"RMX WORKS was a specialized banner for ayu remix albums"

[abcabc]

RMX WORKS was a specialized banner for ayu remix albums used for all three of the September 25, 2003 releases. Presumably concocted as a way to breathe new life into existing remix franchises and boost sales, it is seen in hindsight as a failure to these ends - no new remix albums (in the traditional sense) were produced for ayu after this date.


I read this from http://www.ayu-mi-x.com/modules.php?...howpage&pid=79


I'm not well versed in her release history... could anyone informed shed light for me as to why it has been seen as a failure?

i think the mixes are good and unique.

a shame there haven't been new remix albums.

[Piccolo]

Remixes don't sell as well as originals. Plain and simple. It cost money to make remixes, and the returns aren't so great. Even with singles they have cut out the remixes cause they just aren't worth it anymore.

[the angel song]

It's not the fact that people thought they were bad remixes or not, it's just that the remixing industry as a whole in Japan wasn't the hottest trend anymore so it was scrapped (like not loading ayu's singles with ++++ remixes because it wasn't helping to boost sales). This is just from what I've observed over the past 5 or so years.

TVXQ just released a remix album, and the Spice Girls are releasing a remix side to their greatest hits. It would be cool to see the trend pick back up, although I'm not holding out for it.

[Halla]

this has been discussed several times here, my own theory is that Ayu herself doesn't like the remixes and put a stop to them.

the sales/costs of producing a remix album aren't relevant here, we're talking about Ayu after all. a remix album by her will sell more than the average album on Avex , even if the sales are low by Ayu standards. and it is cheaper than producing a new normal album. only a dj is required to make a remix , not a team of people + tons of studio time like on any "normal" song.
and hiring even internationally famous Dj's is very affordable for Avex, since they did that for Ami Suzuki for her remix album just recently...

[bondingo]

Originally Posted by Halla

this has been discussed several times here, my own theory is that Ayu herself doesn't like the remixes and put a stop to them.

the sales/costs of producing a remix album aren't relevant here, we're talking about Ayu after all. a remix album by her will sell more than the average album on Avex , even if the sales are low by Ayu standards. and it is cheaper than producing a new normal album. only a dj is required to make a remix , not a team of people + tons of studio time like on any "normal" song.
and hiring even internationally famous Dj's is very affordable for Avex, since they did that for Ami Suzuki for her remix album just recently...

Really, no one could have put my thoughts into better words.

As such, I personally wish she would continue to release remix albums and buff her singles to 10 tracks, with a bunch being remixes. I bought plenty of her old singles for that very reason (I was lucky enough to find all the rereleased ASfXX singles new in Tokyo music stores), so I ended up buying them because I honestly felt like I was paying a measly (in terms of Japanese CD costs) 1000 Yen for an entire album considering all the tracks they had. If she continually did this, I would be purchasing any single that was a song I love, as opposed to waiting for the album and just getting the same songs I already own. Having a single remix and instrumentals is not enough to warrant my purchase.

[extepan]

here are the sales figures for the remix albums:


ayu-mi-x 03/99 388,000
SUPER EUROBEAT presents ayu-ro mix 02/00 650,000
ayu-mi-x II version US+EU 03/00 230,000
ayu-mi-x II version Acoustic Orchestra 03/00 200,750
ayu-mi-x II version JPN 03/00 162,990
ayu-mi-x II version Non-Stop Mega Mix 03/00 505,410
ayu-mi-x III Non-Stop Mega Mix Version 02/01 314,040
ayu-mi-x III Acoustic Orchestra Version 02/01 183,760
Cyber TRANCE presents ayu trance 09/01 302,000
SUPER EUROBEAT presents ayu-ro mix 2 09/01 445,760
ayu-mi-x 4 + selection Non-Stop Mega Mix Version 03/02 160,000
ayu-mi-x 4 + selection Acoustic Orchestra Version 03/02 96,160
Cyber TRANCE presents ayu trance 2 09/02 240,000
Rmx works ayu-ro mix 3 09/03 66,000
Rmx works ayu-mi-x V Non-Stop Mega Mix Version 09/04 44,000
Rmx works cyber trance 3 09/03 56,000

as you can see, RMX WORKS sold very poorly compared to the other releases. that's why they got stopped.

[Halla]

^ IMO it's not that simple. it's still selling 150 000 combined with 3 oricon top20 albums with barely any promotion. and those remix albums aren't that expensive to produce, RMX is mostly done with Avex's own DJs.

the Super Eurobeat team makes several Super Eurobeat volumes per year with the sales od couple of thousand per album, compare that to selling 65,000 with the third Ayu-ro MiX.

Ayu-Trance spawned a series of singles in Europe too, including album cuts from Ayu-Trance 3.

