Official TeamAyu 'A & STAFF DIARY' entries
 

As it has been discussed in the twitter thread, I'm creating this thread for the new official TA entries that are being posted with official English translations :)
It's better to have a separated thread for this than posting those in the twitter thread, right? I hope everything is ok and the tag is right...

Post the original messages and translations, but it's better to not post the pictures, because they specifically ask fans to not post those outside TA...


Here are all the entries that have been posted in English so far:


[2013.10.10 - by miccie] New staff☆:



[2013.10.10 - by Kuri-chan] ☆HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARTY in LA☆:



[2013.10.12 - by Ayu] Speechless:



[2013.10.13 - by Ayu] その後。/ The day after:



[2013.10.25 - by Ayu] 姉へ。（To my big sister,）:



[2013.10.29 - by Kuri-chan] 11/15発売写真集「ayu」より写真をチラ見せ♡ / Sneakpeek from new photobook "ayu" (on sale 11/15/13)♡:



[2013.11.01 - by Kuri-chan] 天使の降臨♪ / An angel appears♪:

Thanks! True, it is much more convenience to have a TA thread :) I'm glad they have eng translations up there now :heart

Thank you for this!

Thank you, pimenta~! ♥

Thank you!!

Great! I hope this is okay with the fanclub though... we've gotten the FC diary text before so I guess it shouldn't be too bad?

yes! thank you!

I hope it's ok, specially considering that now they're posting in English as well... I think that as long as we don't post those stuff they ask to not be posted, like the pics or videos, it should be ok :)

Thank you @pimenta ! Those messages from TA makes me more curious about TA and now I really want to be a member ! :))

The English translations in TA are so awesome - I'm glad they are doing them now! :D

Definitely join TA if you can because the extra effort is great treatment for Ayu fans ^^

^You should join up!! There's a tutorial on how to do it using tenso. Plus you get freebies!! :yes

That "To my big sister" entry really made me feel emotional. ;_;

And this thread is good idea too! I just hope people won't forget to update it every now and then because I'm always curious about these even if I don't want to join TA myself. :D

Thanks for creating this thread pimenta. :)

Ooo this thread is great- thank you! Especially for when TA messages get mentioned and those who don't have it aren't able to understand or join in the conversation

Before, the fan translations were necessary even for members to understand what was going on.

Now they're not. As a member I am not okay with this thread. Just putting my input in.

Thank you, Earth_maiden. And thank you Ayumi_Romania for expressing an interest in joining TA, I hope you do.

^This attitude is one I'd REALLY like to see less of. "I want the benefits of joining but don't want to join" is IMO really selfish and unfair.

Exactly. If you don't want to/can't pay the $70 annual fee, people shouldn't complain that they don't see the TA entries. People say its a lot of money when it's only about 20 cents a day. That's the price of one Japanese press DVD or two Japnese press CDs in one year. It's not impossible any more, I live in Australia and used tenso to sign up. :irked

I see your point about the difference of posting the translations before and now, but either way the TA messages were already being made public...

Well, the new English TA posts were already being shared in the twitter thread, and since they were already being made public, creating a separated thread for the TA entries made more sense... But maybe we should first discuss if they really should be shared or not ? (no matter in what thread)

I personally don't mind sharing the messages, but I respect your opinion. Maybe the other AHS members who are also TA members could also express their opinions about sharing the messages so we can decide? If more people don't feel ok with sharing we can just stop doing that.. :)

I'd pay to be a TA member in a second...what I don't want to pay for is services like Tenso when TA has something to ship me. I'd LOVE to order my stuff from TA and get the extra goods and stuff...I just don't think it's worth it. BY NOW AVEX KNOWS that she has fans all over the world and if they weren't so damn stubborn, they would let people worldwide join if they wanted to. Even if they charged a shipping fee for overseas members. Idk...it just annoys me.

lol whomever thought it's gonna be ok posting the entries here bust have been a bit too naive. I got surprised when the thread popped up. It is not gonna be ok lol it's such a big deal after all to all those that are in the fanclub.

^So why wasn't it a big deal when the entries used to get posted here in INDIVIDUAL threads all the time? I don't get it. I reaaaaaaaally wish avex would let people in other countries sign up for TA. I'd have done it years ago.

maybe people back then were more relaxed and not as many were in the fanclub?

