Table of Contents

History
Policy
Controversy
Shareholders
Charts
Current charts
Past charts
Top Artists' total sales revenue by year
See also
Footnotes
References
External links

Oricon

NameOricon Inc.
株式会社オリコン
Logo
TypeHolding company, owner of Oricon Entertainment Inc.
FoundationNovember 1967 (as Original Confidence)
October 1, 1999 (as Oricon Direct Digital)
June 2001 (as Oricon Global Entertainment)
July 2002
LocationRoppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Key PeopleSoko Koike: CEO
IndustryBroadcast of music entertainment (from Japan, North America and Europe)
Num Employees198 (full-time workers, as of September 30, 2016)
Ownersee List of Oricon's shareholders
ParentOricon Entertainment Inc. (October 1999 – June 2001)
SubsidOricon Entertainment Inc. (June 2001 – present)
HomepageOfficial site of Oricon Inc.
Official site of Oricon Charts

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc. was originally set up as a subsidiary of Original Confidence and took over the latter's Oricon record charts in April 2002.

The charts are compiled from data drawn from some 39,700 retail outlets (As of April 2011) and provide sales rankings of music CDs, DVDs, electronic games, and other entertainment products based on weekly tabulations. Results are announced every Tuesday and published in Oricon Style by subsidiary Oricon Entertainment Inc. The group also lists panel survey-based popularity ratings for television commercials on its official website.

Oricon started publishing Combined Chart, which includes CD sales, digital sales, and streaming together, on December 19, 2018.

History

Logo from 2017 to 2024

Original Confidence Inc., the original Oricon company, was founded by the former Snow Brand Milk Products promoter Sōkō Koike in 1967. That November, the company began publishing a singles chart on an experimental basis.

Entitled , this went official on January 4, 1968.

Like the preceding Japanese music charts provided by Tokushin Music Report which was started in 1962, early Original Confidence was an exclusive information magazine only for the people who worked in the music industry. In the 1970s, Koike advertised his company's charts to make its existence prevail among the Japanese public. Thanks to his intensive promotional efforts through multiple media including television programs, the hit parade became known by its abbreviation "Oricon" by the late 1970s.

The company shortened its name to Oricon in 1992 and was split into a holding company and several subsidiaries in 1999. Since Sōkō Koike's death, Oricon has been managed by the founder's relatives.

Policy

Oricon monitors and reports on sales of CDs, DVDs, video games, and entertainment content in several other formats; manga and book sales were also formerly covered. Charts are published every Tuesday in Oricon Style and on Oricon's official website. Every Monday, Oricon receives data from outlets, but data on merchandise sold through certain channels does not make it into the charts. For example, the debut single of NEWS, a pop group, was released only through 7-Eleven stores, which are not covered by Oricon, and its sales were not reflected in the Oricon charts. Oricon's rankings of record sales are therefore not completely accurate. Before data was collected electronically, the charts were compiled on the basis of faxes that were sent from record shops.

Controversy

In 2006, Oricon sued journalist Hiro Ugaya when he was quoted in a Saizo (or Cyso) magazine article as suggesting that Oricon was manipulating its statistics to benefit certain management companies and labels, specifically Johnny and Associates. Ugaya condemned the lawsuit as an example of a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) in Japan. The lawsuit, filed by Oricon on November 17, 2006, accused Ugaya of "mendacious comments" and demanded 50 million yen (318,000 euros) in damages. In the interview, Ugaya had questioned the validity of Oricon's hit chart on the grounds that its statistical methods were not transparent. Many NGOs, including Reporters Without Borders, denounced the lawsuit as a violation of free expression. A Tokyo District Court initially ordered Ugaya to pay one million yen in damages, but Ugaya appealed to the Tokyo high court. Oricon later dropped the charges, after a 33-month battle. A settlement was reached under which the publisher of Saizo magazine, who intervened in the lawsuit from the High Court, apologized to Ugaya for "publishing inaccurate comments without permission" and paid him 5 million yen, and also apologized to Oricon for discrediting the chart. Oricon waived its claim for damages and Ugaya, who had also filed a counterclaim for damages, waived his counterclaim. No criminal charge was laid against the journalist.

Dropping a lawsuit is rare in Japan; for example, only 0.1% of cases that ended in 2007 were on account of the plaintiff ceasing the case.

Shareholders

(as of March 31, 2012)


Charts

Current charts


Past charts


Top Artists' total sales revenue by year

YearArtist
1974Yōsui Inoue
1975
1976Yumi Arai
1977Pink Lady
1978
1979Alice
1980Yellow Magic Orchestra
1981Akira Terao
1982Off Course
1983Akina Nakamori
1984Seiko Matsuda
1985Akina Nakamori
1986
1987
1988Hikaru Genji
1989Yumi Matsutoya
1990Southern All Stars
1991B'z
1992CHAGE and ASKA
1993ZARD
1994TRF
1995
1996Namie Amuro
1997GLAY
1998B'z
1999Hikaru Utada
2000Ayumi Hamasaki
2001
2002Hikaru Utada
2003Ayumi Hamasaki
2004Hikaru Utada
2005ORANGE RANGE
2006Kumi Koda
2007
2008EXILE
2009Arashi
2010
2011AKB48
2012
2013Arashi
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018Namie Amuro
2019Arashi
2020
2021BTS
2022
2023King & Prince
2024Snow Man
2025

See also


Footnotes


References


External links



Category:Music companies of Japan
Category:Japanese record charts
Category:Japanese companies established in 1967
Category:Japanese companies established in 1999