Japan’s content culture is drawing attention on global streaming services and becoming even more influential. One of the types of content that is driving this phenomenon is game music. Game music is non-verbal content that transcends language barriers and spans genres. It is evolving into a global digital asset.
In the latest of NexTone’s digital distribution business interview series, Billboard JAPAN spoke with Bandai Namco Game Music (BNGM), the music label operated by the Bandai Namco Group.
Since launching the label in 2022, Bandai Namco has used NexTone’s digital distribution service and its copyright management scheme to leverage a wealth of untapped assets—the extensive catalog of game music it has built up over the past roughly 25 years. BNGM’s mission is to establish the value of this content not simply as mere game background music but as independent music content that goes beyond the bounds of games.
We spoke with Norihiro Fukuda, a former record company employee who proposed the launch of Bandai Namco’s label, and Natsuko Kaneko, who cleared the rights for the label’s prodigious amount of music from past games.
Could you explain what kind of label Bandai Namco Game Music is and talk a bit about its philosophy and mission?
Norihiro Fukuda: BNGM’s concept is sharing the appeal of game music with the entire world.
The way people have tended to look at game music is that there are games, and this music is simply a part of those games. We thought that if we placed the music front and center and shared it with the world, people would see its appeal.
So you’d already realized the appeal of game music yourself.
Fukuda: I used to work in a record company. It seemed to me that people in game companies had realized the appeal of the music, but it hadn’t occurred to them to try to share that appeal with others.
That’s why when I later joined Bandai Namco Entertainment, I started working from the hypothesis that “if we put this game music out into the world, our output, and the way people look at this music, will change.”
For example, in the case of Elden Ring, we’d heard that the game was beloved by many overseas players. I realized that since the game itself was selling so well, there was a lot of untapped potential for the game’s music. That’s what led us to set up the music label framework and start putting this music out.
What aspects of BNGM’s handling of game music do you see as being especially important? What do you see as BNGM’s unique strengths?
Fukuda: There’s a wide range of game music genres, but when it comes to the music that BNGM handles, it all begins with 8-bit, electronic music, like the music used in PAC-MAN.
Game music later evolved to use PCM, so the music started to include samples. Over the past roughly 45 years, game music has developed an extremely deep history. That’s why we’re always thinking about how we can share the history of the music, too, so that people can experience what makes it so great.
Another strength is the appeal of the game IPs we can leverage. Through BNGM, we’re sharing music for games that are well-known around the world.
Natsuko Kaneko: One of our strengths is definitely our wealth of IPs and game titles. But it does feel a little like a grab-bag (laughs). Bandai Namco has titles on a vast range of platforms, including arcade games, home gaming consoles, and smartphones, and there’s a huge diversity of genres, such as action games, RPGs, shooters, and rhythm games. There’s a lot of music that we haven’t put out yet, and I consider the size of our catalog to be one of our strengths.
On the official BNGM site, it says that you have more than 3,600 pieces of music. It really feels like you’re embodying the history of gaming.
Fukuda: The official site has been updated since then. It’s still an ongoing process, but as of November 2025, that number had risen over 6,000. Specifically, while there are classics like PAC-MAN, the catalog is really wide-ranging and includes all kinds of genres. For example, there’s music from the TEKKEN series, the Tales of series, and the ACE COMBAT series. This breadth may also be part of the reason there’s so much variety in game music.
Putting this music on streaming platforms enables all kinds of people around the world to enjoy it. In a sense, game music can be seen as a type of digital asset.
Fukuda: True. We went from not streaming anything to now having a lineup of over 6,000 tracks. I feel like now there’s some recognition of how much revenue the game music streaming business can produce. We started from zero, so I’m extremely grateful to NexTone for working with us on distribution. They helped make BNGM what it is today.
Why do you think that Japan’s game music has been so well-received by listeners, both here in Japan and overseas?
Fukuda: One of the major reasons is that game music doesn’t rely on language. If you look back on its history, for a lot of artists, like Haruomi Hosono, Yoshinori Sunahara, or Takaki Horigome from KIRINJI, respect for game music is part of the foundation of their musical activities. Personally, I feel like the roots of all kinds of musicians lie in game music.
I think another thing that makes game music so appealing is something it shares in common with classical music. When customers (players) play games, they are being continually exposed to the music of those games. The music becomes enmeshed with all kinds of memories, so the game music itself becomes one of their fond memories. I think game music has the same kind of value as the value that leads people to listen over and over to music by non-game music artists.
Game music doesn’t just create an atmosphere for games, it’s also becoming established as musical content in its own right. How does BNGM see this shift, and what kind of media mix and potential for live shows do you see?
Fukuda: As a music label, our goal is for our game music to stand on its own as content and make its own way in the world. That said, there are also a lot of people who use it as background music, so we still don’t really know if it can bloom into the kind of content that sweeps the global charts.
But as far as our ambitions, we’d love to put out music that could break into the top 10 on the global music charts.
Kaneko: BNGM works with development teams from the first stages of game development to help create music that supports the concept of the game it’s used in. We offer comprehensive, 360-degree support for music-related operations. This includes not only taking care of composers and handling copyright matters, such as contracts, but also turning completed musical pieces into products and developing music-related events.
It’s because we have such respect for the composers that create this music that we want to share it all with the world, regardless of genre.
Fukuda: Our strengths lie in the fact that we’re a music label inside a game company, and that we manage music publishing. I’m sure the creators also want the music they’ve created to be heard by as many people as possible. I see it as our role to help them out.
Because a lot of our game music is made in-house, as a music label, BNGM is able to coordinate closely with the production side. If one day we’re able to take the world by storm, then we might move onto a second phase, where we become more deeply involved with the creation of the music.
In closing, could you share any upcoming initiatives and talk about BNGM’s specific vision for the future?
Kaneko: We’re currently streaming over 6,000 pieces of music, but there’s still a wealth of untapped game music. We can put out several thousand more tracks, and we truly want to share this music with the world. We want to elevate game music from a sub-genre to a full-fledged genre so even more people can enjoy it. To accomplish that, we’re going to be coordinating with composers and producing catchy music.
Fukuda: We plan to take a good hard look at the music from past games that we have yet to make full use of. Also, as I mentioned earlier, I think our next major actions will be focused on having game music stand by itself and become a part of the major music scene in its own right. Game music from Japan is loved by people around the world. I’m very proud of this fact, and what we want to do is increase the number of game music lovers even further.
This interview by Yuki Tatsuta first appeared on Billboard Japan.
By: Billboard Japan / Photo: Shota Tsutsuura / Copyright: PAC-MAN: ™& © Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.