A $20/2000yen option for digital-only membership would help a lot.

TeamAyu GET ON IT.

I absolutely agree there should be a $20/year website-only membership, and I absolutely do agree that there should be maybe a $75 a year foreign membership (Avex would HAVE to charge more cuz shipping outside of Japan isn't cheap).

Right now, however, Tenso is the only option - and we should be thankful there's an option at all! This was NOT always the case. Avex is being kind enough to allow Tenso as a middleman (not all Japanese shops, sellers, and businesses allow this). They can't justify allowing foreign members until and unless people use the Tenso version of the service, proving it's profitable to extend membership to other countries at a price that's reasonable.

I do not mind paying Tenso if it means I can tell avex with my wallet that a foreigner like me wants their product.

The POINT of those threads was the translation, though. It did irk me when the raw Japanese text was posted, but if that was a means to the translation's end, then so be it. There is NO REASON for these entries to be straight copied & pasted here EXCEPT to make it so people who don't feel like joining TA can be appeased. Which isn't fair.

If you want the product, buy it - you've had PLENTY of previews in the form of translated entries over the years, most of you know by now whether or not TA membership is worth it to you or not.

Dealing directly with avex (without Tenso) would probably be the easiest way of handling things. I mean I would 100% be up for an annual digital membership if it meant I could access the English entries + early news directly.

Should we start an interest thread or something? I feel like this is an issue we need to gather some data on and send on over to avex/TeamAyu.

I'm a little torn on this issue. I mainly agree with Delirium-Zer0 and Earth_maiden though. I thought about it as a paying TA member and maybe it is selfish, but I feel bad about the entries being posted here - basically just copy&paste. The main reason is that they are now being posted directly in english at TA. There is no more need to translate. I also understand the fans who want to know what Ayu is writing about in her diary. I think a good solution is to just give a little summary/overview about what Ayu posted, not the exact words/entry like it appears on TA copy&pasted.

Well, all we can do is try to find out if avex is keeping track of how many FC memberships & mu-mo orders are being made with Tenso shipping addresses. They could get the numbers better than we ever could.

Ultimately, the decision is theirs - if they think there aren't enough of us for it to be profitable for them (also keeping in mind the cultural xenophobia present in Japan anyway), they're just not gonna expand. :( But perhaps there's some way to find out whether or not avex is interested in how much of their fan club & mu-mo income is from fans with Tenso addresses?

Just had a conversation with someone where I said I would join JUST so that I could give everything out to everyone else.

So. I'm obviously ok with this.

In a way, I agree that they shouldn't be posted...but I do want to read them. Boo. :(

THIS IS WHY I LOVE YOU. lmao

Honestly, I feel about the FC content being shared pretty much the same as I feel about all the media that is shared. Artists release CDs or DVDs and a few buy it while the majority will just download it for free and have access to the same content (and some even get mad if the content doesn't leak fast)... Is it fair for the one who bought the media to see the content being shared for free? Maybe not, but people don't usually complain about it...

Some may argue those are two different things, but I personally see both situations the exact same way, maybe it's just me, but that's how I feel about it, and that's pretty much why I don't mind sharing... In my case, I pay to be a member of the FC just because I like the feeling being a member of my favorite artist's FC, and not for the exclusivity, it just makes me happy to be a member. The same as I buy the CDs because I like to collect what my favorite artists release, and not really because I want the media in them (I don't even play my CDs because I don't want to risk damaging them, I just love collecting). But that's me, and I respect who has a different opinion, so if more people in the forum don't want to see the posts being shared I'll just stop sharing them here, I don't mean to disrespect anyone...

People DO want them to be shared. Everyone has been asking lately where they can find the new TA entries.

But there will always be people who feel you're disrespecting them by sharing content they are paying money for. There are still people who are angry that we have a Downloads section :shrug You can't help that.

Actually, people still do complain about things being shared in the download section, but they're just tired of voicing out as it doesn't have any effect. I remember somebody actually got annoyed when I shared the blu ray disc of the CLIP BOX 1998-2011 (Original quote : annoyed that people are sharing this. it's so expensive, and we already have the PVs in DVD quality). And I'm sure we all know that even when downloads are available easily in this era, that doesn't mean that it is right to share them freely online. Note the significant drop in sales. You might say that it's because of ayu's fame is dropping. But may I ask you again that if it's just that cause, why are there still so many people downloading ayu's new song? And I still think that the drop off from streaming ayu's concert online was due to the concert was being captured and released online way before the concert DVD/blu ray was due.

