Oricon
Oricon Inc. (株式会社オリコン, Kabushiki-gaisha Orikon), 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 Original Confidence Inc. (株式会社オリジナルコンフィデンス, Kabushiki-gaisha Orijinaru Konfidensu), which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts.[1] Oricon Inc. was originally set up as a subsidiary of Original Confidence and took over the latter's Oricon record charts in April 2002.
Not to be confused with Oricourt, Orikon, Oricombank, or Aurecon.Company type
Holding company, owner of Oricon Entertainment Inc.[1]
Broadcast of music entertainment (from Japan, North America and Europe)
Soko Koike: CEO
Oricon Entertainment Inc. (October 1999 – June 2001)
Oricon Entertainment Inc. (June 2001 – present)
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.[4] 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.[5]
Oricon started publishing Combined Chart, which includes CD sales, digital sales, and streaming together, on December 19, 2018.[6]
Policy[edit]
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[edit]
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.[8] 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 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.[9] 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.[10] 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 being done by the plaintiff ceasing the case.[11]
(as of March 31, 2012)