the awards this year, but I believe there needs to be a more thorough evaluation of their overall impact and direction moving forward.
One of the awards’ most important roles is to help introduce Japanese music to the world. That’s something Japan’s music industry needs now more than ever. I hope the awards will carefully evaluate the various challenges and initiatives undertaken this year and use those insights to continue growing into a platform that can elevate Japanese music on the global stage.
Speaking of Japanese artists going overseas and performing, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music have established a joint venture, NINE BY NINE, to plan and operate music festivals across Asia.
Shimizu: It feels very natural to me that Sony and Universal are working together to help Japanese artists reach audiences across Asia through their extensive networks. We’re also exploring opportunities to operate festivals in other parts of Asia ourselves, and I think it would be very interesting if there were opportunities to collaborate with them in the future.
We’re currently working with Bandai Namco on plans for a music festival centered around anime culture, while also developing projects with a variety of other partners. Ultimately, we’d like to take those formats overseas as well. Looking ahead, we hope to work with a wide range of companies and partners to help bring Japanese music to audiences across Asia and, eventually, to the rest of the world.
—This interview by Naoko Takashima first appeared on Billboard Japan
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