For me, sharing the FC contents and ayu's media online is the same thing (90% of the freebies doesn't really attracts me...). But I'm pretty sure that you don't need to have ayu's msg to be a fan of her work. Maybe a leak in some of her more important messages would justify. But, definitely not all of it (esp things when they've noted, to not share it outside of TA). I've decided to drop off buying physical items after her 15th anniversary. And I will drop off TA if there's nothing else special in being in the FC anymore.

avex must have noted the significant drop in the FC membership as you can see from their current promotions were targeted at the FC privileges. If FC specialty were made easily available to the mass, I'm pretty sure that would ultimately be the doom of ayu's career. Ayu doesn't have much endorsement as the past and what she is depending on now is her fame and fan base. It's ur decision to keep on doing what you want/destroying whatever that you like.

Apologies for the wall of text here. You can scroll down for a tl;dr if you want.

Some of us ARE paying for the exclusivity. The exclusivity is part of the product we're buying, which is what makes it more worth paying for, and what makes it different than CDs & DVDs that are mass produced and intended for both fans and more casual listeners.

Part of what makes it special is that only the big fans - who have put money and work into the viewing of these things - are seeing it. It's called a fan CLUB for a reason. We're not passing, temporary "fans" who enjoy Ayu for a few songs and then move on. We're people for whom Ayu is a security blanket, people who have been deeply affected by Ayu or her music, people whose life soundtrack includes Ayu for all our major life events. I was an ayu fan for YEARS and YEARS before finally joining TA. In that time I went through romances, breakups, college, having a child, getting my career started, getting mental health issues diagnosed, and finding my "ibasho" as Ayu was able to finally find hers. Ayumi Hamasaki's music has been the soundtrack of my life for nearly half my life. That, to me, means giving her a little extra tip every year in the form of my fan club dues - and that, to her & her staff, means letting me read her feelings & what she's up to in her blog, among other things.

It doesn't upset me that the BIG ayu fans here are seeing these blog entries. They absolutely deserve to see them if they really are big fans. What bothers me is that minor, fairweather, probably-won't-be-here-next-week fans are seeing it too. Ayu posted those messages for the die-hards, not for the casuals. And she personally has made that clear to us.

When Ayu's blog entry about Ayumi Ogata's death a few years back was shared through mass media, Ayu was REALLY upset about it - she'd perceived her relationship with her fans as trusting, and that trust she had for us was breached. Maybe you guys don't remember that, but I do. I kept translating her TA entries for awhile after that, but eventually I grew to feel bad. Pretty soon it was easy to cut it out of my life as a priority and I gradually stopped. Misa took over - and I certainly do not begrudge her that, it made it easier for TA members who don't speak Japanese to get the full benefits of their membership - but now, there's no reason to share them. Those of us who've put the money and work into joining can now get this benefit. If you don't pay for it, you don't get it.

Now, that said...

There are plenty of things that even TA members STILL do not have. If you guys really want to translate and post things, no one translates the blurbs in TA magazine. Why not do that? Ayu's blog wasn't always translated - why not translate old entries that no one's done yet? THAT I would not have a problem with. Uploading photos, wallpapers, screensavers, and other benefits that are no longer available would be a great service to members and non-members alike. Some of that stuff is still floating around the internet.

I understand the spirit and intent behind sharing - I was a sharer once, you guys know that, and I have NO issue uploading things that are especially difficult to get, or are not possible to get anymore through legitimate means.

But those of you who are HUGE fans, who love Ayu as much as I do, you should just join TA. You'd like it. The stuff you get in the mail is really cool. Actually holding an issue of TA magazine in your hands is awesome. Knowing you're supporting Ayu financially just a little more is gonna make you feel better about the stuff you've downloaded over the years. The mu-mo and TA shop bonuses for pre-ordering CDs & DVDs are kinda awesome. Even if you can't (as a foreign fan) get concert tickets, you still get a shot at the TA exclusive merchandise. Sure, you get those TA magazine scans here, the TA merchandise goes on sale at Yahoo! Auctions and eBay or gets sold by members here... but if you're not willing to use Tenso and join TA properly, then... you're not a big enough fan to deserve this stuff.

