Voice Co., Ltd. — “From Okayama to the Major Leagues”: Creating an Environment Where Artists Can Take on Challenges from Anywhere

Have you heard of “Momotaro Fes,” a music event held in Okayama Prefecture?

First held at Kurashiki Muscat Stadium in 2019, it has been held three times so far—in 2022 and 2024 as well. Its lineup, ranging from artists from Okayama Prefecture to nationally renowned performers, has attracted attention, and the event is gaining recognition as a new music event in Okayama.

Even if you know about the event itself, you may have assumed it was organized by a major production company in Tokyo or Osaka.

In fact, the company behind Momotaro Fes is Voice Inc., a music agency based in Kurashiki. Founded in May 2018, the company has now been in business for seven years as of 2025 and is steadily expanding its reach, making it one to watch.

Companies and organizations rooted in their communities and growing alongside them are key to regional revitalization. However, there may still be few companies in Okayama and Kurashiki whose main focus is music.

Here, we introduce Voice Inc., a company with the potential to create value unlike anything seen before.

What Is Voice Inc.?

Voice Inc. is a music agency headed by President and CEO Suda Shunsuke, who is from Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture. Its operations are broadly divided into four categories.

• Music Business
  Talent agency / Production and management / Music composition / CD production / Operation of co-writing camps (Voice Co-Write Camp)
• School Business
  Operation of Voice Entertainment Academy / Dance, voice training, and DTM (lyrics and composition)
• Events Business
  Organizer of Momotaro Fes / Production, planning, and management / Sound and lighting / Casting
• Design Business
  Various design and printing services / Website production / MEO services / Poster printing (same-day delivery) up to A1 / Flat-rate design subscription service / Sign production / Photography and video production / Online streaming

Source: Voice Inc. official website

Music Business

As a talent agency, the company supports artists in pursuing professional careers and produces talent across a wide range of fields, from musicians and models to actors and sports teams.

It also provides creative music production services for general businesses, with writers affiliated with Voice composing lyrics and music and arranging tracks for TV commercials and video background music.

School Business

Courses include dance, voice training, DTM (lyrics and composition), singer-songwriter, and dance and vocal courses. The school invites working professional artists, lyricists, composers, and dancers to provide practical learning opportunities.

In addition to lessons, it also supports students with promotional activities aimed at performing at events and making their CD debuts.

Events Business

At the first Momotaro Fes, organized by the company in 2019, guests including Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, KREVA, Leo Ieiri, Dream Ami, Berry Goodman, and Wednesday Campanella performed at Kurashiki Muscat Stadium.

The company also handles a wide range of work, including various music events, opening events, festivals, and filming and setup for online concerts. In addition to technical expertise in sound and lighting, it excels at casting major artists and celebrities.

Design Business

The company provides a full range of design services, including CD cover designs and flyers, posters, signs, and website production for businesses.

It also focuses on SEO and MEO measures, which are essential for increasing awareness through website production, and can provide effective marketing strategies.

By linking its music, school, events, and design businesses, the company offers integrated services from start to finish. While remaining rooted in the local community, it is opening up new possibilities with a view to operating nationwide.

Interview with President Suda

Why did he establish a music agency in Kurashiki, and how did the event come to be held? Behind it all were President Suda Shunsuke’s personality and passion for music. We spoke with President Suda.

Continued pursuing music while working as a company employee after graduating from a music vocational school

What led you to start a business in the music industry in Kurashiki?

Suda (surname only)

I’ve loved music and singing since I was in high school.
At the time, there was an American artist called Babyface. He sang, wrote songs, and produced other artists, too. I admired him as a multitalented person.

That was when I became interested in working as a producer. I wanted to study music while doing what I loved, so after graduating from high school, I enrolled in a music vocational school in Osaka. There, I had the opportunity to gain a variety of experience, including rhythm training, practical songwriting, trying instruments such as guitar and drums in addition to vocals, and auditioning.

After graduating, I got a job at a company unrelated to music, but I hadn’t lost my passion for it. A few years later, I moved back to Kurashiki and joined an advertising company as a salesperson, but a turning point came when I continued making music in my personal time.

One day, a client I was visiting told me, “There’s someone who’s about to start making music. Could you help them with their activities?” and introduced me to an up-and-coming artist.

I supported the artist on weekends while working as a company employee on weekdays, and before I knew it, I had taken on a role like a producer. My experience at vocational school certainly helped, but it had mostly focused on learning from the performer’s perspective.

So, in order to produce properly, I decided to get serious about music again while continuing my day job.

Did your passion for music gradually grow stronger as you continued working as a company employee?

