The NPO “Apple Vinegar Music Support Organization” was established, founded by musician Masafumi Goto (ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION). A press conference was held today, July 19th (Friday), in Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture, where the organization will be based.
The press conference was attended by Masafumi Goto, founder and director of the NPO, Ryosuke Kobayashi, representative director, Shinichiro Murota, secretary general, and Shohei Kitamura, mayor of Fujieda City. In addition to the announcement of the establishment of the NPO “Apple Vinegar Music Support Organization,” a signing ceremony was also held for the “Fujieda Old Town Revitalization Partnership Agreement,” which aims to promote the revitalization of Fujieda City’s old town, promote regional development, and support and nurture young musicians.
At the announcement of the establishment of the NPO “Apple Vinegar Music Support Organization,” Masafumi Goto took the stage first and explained the background and history of the NPO’s establishment. “In the 20 years since our debut, I have been a member of the band ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, and have felt the changes in the music production scene. As the way music is listened to has shifted from CDs to digital distribution, I felt that the budget for music production has become more limited for musicians and bands who are independent and not affiliated with a major label. Over the past 10 years, while helping indie musicians with their music production, we started a private music award called “APPLE VINEGAR -Music Support Organization” in the hope of supporting young musicians. He established the Fujieda Music Award and has been giving out prize money, but he wanted to be able to provide more in-depth support, and so he started thinking about establishing this NPO. Since the biggest budget requirement for music production is the cost of using the studio, he first wanted to build a studio that musicians could use without worrying about the budget, and while providing support and passing on the skills necessary for studio recording, he also wanted to form a community centered around this place. He made it an NPO because he wanted to make his activities transparent. He expressed his strong feelings, saying, “Rather than building his own studio, I want to create a place that can become a legacy for Fujieda City, where everyone can share, develop, and move forward together.”
Next, Kobayashi Ryosuke, the representative director of the corporation, took the stage. Kobayashi, who was a high school classmate of Goto, was in charge of vacant house measures at Fujieda City Hall when Goto consulted him about building a studio.
Kobayashi said, “I helped Goto find a property with high ceilings and good acoustics that would allow him to record drum sounds with good quality, and the site was selected for this construction project. When it came to establishing an NPO in Fujieda, Goto directly asked local resident Kobayashi to become the representative director. Kobayashi said, “In the two years since we started looking for a property, Goto has been visiting Fujieda many times, despite being a busy musician, and has been working hard to build a studio, saying, ‘I want to give back to music,’ so I thought I could help him in any way I could. I want to continue to work hard, including on activities that are rooted in the local community.”
Shinichiro Murota, the organization’s secretary-general, also introduced the organization’s upcoming initiatives. The NPO Apple Vinegar Music Support Organization will call its activities “APPLE VINEGAR Music Support,” and will first build a music production studio in Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture, where artists can stay and stay (due for completion in autumn 2025) to support them. A tea warehouse that has remained since the Meiji era will be converted into a recording studio, and a “high-ceilinged studio where drums can be recorded” will be built. In the adjacent building, accommodation facilities will be built, as well as a community space where various workshops and local interactions can be held, and together with the recording studio, “we aim to create a new type of studio where participants can be recruited and run together.”
Goto also spoke about his desire to contribute to the development of musicians/artists and music culture based in Fujieda City, including through the management of the private music award “APPLE VINEGAR -Music Award-” which he launched in 2018, the production of events aimed at promoting local areas and building communities through music, and planning to support and nurture young musicians.
The design and construction of this studio was handled by architect Yusuke Mitsushima, who was also in charge of the stage set and drawings for ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION’s 30-performance nationwide hall tour “ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Tour 2015 Wonder Future” in 2015. Mitsushima himself explained his image of the studio using slides and videos.
In addition, a partnership agreement was signed with Fujieda City, “Fujieda Old Town Revitalization Partnership Agreement,” with the aim of promoting the revitalization of the city’s old town, regional development, and supporting and nurturing young musicians. The signing ceremony was also attended by Fujieda Mayor Shohei Kitamura.
Mayor Kitamura said, “I am very moved (by this partnership agreement) and am grateful and pleased,” and expressed his “emotions” and “expectations” about the partnership, saying, “I hope that this partnership will become a major trend as the city aims to create a new cultural hub through music. The old town of Fujieda is known as a post town along the Tokaido Road and a city of literature, and is an area where people gather and enjoy themselves, and I hope that it will become a place where people come and go and a variety of activities erupt.”
[Message from Masafumi Goto]
Apart from the band I’m in, I’ve mainly helped indie bands and musicians with their activities. These environments have smaller budgets than major label production environments, and are limited in the amount of money they can spend on recording each instrument.
Anyone can now produce music using a small computer, and private studios renovated from rooms in homes are on the rise, but commercial recording studios continue to close or go out of business. Without the will to protect it as a culture, it will be difficult to maintain it.
In a society that values efficiency, wealth and opportunity become unevenly distributed.
Only those with financial means have access to superior environments.
Unless you are commercially successful, you cannot use better facilities. Many people in society turn back in the face of such economic barriers.
When I thought about how much potential we were missing, I felt compelled to do something.
First, we will renovate a tea warehouse (dozo) that has remained since the Meiji era into a recording studio.
I will generously provide the recording equipment I have collected so far for the studio, and make it available for anyone to use. In addition, in the adjacent building, I will create accommodation facilities and a community space where various workshops and local interactions can be held.
We aim to be a new type of studio that does not just gather customers and make sales, but instead invites participants and runs the business together.
[Corporate Overview]
NPO Apple Vinegar Music Support Organization
Collective name of the activity: APPLE VINEGAR Music Support
Established: May 10, 2024
Address: 1-4-12 Fujieda, Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture, 426-0025
Representative Director: Ryosuke Kobayashi
Directors: Haruki Esaki, Tetsumune Shaku, Naoto Kamiyoshi, Masafumi Goto
Auditor: Junya Hirano
Business Description:
Studio management business to support artists / Recording production support business / Private music award management business / Event production and management business / Regional development business / Accommodation management business / Community space management business
