Ongaku to Hito (音楽と人) is a Japanese monthly music magazine published by Ongaku to Hito Co., Ltd. Founded in 1993, when it was published by Shinko Music Entertainment, it primarily features long-form interviews with Japanese artists from a wide range of genres. It is abbreviated as Onto. It is released on the 5th of every month.
Credited On
- The Gazette - TOUR11-12 VENOMOUS CELL FINALE OMEGA LIVE AT 01.14 YOKOHAMA ARENA - The Gazette, released May 9, 2012 (
SRBL-1523). Text (Yasuyuki Higuchi).
History
Translated from the ja.wikipedia article 音楽と人 (CC BY-SA 4.0), revision 109588189.
Overview
Ongaku to Hito was first published in October 1993 after Tetsushi Ichikawa, formerly an editor at Rockin' On, became independent. Its title expresses the idea that, since music cannot be heard from a magazine, the contours of music should be revealed by discussing the people involved; taken further, it reflects the ideas that “there is nothing more interesting than people” and “therefore, let us read about people.” The first issue featured Yumi Matsutoya on its cover.
The magazine was characterized by its varied coverage, focusing primarily on rock and pop artists while also covering kayokyoku artists. Its covers also featured impactful copy promoting the lead feature in every issue, which was one of the elements that attracted many readers.
During Ichikawa's tenure as editor-in-chief, artists whom he promoted were featured regardless of release schedules or sales, with particular favoritism shown toward BUCK-TICK and BLANKEY JET CITY. The magazine also ran many interview-discussion features, including a “double Kenji” discussion between Kenji Ohtsuki and Kenji Ozawa; an “aesthetics school versus Shibuya-kei” discussion between hide and Keigo Oyamada; and a discussion between Ken Morioka and Maki Fujii following the breakup of SOFT BALLET. In more recent years, it has realized unconventional discussions not found in other magazines, including Kiyoharu and ken; Hiroto Komoto and Kazunobu Mineta; Kenichi Asai and Yusuke Chiba; and yukihiro, Maki Fujii, and Hisashi Imai.
Beginning with the November 1997 issue, which featured THE YELLOW MONKEY on its cover, the magazine format was changed to a slightly larger size and the number of color pages was doubled.
In 1998, Ichikawa resigned as editor-in-chief for various reasons. After Masami Yuki, Hiroshi Kanemitsu became editor-in-chief that year and has held the position since. Publication was suspended for the October and November 1998 issues for renewal. It was also suspended from the December 2001 issue through the March 2002 issue.
In March 2002, the magazine resumed publication under a system in which editing was handled by USEN Broad Networks, now USEN, and publishing by Shinko Music. From March 2007, USEN also became the publisher.
In July 2010, it separated from USEN and established Ongaku to Hito Co., Ltd., which continues to operate it. The May 2019 issue, featuring THE YELLOW MONKEY on its cover, marked the magazine's 300th issue.
Bessatsu Ongaku to Hito Atsushi Sakurai, released in December 2023, included a discussion between first editor-in-chief Tetsushi Ichikawa and third editor-in-chief Hiroshi Kanemitsu.
Editors-In-Chief
Hiroshi Kanemitsu (1998–present), third editor-in-chief
Former editors-in-chief
Tetsushi Ichikawa (1993–1998), first editor-in-chief
Masami Yuuki (1998), second editor-in-chief