If you can't afford to join now, join later. Play catch-up buying the TA goods & magazines you've missed from YAJ which is what I've been doing for the last few years. I'm making up for lost time, but I couldn't afford to join until now so I didn't. And I lived! Imagine that!

Anyway. Ending my rant here. Yes, I feel that some people genuinely deserve to see these blog entries more than others do, and the ones I feel deserve it are the ones FOR WHOM THE ENTRIES ARE INTENDED. I'm out.

tl;dr:
1. Exclusivity is part of the product.
2. Ayu only intends these blog entries for big fans.
3. If you're not WILLING to pay, you're not a big enough fan.
4. If you're not ABLE to pay, join when you can & play catch up - you'll live.
5. If you really wanna share TA stuff, why not help us play catch up & translate old entries & TA mag issues?

@kinix: wow, you just got what I said and gave me an unnecessarily over dramatic answer.

How is sharing messages destroying what I like? But then you also say sharing the messages is the same as sharing media, and you also state you wont be buying anymore, so I assume you'll only be downloading the media shared, which means you are no different than me when you say I am "destroying" what I like. That comment of yours was completely unnecessary.

I never said that, as well as I never said it's right to share the media. But on AHS sharing the media if fine, sharing the TA magazine scans is fine (there's a thread for that), sharing the TA screensavers is fine (another thread for that), but I am destroying what I like by sharing posts? WTH?

Still, I respect other opinions, that's why I asked what other members from TA think, and I did say that depending on their answer I really would stop sharing in respect to them despite of what my opinion is, so could you please just respect my opinion when I say I don't mind sharing when I already said I would even stop doing that in respect of the others? And, yeah, saying stuff like "I respect it, but you are destroying what you like" isn't really respecting at all.


Delirium-Zer0, I did read your whole post, I'm just quoting this because it's smaller :D

I get your point, of course exclusivity is part of the whole FC idea, but I personally just don't mind it. But I understand why so many people do, so I'm not arguing that, it's completely understandable. I totally agree with you, though, that Ayu must have written the entries for her big fans, but that's way too hard to filter, and kind of mix with the not being able/willing to pay thing. I agree, who's not willing to pay shouldn't really mind not reading the messages, but many people aren't able to pay. Yeah, some will say TA isn't that expensive, and it really isn't if you think that's an annual tax, but still some people can't because that's not all, you still have to pay for Tenso, and that one really expensive! Those who live in countries near Japan may not find it, but I live in the other side of the world (literally) and for me the cost for their EMS shipping is hell expensive, I'm just lucky I have a job that let me still pay for that, but many people can't, and I personally wouldn't mind sharing what I have access to with them. But then again, it's impossible to filter those who aren't able from those who aren't willing, so it's either share to all or not share at all... I'm more inclined to the first option, but I understand who prefers the second.

Anyway, I respect your opinion, that's why I asked what others think about it as well :) But some of the answers... Sometimes I don't even know why I bother to ask D: (not you, Delirium-Zer0 ^^)

Oh, and the 5th item, I can't really help with that. I would love to if I could, but I can't really help with translations, my Japanese skills are far from great :(

But that's even more expensive! I find it difficult that those who can't pay now will be able to pay even more for those later... In my case, I collect the TA stuff that were sent after I joined, but I won't buy stuff sent before that, not because I don't want to (I would love to), but because it's impossible, I have to pay ridiculous amounts for shipping and everything else to buy something from YAJ :dead2 I love that people shared the scans here, it's still not the complete magazines, but since I can't afford those, I'm happy someone shared those scans <3
But you are right, of course, people will survive xD

This is 100% the fault of Avex and maybe Ayu, and her team. I don't know how much say she has in anything.

You can not at all blame fans for destroying her when they are making her more accessible for ALL potential fans.

If Avex and Ayu want to create a secret club on earth where they only share their most personal secrets, then they should EXPECT it to be alienating, exclusive, a turn-off to casual listeners, and a drop in their income.


OTHER artists give out exclusive content for free. Other artists communicate and send out pictures with their fans, for free. Other artists still do promotions and give out goodies. Other artists do all of these things for their releases.


