thats actually pretty sad if its true. :no
but with so many different bootlegs out there its getting really hard at times to tell whether something is real or not. thats why I hesitate to buy Ayu stuff or similar at Ebay, but prefer ordering it at YesAsia or CDJapan.
at least that way you can make sure you get an original (I hope)

Why do people think this is the end of the world? "OMG! No one in Japan likes her anymore! She's not popular anymore! Waaah!"

First of all, she's still very popular in Japan. No, she's not as popular as she used to be years ago, but yes, she's still one of the highest selling artists. She's been around for a long time, and to still be selling as well as she has been is pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.

Second, people keep complaining about her sales. So, her sales aren't as high as they used to be. Times have changed in Japan. More people are buying music online through iTunes etc. Yes, sales have decreased, including Ayu's, but it's not just for her sales... It's everyone's. Even Utada Hikaru isn't selling as much as she used to. Does this mean she's not popular anymore? No. It just means people are finding other means of getting the music they want.

And since we're talking about sales, I'd like to point out that Ayu has been doing extremely well. Her singles have done very very well. 300,000 consistent sales is great. B&D didn't sell 300,000 sales, but it did pretty good. 100,000 isn't bad! There are a lot of popular singers who don't reach 100,000 single sales every time they release a single, including BoA for example. Her last two singles had about 55,000 each if I'm not mistaken.

Koda Kumi may be gaining popularity, but her sales are nothing compared to Ayu's. (miss)understood sold more than Secret in its second week. If I'm not mistaken, Koda Kumi's only number one album was her Best album, and that was also her only album to sell over 1,000,000 copies. So before anyone freaks out anymore about that matter, I hope you'll realize Ayu is still a huge icon in Japan. She's still very popular and she still has high sales.

And about the weekly sales, I was pretty surprised at the sales. Not just at Ayu's though, but everyone's. Usually the #1 album of the week sells really well, but he didn't even sale over 100,000 copies.

I actually think it was just a slow week because no one's sales were anything but outstanding. But I'm pretty confident Ayu will reach 1,000,000 sales soon. Maybe next week will be better.


edit: found a typo @_@
oops, and another... I really should proofread :/

GREAT POST:luv2 :yes That's exactly what I was thinking.

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!Really great Post!!!!!You said the truth!!!!!Thank you paper bear

I'm not quoting Paper Bear because it's too mcuh to quote but good point. The entire week didn't go well. Maybe people are just getting so caught up that they don't have time to go out...(like I am. Stupid finals).

technically, (m)u isnt "more" expensive than any other albums. true the cd-only version used to be ¥3059 n its now ¥3150, but thats because avex just raised their cd prices from the beginning of the year, i think starting w/BoA's.

cd sales arnt really down if compared '04-'05, if they were then how would it be possible for "Seishun Amigo" to pass the million? or have 2x 900k+ singles last yr? or def tech selling 1.7m+ on their debut album? also, not all artists have declining sales, like otsuka ai, her sales have generally increased. as for BoA, shes not much of a "single-artist", shes more of an "album artist". besides i think shes like the rare artists in avex that doesnt release the dvd extra w/her single, unlike ai or ayu. so that definietly plays a role in her lagging single sales. BoA only releases a dvd extra w/her albums, thus higher album sales.

^ The sales ARE lower than last year, the fact someone sold a million copies in singles doesn't mean it isn't. SEISHUN AMIGO was a HUGE SELLER, but back in the 90s, the whole top 10 sold over a million copies.

Ayu popularity is DOWN, with downloads or without downloads, she don't sell as much as she used to. I mean, her singles were always on the TOP 10 of the year, but they aren't anymore, they're 20th. Her albums were always on the TOP 5 on the annual sales, but they aren't anymore. Does that mean she's not popular anymore? NO!!! This mean she's not as popular as she was in the past, but she's still the biggest female singer. Bigger than Koda Kumi, much bigger. Bigger than Ai Otsuka. The end.

And no 90,000 albums in the first place isn't so unusual, last year lots of albums reached the first position selling that.

^well obviously 2005 sales are lower than 2001 or 1999 sales. thats y i said "sales are actually up if compared to 2004->2005".

dont know if it was directed at me, but i never said ayu wasnt popular nor did i deny that ayu's popularity is down. and also, not only is it because her popularity is down that caused the delcine in ranking, it is also because they r newer artists (last yr it was OR) coming out.

Well, the CD created for Seishun Amigo was composed of a guy who was in a group who hadn't released CDs, and the other was a megapopular hottie guy in NEWS. Thus meaning that the two fanbases would collide together as well as new fans coming to buy it because

a) drama tie-in

b) fans of japanese pretty boys

c) song is stuck in head

:D

But album sales aren't up.

And it wasn't directed at you. But it wasn't because of new artists that Ayu is not as popular as before, there are old artists in the top 5.

This is very true.

last yr sales r indeed up from 2004's. its even evident in ayu's single sales. in 2004, the only single that was close to the million mark was hirai ken's "hitmoi wo tojite" which sold in 800-850k region. in 2005, there were 3x900k+ singles. albums: in 2003 there were 7x million albums; '04 6; n in '05 it increased to 10. in '05 there were 2 albums that was really close or past the 2m mark, in '04 there was only 1. in 2005, for albums, you needed a 1m selling album to get into the top 10; in 2004 you only needed about 900k

wow... iTunes... rockz heheheheh.... I think that it is hard nowadays to reach 1 million... if this album is released in the 2001-2002.. surely... I believe that this album wont only break 1 Million... but 2 Million is possible ^^

yeah no one's saying Ayu's not popular but right now Koda Kumi's definitely MORE popular and talked about than Ayu. We are talking about declining sales for Ayu and increasing sales for Koda and Otsuka so there's always a risk that one day they eclipse Ayu's popularity.

Plus, I think the only reason Ayu's still up there in the charts is because of her hardcore fanbase. She's not gaining new fans; why? she's too old to be an idol singer so teens won't start to like her; 30+ something probably listens to their B'z and Southern All Stars, not Ayu. So the only people buying her cds are her fans and very very few casual listeners. Her single sales are consistent because of her fanbase - she no longer makes hits like M or Seasons like she used to, and those hits are important to attract new fans.

Anyway personally I wouldn't feel a thing if Ayu's no longer as popular as before I mean no one's popular forever, I'll be happy as long as she still makes music.

Gakkun... did you know that it is adults and '30+' Japanese folk that are the main supporters in the music industry? Most children tend to not have any money to buy the physical CDs (mainly due to phone trends) so they rent or pay-download the songs. Ayu is still VERY popular in Japan. She was still EVERYWHERE when I visited, much more so than any other artist.

Also, ORANGE RANGE's hanabi single released in 2004 sold have outsold Ken Hirai's 'hitomi wo tojite' if it was released earlier. It has sold up to this date, only a few hundred copies away from 1 mil.

I didn't say 30+ people don't buy cds but since when have they been Ayu's main supporters? Ayu's music has always been aimed at girls in their late teens and 20's but now they have other idols like Koda to attract their attention.

Again I'm not saying she's not popular anymore, I'm just saying I think she's no longer the 'in' artist right now and she definitely isn't as popular as before.

What I wonder is..

who are all the people who go to Ayu's concerts then? :p

I'm not a little sad.

Well I think one reason why MY STORY sold better than (miss)understood is that MY STORY has four covers but (miss)understood has only two. *,*
What's more the covers are ugly.

Anyway I hope her next album can be better and sell more.

i think she should take a break for at least a year

Oh, that's pretty low. I hope the sales will increase soon...