Suda

I kept the two things separate at the time, and I actually enjoyed sales, so I worked hard at my day job during the week. But when the time came to leave that company, I founded Voice Inc. as a music agency in May 2018.

For a while after leaving my job, I worked independently. But when doing business with major companies, including publicly listed firms, it can be difficult to sign contracts unless you’re incorporated, so I established a corporation.

“I naturally thought it was possible”: Momotaro Fes, Kurashiki’s first outdoor music festival

The year after founding the company, Momotaro Fes was held at Kurashiki Muscat Stadium in September 2019. Many of the performers were major artists, and given the scale of the event, perhaps no one at the time thought it was being planned by a music agency in Okayama.

Suda

People around me kept saying, “What? You can do that?” at first. But I had experience organizing events for around 2,000 people on weekends while I was a company employee, so planning the event itself wasn’t that difficult.

However, no music events had ever been held at Kurashiki Muscat Stadium, so we coordinated with various parties involved, and it ultimately took about a year to make it happen.

I hadn’t planned to hold a festival when I first started the company.
It began when a production company in Tokyo asked if we would hold a packaged festival event in Okayama. As I explored the possibility, I thought, “Why not do it ourselves instead of using their package?” and decided to try creating an original event.

Holding a festival in Kurashiki doesn’t sound easy, but from the way you talk about it, it sounds like you did it quite effortlessly. What made you confident you could pull it off?

Suda

I naturally thought, “I can do it.”
Once I had a goal I wanted to pursue and started moving toward it, I met various people at just the right time. They offered to help, and eventually it all came together.

It might look difficult from the outside, but I don’t feel that I went through much hardship myself.

A major reason we were able to bring in major artists was that I was close with someone at an agency. I consulted them about offers and asked them to approach artists on my behalf.

So you already had strong connections. Did you actively build your network while working as a company employee?

Suda

I think those connections formed naturally.
Basically, I like people—in other words, I don’t tend to dislike people—and by treating everyone I met in a straightforward way, I think those relationships became what people call a “network.”

“From Okayama to the major leagues”: Creating an environment where people can take on challenges on equal footing, wherever they are

In addition to event planning and artist production, Voice now also handles design and runs a music school. Did these businesses gradually grow over time?

Suda

Rather than growing one by one, almost everything has happened simultaneously.
Having worked at various companies, I could do sales and design, and above all, I already had a foundation built on connections with people. I feel that the foundation I had from the beginning has continued to expand over the past six years.

Where we are now is still a work in progress, and what we’re doing at present is only part of what we want to do. We started the music school in 2021, something I’d wanted to do for a long time, but that isn’t the ultimate goal. At the school, we’re not just giving lessons; if we’re going to do it, we’re looking ahead to creating a pathway that can lead students to the major leagues.

My ultimate goal at this point is to build a live music venue with a capacity of 800 people. I hear that major artists rarely come to live music venues in Okayama because the venues are too small...

But bringing in artists isn’t the only goal. If our own artists can regularly practice on a big stage in an environment on par with the major leagues, they’ll be able to handle any offer as they normally would.

When you nurture someone at a school, back them up, produce them, and help them debut, design work also comes into play at every stage. Is your current business set up to handle all of that?

Suda

Yes. We’ve set things up so we can handle the whole process in-house, from events and lessons to recording and design. We want to further improve the quality of all of it.

As a music agency, having your headquarters in Kurashiki, Okayama, nurturing artists from Okayama, and eventually helping them go major may still seem like a difficult path to many people. What’s the reason you’re taking on that challenge in Okayama?

Suda

It’s not that I particularly love Okayama or anything. I just happened to be in Okayama when I decided to give it a try. So before I started, I never thought about how difficult it might be or what the disadvantages could be.

Of course, I understand that the general assumption is that you have to go to Osaka or Tokyo if you want to debut. But I want to show that if you join us, you can take lessons at the same level as in Tokyo. You can make your debut from Okayama, even from a small town.

It’s true that there are a lot more competitors in Tokyo, and you have to find a way to make it through among them, so I think the level naturally rises. We’re in Okayama, but I want to get close to Tokyo’s standards.

We bring in writers and instructors from Tokyo so people can see and learn from the real thing, and make that the norm. We raise the level. We’re aiming to create an environment where people can compete on equal terms wherever they are.

I imagine many people find courage in your way of thinking, Mr. Suda.

Suda

I think each artist has their own values when it comes to how to make money and how to get exposure. But there are actually artists currently with Voice who earn more than artists who debuted with major labels in Tokyo.

