[Editorial] Is avex Afraid Of Letting Ayumi Hamasaki Release Singles?

[chu-lips]

Ayumi Hamasaki is one of the
most prolific artists in Japan of all
time. After debuting in 1998 with
"Poker Face ", Ayu quickly became
a powerhouse in sales, topping
charts, breaking records and
slaying the competition. Times
have changed though, and Ayu no
longer sells the way she used to.
With the lack of singles she has
released in recent years, avex
seems to be afraid of letting the
singer lose her records, preferring
to preserve her pristine record on
paper rather than facing declining
sales head on.
During the start of Ayu's career,
there was always a constant flow of
new music from the singer. In
1999 and 2000, Ayu released 7
singles per year; however, the last
time Ayu has released a single was
2 years ago on September 29th
with "L ". During this span, Ayu has
released 2 albums, a compilation
album, a mini album and even
plans on releasing a new mini
album on November 8th.
Ayu currently holds the record for
most consecutive #1 hit singles (25
in a row). A new Ayu single means
risking breaking the streak,
something that avex seems
determined to prevent by breaking
tradition and releasing albums with
no prior single releases or sticking
new songs as part of a larger
package like they did with " You &
Me ". It's as though avex doesn't
believe Ayu can bring in sufficient
sales with her singles to be the
chart topping queen her image is
modeled to be.
"LOVE", the title of her new mini
album, has 12 tracks, but only 3 of
them are new. Ayu used to have
more new songs and total tracks
packed into 1 single than what is
being marketed as a mini album
today (remember the quadruple A-
side "A"?). After announcing her
new mini album yesterday, some
were left wondering why such a
release was being called a mini
album. The answer is simple: avex's
obsession with maintaining Ayu's
records.
Ayumi Hamasaki has had an album
top the Oricon charts every year
for the past 13 years; however,
both album releases this year
(" Party Queen" on March 21st and
"A Summer Best " on August 8th)
peaked at #2. In order for Ayu to
continue building upon her record,
a new album release had to be put
together before the end of the
year. And so "LOVE" became a mini
album rather than a return to the
hit-single producing machine Ayu
was formerly known as.
Maintaining long standing records
in and of itself isn't a bad thing. As
an Ayu fan for years and years, it
would be sad to see her unable to
build upon her records, further
cementing her place as the queen
of J-pop. But what's sadder than
seeing Ayu's sales streaks come to
an end is to see her company lose
faith in their most prolific artist.
In the upcoming months, Ayu has
committed herself to releasing 5
new releases over a 5 month
period. It is time for Ayu to go
back to her roots and deliver
stunning pop singles to listeners
once again. Fans will support her
efforts. Its time for avex to do the
same and let her be the artist we
all know she can be.


source: jpopasia

[Ayu-roBeat 13]

I don't know about everyone else, but I agree.

[truehappiness]

She said something about L being the last... something. It's likely she doesn't want to do singles anymore.

[ExodusUK]

The same thing with awards...they figured she wasn't going to win anymore as her era was over so instead of losing face they totally ignore and refuse nominations.

[TeamAyu2004]

^ thats not how it was... she no longer wanted to accept awards because she had won so many three years in a row

that is probably the most stupid article ever..

If they even bothered to look at whats being released around the same week as LOVE then they would know that ayumi doesnt have a change...
or the fact that ayumi has already stated this albums/releases are not meant for sales but for fans.

the single streak is the most ridiculous thing that fans have come up with. She doesnt want to release a single, it has nothing to do with selling power or not.
Also, the a-side was during a different time... the music industry in general has changed in the 10 years since ayumi's peak.

blah.. im tired of it.

[Jawdarna]

Yeah, I agree also.

I don't think LOVE is going to achieve #1 though.
Basically a month and two weeks before release, and yet, still no promotion.

[Delirium-Zer0]

It's being called a mini-album for two reasons.

1) 50 is a nice even number and Ayu probably thinks it might be nice to stop there, at least for awhile.

