Japan's Greater Love Of Good Music

As I surf the web this evening, it hits me that Japan has a far greater love of good music than Westerners.  Why do I say this?  Here is an example.  Nina Vidal released her self titled album on iTunes in the States on May 7th, 2007.  No buzz, and only 2 reviews to date on iTunes.  In comparison, she is the number one Jazz album in on Itunes, in Japan.  Also, she is the number four album over all on iTunes in Japan.  Do we have too many choices, and the quality artists get lost in the shuffle?  Or do the record companies control more of what we hear, than we realize?  

One last note, most don't know.  A lot of Soul, R&B, and Jazz albums get released in Japan before here in the US.  If it is released in the US or Europe first, the Japan version gets extra unreleased or bonus tracks.   Check out Nina Vidal's website to see how much she caters to that market.  If, I was her, I would do the same.