While Ayu's sales aren't strong like before, she is in no way selling less than she was in terms of the current market. (miss)understood was one of the 10 highest selling albums of 2006, just like all of her other albums. Physical album sales are down, Ayumi's popularity might not be what it used to, but you all are making like she is over.
What I have noticed over the past year is that Avex isn't really into promoting Ayu as the used to. Sure, when 'Secret' came out there was the same promotion amount of promotion as for (m)u, but there isn't really anything big or exciting do draw in buyers... they are kind of just putting the product out there with a few billboards/banners and hoping for sales. With Koda, however, they keep coming up with interesting new sales concepts.
I think Ayu should do this to help sales:
1. Have a duet with either Hikki or Kumi (no joke). She could pen the song (if she duets with Hikki, they could co-write it) and I believe this would make Ayu look humble in the eyes of the public. Because both are her biggest rivals, it is like she is reaching out to them and shows she is able to work well with other performers. I imagine a ballad for the duet with a really emotional video and lots of promotion (every TV show, in-store promotion, suprise concerts with tickets given out via radio etc.)
2. Have a documentary TV show. Sort of "Life with Ayu". By doing this, it will show the public how Ayumi really is and show how she creates her music and the world she lives in. It will show people that she isn't stuck up or greedy, this reality show/documentary will give Japan an insight into her career and into the true Ayumi, beyond the "Ayu persona". I think if she did something like this it would have huge ratings and it would affect many people's interpretatin of Ayu.
3. She needs to scale down on her annual duties. She has to stop the album every year non-sense, it is trully the only way. I love having new stuff from Ayumi yearly, but she is over-saturating the market. Ayumi could take some time out to focus on her career on mainland Asia. Perhaps she can use the tour next year as her transition into over-seas business. Then, that will leave an oppurtunity for Ayumi to return to her Japanese work and her release most-likely will be highly anticipated.
Things Ayu shouldn't do:
1. Take a break - Ayumi shouldn't take a break from working, this would leave her further out-of-touch with the younger generation. If she left and then came back, she would be that much behind in trying to capture thier interest. She has to adapt to the changing times, re-invent, but keep her integrity. Her style and sound needs to mold in with the times, but be uniquely Ayu - in the way Madonna has adapted for the last 20 years.
2 - Continue to release yearly - This would be career suicide. All she would be doing is driving away more and more buyers, Ayu wouldn't be special she would just become that artist that is always releasing.
3 - A best album - While I'm certain a best album from Ayu could sell more than 1 million copies, it would be unwise as it would put her career after the best album in jeopardy. She has 6 albums worth of hits to put onto this collection, it would be a major seller, but this would set the bar for her releases after. It would be a big surge in interest for Ayu, but then many would be quick to nit-pick on her new material and compare it to all the old stuff.
... just my two cents. Sorry for the extremely long post