2) Calling it a mini-album means they can charge ten bucks more for it.

Seems pretty simple to me.

[emi♡]

Originally Posted by TeamAyu2004

^ thats not how it was... she no longer wanted to accept awards because she had won so many three years in a row

that is probably the most stupid article ever..

If they even bothered to look at whats being released around the same week as LOVE then they would know that ayumi doesnt have a change...
or the fact that ayumi has already stated this albums/releases are not meant for sales but for fans.

the single streak is the most ridiculous thing that fans have come up with. She doesnt want to release a single, it has nothing to do with selling power or not.
Also, the a-side was during a different time... the music industry in general has changed in the 10 years since ayumi's peak.

blah.. im tired of it.

It's not really THAT ridiculous

Singles are important in the Japanese industry.

I think it's perfectly logical for them not to want to release singles for her, because it sets her apart from other artists that have all gone the same way, and it keeps her relevant by being different from them and by trying things that not many other artists with her status have experimented with.

I think there's a lot of truth to the single streak idea, just because of that. imo it's not that they're scared she won't get number 1, it's just that, they know she won't. They know she won't bring in more sales. They know the route she will go on if she follows the traditional order of things.

I'm sure Ayu is aware of all of these things. Personally, I think it just works out best for everyone.

But who knows...they might just let her do whatever, and maybe she'll release singles again when she wants to hype another album. And most likely, they'll each be less successful than their predecessors. And that's just how it'll go.


And yeah, that article is stupid and was written by...someone who doesn't really understand what they're talking about.

[polka-dot-jewel]

Of course not releasing physical singles is mostly, if not all Ayu's, decision, but I wouldn't be surprised if Avex actually supported her on that. Perhaps their thinking on that is, "Yeah... Don't release any singles! Then your streak won't break!" It's a win/win for both Ayu and Avex, really. (Maybe not money-wise, but Ayu doesn't care about sales and she's brought in a ton of sales, stock, etc to Avex over the past 14.5 years)

Of course I still think the tracklisting for mini-album is a bit odd, but oh well. It's Ayu's decision in the end, and I just gotta support it lol

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

It's being called a mini-album for two reasons.

1) 50 is a nice even number and Ayu probably thinks it might be nice to stop there, at least for awhile.

2) Calling it a mini-album means they can charge ten bucks more for it.

Seems pretty simple to me.

And they still get another chance to hit #1 on ORICON, so yeah.

[Delirium-Zer0]

Chart placement doesn't matter NEARLY as much to avex as it does to Ayu, and if Ayu doesn't care, then neither will avex. And the fans put WAY too much stock in chart placement. It's not like anyone gets extra money for chart placement. That's just an achievement, bragging rights, things fans can say to fans of rival acts to prove their artist is the best. A trophy for Ayu to put on her wall. That's it.

Charts. Don't. Matter.

Avex wants the money. If ayu's not moving as many units, they have to charge more. If they wanna charge more, they have to call it a mini-album.

[TeamAyu2004]

^ thank you.
charts dont matter.
its a fan obsession really.

and emi, I was talking about fans saying she is scared to release a single because it wil ruin her streak..

It wont... she will still have it, she will just no longer be able to extend it... chances are she will keep that record for a very very long time.

[Jawdarna]

I think it's also important to remember that fifty singles really is no easy feat.
Maybe she always planned to stop there?
She's proven herself.

Also, maybe everybody is getting their knickers in a knot for no reason, and Ayu has just been having a 2 year break from singles?
I mean, I see a lot of fans complaining about her needing a break.
She might want to focus more on touring.
Considering that singles take a lot of time in a way; photoshoots, promotion (TV Lives/magazines), remixes, etc.

[Delirium-Zer0]

TeamAyu2004 gets high-fives from me!

