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For emerging songwriters in Japan, navigating international waters can be a difficult task. The domestic music market differs in significant ways from the global, while language barriers can also make going big outside Japan feel hopeless.
Launching this year, the Tokyo Sound Continuum programme aims to bridge this gap. Funded by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs through the Japan Creator Support Fund, the initiative is designed to foster a ‘Japan-based international creative ecosystem’.
The programme functions as an audition of sorts for Japanese songwriters and track makers, offering selected participants the opportunity to create music together with world-class producers such as Mark Pitts, Jason ‘J.LBS’ Pounds and Akil ‘WorldwideFresh’ King, among others. All are active at the forefront of the global music market, particularly within hip-hop, R&B and pop.
Tokyo Sound Continuum goes beyond one-off songwriting camps, offering sustained support across the entire production process, from initial creation and contract signing to global outreach. The programme is structured in stages over three years, beginning with an international co-writing camp in Tokyo this March, followed by two more planned in either North or South America.
The initiative targets artists with the ambition to test their music on the global stage, engage in serious collaborative projects with top-tier overseas creators, and kickstart a sustainable music career.
The application period runs from December 25 2025 until 11.59pm on January 25 2026. The audition is open to Japanese nationals and non-Japanese residents with permanent residency only. Further details, including the application guidelines and submission method, are available via TuneCore Japan.
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