But I mean, you know. It's okay! Ayu fans are so dedicated, they are happy with digital earrings. So I don't know what you guys are worried about when it comes to sharing her fan club content.

On an Ayu specific forum. Where mostly only big Ayu fans hang out and actually read anything.

I'm just stating out to you about the effect of sharing. And I'm still different from you as I've been buying all her media release since 2000. Not that I'm rich but I've been saving up for her release since student till working stage. But I've decided to stop buying them as I've felt why should I continue buying when all those were made available online easier and faster? Even though I'm living in asia, yen is still a higher currency as compared to SGD. Sharing exclusive message in TA (which is the main reason why I've joined TA) kinda beats the purpose of me joining TA. I'm sure others have felt the same way. And if all of TA's exclusive (Yes, those messages are exclusive to TA. TA magazine I would excuse them as members get the physical item. Whereas messages are just messages in the club) were again to be made available easily, I'll drop off from TA too. You might think I'm making a big fuss out of this or trying hard to make these 2 connects. But in fact, it is related. Sales = income for the artist. May I know which company would fork out money for an artist that isn't making any profit? Esp avex which we're talking about. What is ayu's main income now? Mainly 5 aspect : concert, media release endorsement, merchandise and FC. Which all 5 are growing weaker by the day. So I hope you know what I mean. And seriously, it really isn't making a big fuss out of nothing...

i used to be a TA member when i still got a friend who stayed and worked in japan for around 2 years and we both split the TA member fee, but since my friend has been back for good, so i don't become a TA member anymore. yes, there's an option via tenso but like pimenta said, it'll become very expensive, and not many people could afford that amount of money. if i'm still a single, maybe i still could afford it, but now i have kid to think about, and some priority things, i think i should make a choice too and have to think twice. so I'm grateful if i found some fans who are willing to share TA msgs and stuff, but if they don't want to share, I'm fine too. Even though ayu and avex have asked the fans to not share the TA msgs, the TA pics, there will always be fans who will share them eventually, we can't really prevent it from happening and i'm sure ayu and avex know about it too. it's liked, it's not you who share, then he will, or she will, or they will.

so I'm fine with people who want to share it. and maybe we could just keep inside the forum. you may see it here but you can't take it out. but yeah there's no guarantee bout it too.

well, peace out! ^^

On a more neutral note, there's a new TA message with a photobook sneak peek. I'll leave it up to pimenta as to whether it should be published here, the message itself barely says anything though and the image isn't all that much to describe except that it's a picture of Ayu.
For some reason, the photobook images aren't available in big HQ versions anymore, perhaps due to them being shared (or the increased fear that they will be shared)? Oh well, I'll be able to see HQ versions when I get my photobook anyways.

Just adding my personal opinion on the matter:

As a member of the FC, it's not so much the sharing that annoys me/that I think is unfair, it's people complaining about how they can't join for various reasons but still acting like someone else should be obligated to post TA messages. I've seen it many times on here, people saying "Oh, that's a lot of money, I can't afford it" but then they buy Ayu's latest Bluray release and photobooks or whatever. I mean, it's their choice what they purchase with their money, but don't complain that you don't have access to Team Ayu when you choose not to pay for it. And I'll repeat myself again: Joining is simple enough with tenso, so you have an option to be a member or not.

EDIT: Ayu-me, I totally LOVE your set. :love

I've never joined any fanclubs and I wish to stay that way because it's just not my thing. Even if they give a lot of extras there, I just don't feel like I'm that interested that I would join. It's my thoughts. And my choice. Besides, I wouldn't even go there every day so paying 50-75€ for a membership every year for a place I probably forget to go every day is just something I won't do. There are other things in my life that come first, and that's all. Not everyone puts Ayu at first place in their lives and it would be nice if some fans here would respect that, too. :)

And calling someone who doesn't join TA a bad fan is just bullshit. There are no bad fans. Everyone are fans and they shouldn't be classified in any way. It's just so stupid. I'm not going to join TA just because it makes me a bigger fan in other fans eyes. I just don't give a damn about how big of a Ayu fan I am in everyone's eyes. I don't think fanclubs even determine how big fan you are. It's what you think of the artists/bands/whatever you love the most. Being a part of a fanclub is just a part of the whole fandom, and not a factor of how big you are because you can be a big fan and not be a part of some really private fanclub. It's everyone's own choice and nobody should be able to tell you what to do. If you want to join a fanclub, you do that and if you don't, it's OK too. That's how I feel about it.