It is quite a record. She's in the history books forever now regardless - even though she beat other artists, those artists are legends forever too, just as Ayu will be. All Charts do, the only thing they do that matters, is help cement a place in history for the most popular artists. Well, done and done!. Extension of the streak would NOT help that at this point. At this point, Avex's only priority vis a vis CD sales is to keep her profitable. That means charging more. And people these days are NOT used to singles being this long, so not many fans will complain about the mini-album status (and by complain I mean "not buy," which is the only complaining avex will notice. I don't mean whining on the internet about it.)

I mean how many of you can honestly say they won't buy this album SOLELY because it's called a mini-album and not a single? Really? Probably not a single one of you. Your non-purchase would have more to do with the covers, extras or lack thereof, inclusion of You & Me... not because it's $10 more to buy it.

Avex knows they CAN charge more, so they do. It's a business.

And Avex gets their money from the CD releases. If you wanna support Ayu and not Avex, buy merchandise, buy the nail book, fly to Japan for concerts. That's where Ayu's money comes from.

Avex aren't greedy unreasonable money-grubbers as long as you guys keep buying what appeals to you. They're doing the sensible business move - keeping ayu profitable by marketing the mini-album a certain way. And unless this marketing move STOPS YOU from buying it, then they're doing the right thing to keep their business operating smoothly.

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Chart placement doesn't matter NEARLY as much to avex as it does to Ayu, and if Ayu doesn't care, then neither will avex. And the fans put WAY too much stock in chart placement. It's not like anyone gets extra money for chart placement. That's just an achievement, bragging rights, things fans can say to fans of rival acts to prove their artist is the best. A trophy for Ayu to put on her wall. That's it.

Charts. Don't. Matter.

Avex wants the money. If ayu's not moving as many units, they have to charge more. If they wanna charge more, they have to call it a mini-album.

That's all true. But still, being in the charts means that you are relevant and actually selling, it puts you out there for people to know that you are doing well and might get them to buy your album, single, etc.

And I wish it was just a fan obsession, but it seems to be an AVEX obsession too.


Personally I'm not worried about chart positions btw.

[Delirium-Zer0]

I will agree that avex manipulated Ayu's release dates for awhile to ensure that she had little competition. This went on for several years. But I also think, after seeing Party Queen's sales, that they know that trick isn't gonna work anymore and it's probably time to give up.

Ayu ISN'T relevant enough anymore and that's the reality of the situation. A mini-album marketed specifically to fans would move more units than a single marketed to the general public at this point.

The other thing is that those streaks are only useful to avex because they put Ayu in the news headlines. No newspaper is gonna say "oh, ayu broke her own record again" at this point because of her relative irrelevance at this stage, and the fact that it's not exactly news because it's happened so many times already.

The likelihood of anyone - avex, ayu, newspapers & magazines, news sites, whoever - benefiting financially from Ayu getting another #1 is very, very low, and to avex, it's just not worth the sacrifice of $10 per unit to try and make happen.

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

Yeah I totally agree.

Although I'm not too sure how this mini will turn out. I think this new mini will sell as much as a regular single, which is low for a mini. The content is just not that worth it so far, keeping in mind just the quantity and not the quality of it all. Gotta wait and see if both pvs are amazing, and if the 3 new songs are mind-blowing.

[Delicious n Bold]

The whole article is a tl:dr DUH; All I care about is song quality. A no1 would be nice, but you know.
But that ballad on the mini album better slay. Otherwise I'll melt.

[TeamAyu2004]

If anything, I think party queen shows just how well ayumi still sells.

I mean look at party queen.
No singles, very little promotional stuff, (did it even get a CM?), and no lives...
and yet it still broke over 100K just because of who the artist is.

same with A Summer Best...
that had even less going for it, and yet still sold over 100K..

it shows that avex doesnt care about it or they would of moved party queen away from another one of their proprieties and A Summer best to a different week.

And I think with ayumi's 5 month of releases on the 8th also shows just how much she doesnt care about sales...

[Delicious n Bold]

^ nelly furtado thought her new album would sell with her name only/no promotion. She flopped with less than 7K sales in the USA.
But that's a different story.
Ayu can still rake in the cash... For now.