The British Council, a UK-based international cultural exchange organization, has installed a listening point for its music platform, Musicity, at the main entrance of the Isetan Shinjuku store. To coincide with the grand opening on March 6, original music composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto began being offered on March 20.

Musicity is a music platform that connects music and places to create new urban experiences. It was founded in London, UK in 2010 by broadcaster and music curator Nick Luscombe and creative strategist Simon Jordan (founder of UK-based Jump Studios). Its global expansion began in Tokyo in March 2012. In Japan, 17 listening points have been set up, mainly in Roppongi. Isetan Shinjuku will be the 18th.

The system uses the GPS function of smartphones to ensure that only those who visit the listening point can listen to the music. By accessing the special website (http://isetan.musicity.info/) on your smartphone, you can instantly listen to Ryuichi Sakamoto's original song for Isetan, "Music for Fashion Museum," for free. You can then download the song from the special website to your home computer.

Regarding the original song, Sakamoto explains, "It needs to be new, but it's music that will be listened to repeatedly every day, so novelty alone isn't enough; it needs to have a certain universality. It also needs to evoke a positive feeling, like, 'Okay, let's get to work!'"