Crunchyroll announced on Saturday that it will be adding music streaming to its paid subscription service. Under this description, Crunchyroll described that they will include short-form music videos and full-length concerts. This announcement was made during the red carpet event for the Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
This addition is part of a partnership between Sony Music Entertainment to license SMEJ’s content outside of Japan. The service will also include features such as music videos, an artist listing page, and search integration. Crunchyroll will also launch a dedicated music page in the future. In regard to this partnership Asa Suehira, Chief Content Officer for Crunchyroll said;
Crunchyroll is always looking for ways to add more value for its fans. We know that anime and music have always been intrinsically connected art forms. From the early years of anime, music artists have worked closely with anime producers to write lyrics and meaningfully integrate the music into the story. Crunchyroll wants to replicate that same synergy for our fans.
Crunchyroll Music: Looking for Your Favorite Music and Concerts
Subscribers of any of the streaming platform’s premium plans will have access to its music streaming service. The new music library will feature ‘thousands’ of short-form music videos and over 100 full-length live concerts of various artists. These artists include Aime, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, LiSA, and Hiroyuki Sawano.
Music from anime has always been a large part of the community. “The Rumbling” from alternative mental band SiM most recently topped the U.S Hot Hard Rock Songs chart. It also peaked at number five on the US Bubbling Under 100 Singles chart and number 13 on the US Hot Rock and Alternative Songs chart. “Kick Back” from J-Pop/Rock artist Kenshi Yonezu (the opening theme from Chainsaw Man) also peaked at number 3 in the U.S Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
As of now, it is known that Crunchyroll is constantly updating its music library.