And now I'll go relax in the Kuu thread and work on my NaNoWriMo project♥ ->

honestly i myself am not able to spend money on my fandoms, even tho i'd love to. But then again i learned to live without that stuff, if people share i feel extreamelly lucky to be able to get that and extreamelly thankful for their choice, but hinestly i can live without all that stuff, i just get over it. There has been times when i did buy something, and i did share eventually, however I either have to be dying of wanting to get something or it has to be something very very very increadibly perfect in all aspect for me to pay the money i barelly have, so. aso i never ever in my fan life have complained about anything i cannot access.

Also i always try to look from bot sides, from those who can afford things and how they feel and those like me, and i understand perfecly fine, i always somehow respected people's will not to share things, but all this eltist stuff of "if u're not spending money on that u're not big of a fan enough" needs to STOP, cuz i'm gonna start saying that only those who went to ayu's concerts are REAL BIG fans because they spent all that money and took the effort to go there. It wouldn't be fair, now, would it? Because that would be like 1% if that at all of AHS. So, please, can all those who measure being a fan by amount of money you spend on the artist just quit this because it makes you sound like one hell of an asshole.

i'm not really interested with Ayu's love lifes, I just want music from her. that's important for me. If i'm not a fan, i wouldn't buy her original cds or dvds or even blu-rays. Just because i'm not a member of TA, doesn't mean i'm not a BIG fan.

If you're a fan, you would buy her CDs and not download her songs or PVs. I bought her CDs but also download 'em, since I want to keep 'em as mint as possible. :)

AHS is where i can get the news of her Music and understad her lyrics and other people opinions about her songs.

^^ artcika you just took the words out of my mouth xD
I myself like to think that i am also one ''BIG'' or "REAL" Ayu fan but i just recently started to collect her albums and since 2012 i have bought 5 albums + 1 single(MW) although I discovered her trough a friend (njanjayrp:-)) way back in 2004-2005 at that time I never had any chance to pay for her stuff even though i wanted it.
Almost 10 years later whenever my financial situation allows me i will GLADLY again pay money for Ayu's albums that i don't have up until now but it's a whole different situation at least for me to be able to attend her concerts.Maybe that one day i will, maybe never who knows. But even though i do not attend her concerts or feverously buys anything or everything related to Ayu i still think of myself as a genuine fan
Cheers

Thank you for this! Now that my membership is over they are posting in English. Life's unfair lol.

I think, it is a bit hard to say, you are not a big or real Ayu Fan, when you are not buying her stuff or join TA.
For me.. I don't have the money to buy her stuff, when it came out new. That's much to expensive for me.But.. I buy her older stuff on E-bay or where ever.. because it is cheaper. So I get her stuff.. but a bit later. But I also wanna listen to her new stuff.. so I'm really glad, people sharing their stuff.

Honestly, I always love to share stuff from my favourite artists so that others can enjoy it too and maybe also become fans.

Anyway, thanks for this thread!

I've found this thread really interesting to read!

I've joined a couple of fanclubs in the past - in fact it was one of the first things I did when I started my first full time job - but found them a bit pointless ultimately. The benefits were more for US customers and it was a bit of a waste of money.

I'm not a member of TA myself, it's never occurred to me to think about joining as I wouldn't see the point, but I'm not offended or bothered by anyone's opinions/the fan debate.

Although I gotta admit, I do enjoy reading the TA entries if there are music related or interesting...

...so I won't be interested in reading the latest one!

If Avex or Ayumi don't want fans to share this info, I do wonder why Ayumi posts on her Twitter "Hey there's new TA message". When I see her tweet about TA updates, I come here expecting to read it.

Shouldn't the only people who are aware of the TA updates be the TA members themselves, when they are accessing the TA website? You know, make it more exclusive? Why post this information out to the public? Unless it's for promotion for the fanclub, in which case I don't think it's working!

The TA updates have started to feel like they come from her own public blog as opposed to an exclusive website.