Ayu-Mi-X was a really cheap move (Avex's own DJ Dub alone remixed like third of the album lol) and still it sold 44 000 , which is a lot.

[*Petit*]

^
I agree with Halla. Ami Suzuki released an AWESOME remix album that sold nada. I think it's about appeal and image. The club image is something ayu wanted to distance herself from venturing into a more mature image. She DID release a remix album after RMX works, that album is called MY STORY Classical. It's a little different from her earlier remix albums both in content and name/image, but the concept is essentially the same. Classical music does however appeal to a different group of people. IN this case the sales argument does not hold up either as the classical remix albums were the ones selling the least.

[abcabc]

hmmm very interesting, thanks for your replies. wasn't ayu replying to a fan questionaire this year? this is something i would have submitted had i noticed at the time... whats up with the remixes, was it her decision or made for her, or neither with regards to distancing herself from a club image. wouldn't the club scene be the trendiest, and continually feed the upcoming fanbase for her.

Originally Posted by extepan

here are the sales figures for the remix albums:


ayu-mi-x 03/99 388,000
SUPER EUROBEAT presents ayu-ro mix 02/00 650,000
ayu-mi-x II version US+EU 03/00 230,000
ayu-mi-x II version Acoustic Orchestra 03/00 200,750
ayu-mi-x II version JPN 03/00 162,990
ayu-mi-x II version Non-Stop Mega Mix 03/00 505,410
ayu-mi-x III Non-Stop Mega Mix Version 02/01 314,040
ayu-mi-x III Acoustic Orchestra Version 02/01 183,760
Cyber TRANCE presents ayu trance 09/01 302,000
SUPER EUROBEAT presents ayu-ro mix 2 09/01 445,760
ayu-mi-x 4 + selection Non-Stop Mega Mix Version 03/02 160,000
ayu-mi-x 4 + selection Acoustic Orchestra Version 03/02 96,160
Cyber TRANCE presents ayu trance 2 09/02 240,000
Rmx works ayu-ro mix 3 09/03 66,000
Rmx works ayu-mi-x V Non-Stop Mega Mix Version 09/04 44,000
Rmx works cyber trance 3 09/03 56,000

as you can see, RMX WORKS sold very poorly compared to the other releases. that's why they got stopped.

thanks for putting up these stats, didnt know they existed... so if this shows how poorly the RMX stuff sold and thus the reason for no more RMX, what explains everything else though. i didnt realize also this topic or remixes had been discussed here previously. before I posted I ran a search and was surprised there wasn't anything, i just didnt query well.

Originally Posted by bondingo

Really, no one could have put my thoughts into better words.

As such, I personally wish she would continue to release remix albums and buff her singles to 10 tracks, with a bunch being remixes. I bought plenty of her old singles for that very reason (I was lucky enough to find all the rereleased ASfXX singles new in Tokyo music stores), so I ended up buying them because I honestly felt like I was paying a measly (in terms of Japanese CD costs) 1000 Yen for an entire album considering all the tracks they had. If she continually did this, I would be purchasing any single that was a song I love, as opposed to waiting for the album and just getting the same songs I already own. Having a single remix and instrumentals is not enough to warrant my purchase.

re-released ASF ? singles? which are these, i'm a bit newbie... how recently were these purchases, i'm going in Nov.

Originally Posted by the angel song

It's not the fact that people thought they were bad remixes or not, it's just that the remixing industry as a whole in Japan wasn't the hottest trend anymore so it was scrapped (like not loading ayu's singles with ++++ remixes because it wasn't helping to boost sales). This is just from what I've observed over the past 5 or so years.

interesting... was there anything that took its place if it was no longer the trend? what a shame, i thought one thing, the trance mixes allowed her popularity to extend outside of Japan.

[bondingo]

Originally Posted by abcabc

re-released ASF ? singles? which are these, i'm a bit newbie... how recently were these purchases, i'm going in Nov.

ASfXX is A Song for XX, Ayu's first album (under avex at least). By singles from it, I mean like YOU, poker face, Trust, etc. They rereleased the original singles (which were on smaller sized discs) as larger, normal sized CDs with more tracks. I found those singles in Japanese stores when I went to Tokyo this past summer (so about 6 months ago). If you know the kanji for Ayu's name, and know the alphabetical sorting system they use there, it should be easy to find her name, especially since the number of CDs they usually carry by Ayu are many.

I recommend buying used CDs and singles if you want to save money though. For example, a new copy of Ayu's CD Duty would cost around 3000 Yen (about $26) new, but used it would probably be around 500 (apprx. $4.20). Her older, more rare singles are actually more likely to be found new though. I searched far and wide to find them used, but the only one I found of the rereleases was Depend on you. So the rest I bought new, with the exception of For My Dear... which I despise.