[polka-dot-jewel]

Originally Posted by Aisha_Angel

Getting back to the point, IDK if Ayumi will come over to the US at all anytime in the near future. If I were her producer, I would advise against it because part of the main reason why BoA and Hikki...oh and lets not forget SE7EN, can't get the exposure they need is because of the STATE of the American music industry. Compared to Japan, we (the US) no longer have the television outlets for music anymore. If you wanna look at music videos on MTV, you'd have to wake up at 5/6 am, while on VH1 3 am-10am (I think) is the slot for their videos. BET is just a hot mess, FUSE mostly caters to rock music (not that it's not a good thing), and CMT is for country music.

Things have changed so much here that is difficult for a debuting artist that comes from this country to get a kick start. Sure promotion has to be a little more creative these days (Hell, Taylor Swift used her MySpace to generate her career). But it's nowhere near as simple as it used to be, nor does that same creativity guarantee the necessary exposure needed to sell. Look at how famous Shakira became after her US-debut, but look at the amount of exposure and video rotations she received from MTV and VH1. So far to my knowledge, she is the only foreign act in modern music to establish a successful career in the US with English as a second or third language.

Shakira used to be really, really famous here. Sure, people know her name, but she doesn't release quite as much stuff anymore, nor do I hear her music on the radio. Even though Enrique Iglesias was born in America, he mostly speaks Spanish, and his records, both in Spanish and English, are very popular here. Same with Ricky Martin (though he wasn't born in the USA).

And I agree about music on television. Our biggest music performing show, TRL, was canceled last year. Late-night talk shows usually have a performer each night, but obviously, those come on late at night. To see videos, most people either watch it on On Demand, somehow catch it on TV, or just watch just it on the internet. If Ayu were to come to America, she'd be better off with internet promotion, or even late night promotion. Of course, she COULD make an appearance on Good Morning America or the Today Show, as well.