Amigo finds friend in Avex
Steve McClure / Special to The Daily Yomiuri
How many friends does Amigo still have? Ami Suzuki, known by the nickname Amigo, is trying to do something few if any J-pop stars have ever done: make a comeback after having been effectively blacklisted by the entertainment business.
Five years ago, Suzuki was a major J-pop star, having sold a total of 10 million singles and albums as of the end of 2000. But Suzuki was cast into the outer darkness when she and her parents (Suzuki was a minor at the time) had the audacity to sue her management company, Tokyo-based AG Communication, whose president had been convicted on tax evasion charges, in order to terminate what they saw as an unfavorable contract.
That simply isn't done in the non-litigious, paternalistic Japanese entertainment business. Not only was it bad form on Suzuki's part, it was also rather ill-advised in terms of her career prospects.
Suzuki's syndicated radio show was canceled. She lost her role in a national TV drama series. Her record producer, Tetsuya Komuro, distanced himself. Her commercial endorsements dried up. Her record label, Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), rushed out a greatest-hits package, Fun for Fan, as well as a compilation of her videoclips bearing the same name. Even her fan club was dissolved. Other production companies refused to sign her.
Amigo's fair-weather J-pop "friends" had deserted her. Commentators sourly noted that her chances for making a comeback were basically zilch, since there was no shortage of idol wannabes out there.
To her credit, Suzuki refused to give up. In April 2004 she made a first, tentative step toward a comeback by releasing a photo book titled Tsuyoi Kizuna (Strong Ties) with an accompanying CD through Tokyo-based publisher Bungei Shunju, as well as making a couple of TV appearances.
Last August, Suzuki released an album titled Forever Love on her own independent Amity label. The album reached No. 21 on Oricon's album chart and No. 1 on Oricon's independent-album chart. It looked like Amigo still had some friends out there.
What really helped Suzuki get her career back on track was a live performance last autumn at the annual school festival of her alma mater, Nihon University. Among the alumni attending the show was Masato "Max" Matsuura, president of Avex, Japan's biggest independent label.
"I first met Mr. Matsuura and other people from Avex in the fall of 2004, but they were very reassuring, and I was able to speak honestly with them so that all the doubts that had sprung up during my absence seemed to simply melt away," says Suzuki in a message to her fans on Avex's Web site. "From now on, I will use my judgment to carefully decide on each project, and will make music that I can be proud of. I'm sorry I caused such anxiety among my fans and others in the industry that supported me, but your support is what has enabled me to go on with confidence."
Avex announced on Dec. 30 that it had signed Suzuki, and on Jan. 1 the singer's new single, aptly titled "Hopeful," was released--but only in downloadable ring tone and ring tune versions for cellular phones.
"This is the first time Avex has released a single online (without a corresponding physical single)," says Avex A&R staffer Katsuhiko Sakurai.
Suzuki, who is also managed by Avex, will release her first, as yet-untitled physical single on Avex on March 24.
"Avex feels that because of her charm, there is a real chance for her to succeed in the future, although it's hard to make predictions," says Sakurai, adding that he cannot reveal details of Avex's contract with Suzuki.
This isn't the first time a Japanese label has tried an online-only release strategy. Sony did it last August with the catchily titled track "Sony Hi-MD Walkman CM Song" performed by Mika Nakashima. The song was used to advertise Sony's new recordable MD format.
Crucial to Avex's decision to sign Suzuki is that her legal troubles are now behind her. In July 2001, the Tokyo District Court ruled in Suzuki's favor in her dispute with AG Communication.
She reached an out-of-court settlement with Sony in November 2003 in a dispute over contract terms. Suzuki claimed that her contract with Sony had finished, while that company claimed that the contract was still valid. As a result of the settlement, Suzuki's contract with Sony finally ended in December 2004.
A key reason behind Suzuki's Avex-sponsored comeback attempt is Matsuura's victory over former Avex chairman and chief executive officer Tom Yoda in their battle for control of the company last summer. Crucial to Matsuura's ascendancy was the backing of big-name artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki, who was discovered and groomed as an artist by Matsuura. It looks like he will try to work his magic as a "hands-on" producer with Suzuki.
But that may be a tall order.
"Her chances of making a successful comeback are good, but not on the same level as before," says one industry source. "The very fact that she was nearly destroyed means that production-management companies are as powerful as ever. And this means that she won't be making many TV appearances, if at all."
Avex is "testing the waters" by releasing "Hopeful" in ring tone and ring tune versions, the source adds.
"Obviously this is a performance-based, no-advance deal where Avex has nothing to lose."
And one where Suzuki has everything to gain.
The fact that a leading record company like Avex has signed Suzuki shows that J-pop artists are starting to stand up for their rights in an industry that has historically treated them like disposable commodities to be thrown onto the scrap heap when they've outlived their usefulness.
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