I think she didn't post the update msg herself but was done by her assistant who was handling and translating the TA blog. And by announcing it on twitter allows members to be aware of new messagers at the club. As I suppose that not all TA members logon to the fc eebsite everyday, just to see if there is new messages. I kinda like the new service provided =)

As a TA member, I think copy/paste from TA onto this forum goes against the TA's rule "本サイトの内容を営利、非営利を問わず無断で使用することを禁止します"

I also understand the fact that some fans cannot join. However, when a relatively major event happens, usually there is someone who will mention it in his own words.

Now, off topic, I am kinda curious who does the English translation now? Haha it's really nice and I can read both and try to improve my Japanese while doing so. (Hopefully) :D

this! plus in the end anything that's on there ends up in the news section, especially when it comes to music stuff or new releases (say a title of a song or things like that) because they release official news eventually talking of the same stuff. Also anything related to scandals or missunderstandings and stuff like that, people tend to post those or rephrase the entries in short with their own words, so i really don't see a big deal of not having them posted here entirelly.

^ I agree. Anything major gets paraphrases or addressed elsewhere. I don't need, or want, more than that.

I'd never join TA because I would never join a fanclub (I dislike the concept), but I also don't care about the TA magazines etc... probably because I never buy merchandise or anything outside of the music anyway. I'll buy the albums and a DVD here and there and considering the cost of that, I think I'm doing my part in being a 'real' fan.

I don't join TA. I just don't think it really make sense, especially with what's going on with Ayu over the past few years or so...

I'm a member of "Room Ayaka" fanclub (similar to TA), but I mainly subscribe it for her blogs, not concert tickets...but why would I pay $40-50?

I was interested with Sayuri Sugawara's "CHAO! CREW" mobile fanclub (not only exclusive blog but also goodies such as video and smartphone wallpapers!), but I got turned off because a JAPANESE phone is REQUIRED, not just any phone... :mad (If she didn't change her fanclub management company, m-up rather than e-talentbank, then I could've joined her fanclub with just a credit card...!)

What about if the several people who would like to be in TA but legitimately couldn't afford it all pooled in a few dollars together and got a joint TA account?

Contributing something and being a legitimate member of TA feels really good and by joining together the cost is possibly more manageable?

I strongly support a digital only option especially since there are now English translations included. I also feel a bit uneasy that they're posted in full whereas before they were posted purely as translation since English speaking fans couldn't understand it. The English translations appear to be Ayu's middle ground to stop them spreading beyond TA members because they couldn't read them and needed help - maybe she is really protective of TA's exclusivity? I dunno

Perhaps by banding together some of you might share an account and that way there won't be a debate over the necessity to share them on a forum such as this?

Does Misa still share TA blogs now they are in English? I don't believe she's issued a translation for a while now, but they could be found there in archive format but password protected so they didn't spread beyond her control.

Misa has changed her stance due to comments from fans.

She will be posting TA entries with the usual password BUT a month after the originals were posted.

Aah I think that's a good compromise. I know she was taking a poll on what people wanted her to focus on but I hadn't really followed her much lately due to work :)

Oh well, this discussion is still on going?
I've decided to no post the messages anymore, I still don't mind sharing and I still don't agree with all this need of exclusivity for the TA messages in a forum where having a download section for the media is ok, because for me it's all the same to share the media or to share the messages (my opinion, sorry if you don't agree with me, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree about that). But if sharing the messages is going to be this chaos all the time I better just stop doing it, here, or the twitter thread, or wherever...

If someone else feels like sharing them despite all this discussion, go ahead, the thread is still here. Many people were sharing the messages before in the twitter thread anyway, I just created a separate thread for that, anyone is free to post, I just won't do that anymore because apparently TA members care a lot about the exclusivity and even if I don't agree I'll respect their wish... But if no one else is going to post, then I guess the mods can just close this thread, but in this case the messages also shouldn't keep being posted in the twitter thread, because there is no point in closing this one if the messages keep being shared.

Anyway, sorry for those who can't join TA... But Misa-chan will keep posting her translations of the TA messages on her blog, so maybe those who really want to read can try asking her for the password? :)

A MONTH TO WAIT...oh well. At least it's better than nothing, but...

Thanks for your effort anyway, I really appreciated it! :yes

someone pretty please post the english TA entries! I can barely afford her music atm, let alone join a fan club!

There have not been any since last month.

Yeah seems she gave up on the English ones - that's really disappointing since she obviously has the staff capable of it, or should be able to post a little English herself >_<