They sing, of course, but if their compositions are selected, they can earn a decent amount from a single song. And if they’re matched with a company for their visual appeal, that can lead to appearing in commercials. Some artists are making a living without going major.

Shun, one of our current affiliated songwriters, has written for Naniwa Danshi, while Tommy, who is also an employee, has been able to provide songs to major artists including Goto Maki, while based in his hometown of Himeji and in Kurashiki.

They write music and also teach at our music school. In addition to their own hard work, we’ve connected them with people since they joined us, and now artists are approaching them with requests. At first, I don’t think they ever imagined they’d be able to provide songs to major artists.

There’s still a widespread belief that you have to go to Tokyo to make it. We’re creating a model where people can pursue an artist career and make a living while based in the place where they were born or in another regional area.

Suda

Even if you become an artist, you’ll quit if you can’t make a living. Especially if you’re working independently in a regional area, people may underestimate you.

You don’t have to negotiate your own fee for the work you do if you go through an agency. With solid support, you can stand on your own.

“Doing what we can, properly” — Not making excuses for being in Okayama

You’ve built up a variety of achievements over six years, and are now in your seventh year. Are you getting more inquiries?

Suda

For an event being held in Himeji soon (it was held in December 2024), we were initially only handling the casting, but we’ve also joined the operations side and are doing things like consulting.

We’re getting requests from all kinds of places, like “Please handle the sound” and “Please do the filming,” and it feels like things are expanding more and more.

Do you have any events or activities planned for 2025?

Suda

We’ll be organizing the 2025 Miss SAKE Okayama Competition, which will be held in February 2025. Until now, the events have been organized by general companies acting as partners, but we’ll be both the event organizer and a partner company.

Regional competitions allow the organizers to produce them according to their own ideas, so there’s a lot of freedom, and we think we can bring out the Voice style. Apparently, this is the first time a music agency has organized the competition, and everyone involved is looking forward to it.

We’ve also received offers to run events from other prefectures, and several have already been confirmed. We’re also working on a festival at a facility somewhere in the Chugoku region, and plan to get involved in casting and stage operations. We can’t share the details yet, but if this project comes to fruition, it looks like it could be one of the largest events in that prefecture.

Is a pattern emerging where people turn to Voice for events around Okayama? Hearing about how your work is expanding is exciting, but how do you feel about it yourself, Mr. Suda?

Suda

I feel like things are moving in the right direction, but at the same time, I do sometimes wonder, “Will this be okay? Can we do it?”

I’m the one primarily running all the events, handling the on-site work while also doing sales and managing the company… I always take the attitude of “If people need us, we’ll do it!” but we can’t keep up with everything, so unfortunately, there are times when we have to turn work down.

As you continue to move forward from your base in Kurashiki, Okayama, what are your aspirations for the future?

Suda

I have a few goals, but I don’t think about them too deeply. I just want to “do what we can, properly.”

For now, our theme is “bringing our values in line with those of the big cities.” When we put on an event, we don’t want to say, “Well, this is about what you’d expect in Okayama.” We want to put on proper events. Without making excuses about being in a regional area or a big city, we aim to create a situation where the things that are commonplace in Tokyo and Osaka are commonplace here, too.

We also want Momotaro Fes to become such a prominent presence that it naturally comes to mind as part of the lineup when people are asked, “What festivals can you think of?” We also hope to spread the recognition that, when it comes to music agencies, “In Okayama, it’s Voice.”

After the Interview

Throughout the interview, Mr. Suda spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact way. At first glance, he seemed relaxed and not particularly intense, but as I listened, I could tell he had strong convictions and a clear vision.

What impressed me most was the “mindset of never doubting himself” at the root of Mr. Suda’s ability to get things done.

“I naturally thought I could do it.”

“I just have to work toward my goals.”

“I never thought about how difficult it might be or what the disadvantages could be before I started.”

He repeatedly said things that showed he wasn’t limiting himself, and I felt that this kind of attitude may be what distinguishes people who take on challenges from those who don’t.

Combined with his innate nature of “liking people and finding it hard to dislike them,” this may be why he has continued moving forward without stopping, while cherishing the connections he has made.

I look forward to seeing what kind of future Voice Co., Ltd. and Mr. Suda will forge, and to their continued success.

Voice Co., Ltd. Information

Organization	Voice Co., Ltd.
Industry	Music business / School business / Event business / Design business
Representative	Suda Shunsuke
Established	2018
Address	5F, Kurashiki City Plaza West Building, 1-7-2 Achi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture
Contact	0120-928-710
Website	Voice Co., Ltd.

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