Why I think Ayumi's sales have fallen...

I will say this... I'm excited for Rock'n'Roll Circus. I truly love Ayumi, whether she sells Million or sells Gold. But while listening to Rock'n'Roll Circus, I stumbled on what I think is the reason that Ayumi's sales have fallen.

We all know that high sales are not impossible. Namie Amuro did it in 2008 with BEST FICTION, and again with PAST<FUTURE in December. But we can truly see why Namie is back in the limelight: her songs are not Americanized.

Remember back when every track on an Ayu album could easily be a Million-seller, even without ANY other tracks on the album? How many of you were around when Ayumi fans wouldn't shut up and stop singing "Real me" or "Duty" everywhere?

Now, it seems like we clap our hands and scream for a new Ayumi album only to be disappointed. We did it with GUILTY. We did it a lot with NEXT LEVEL. We're going to do it again with Rock'n'Roll Circus. A lot of people are really excited for this album—some of the trademark Ayu has come back. Unfortunately, the new songs are just as bad as the ones on NEXT LEVEL.

Where did the 30-45 second intros go? What happened to the beautiful intros like the ones in Over, GAME, and evolution? Look back at songs like Whatever, Dearest, A Song is born, and UNITE!... They were long... over 5 minutes, and when it was over it felt like it wasn't long enough!

Remember when it didn't feel like half the album tracks were interludes? "I am..." had two interludes on it, "Loveppears" had two... Duty had one. Remember tasking, taskinillusion, taskinst, taskinlude...?

The album tracks are now made up of Americanized versions of what would be great Ayu songs. I realized this when I heard Last Links, meaning of Love, count down, Lady Dynamite, RED LINE, and all the interludes on Rock'n'Roll Circus. All of them are missing the intros, the broad production, and the length to be true Ayu classics.

It seemed like she got tired of writing stories and began writing songs... Every Ayu song was a story 8 years ago.

So, my theory here is that Ayumi's albums are no longer selling well because her songs are too Americanized nowadays. I think the best evidence of this are her singles:

Her most recent Americanized sounding singles are: Startin'/Born To Be..., talkin' 2 myself, Rule/Sparkle, and Sunrise/Sunset... they are also her lowest selling singles of the last few years. They have little or no intro, no real length or broad body of production, or have boring lyrics.

Her highest selling singles are: Blue Bird, Glitter/Fated, Mirrorcle World, and Days/GREEN. The only song without a long intro was Blue Bird, the only song around 4 minutes was Blue Bird, and all of the tracks had massive production that didn't sound flat or spaced out. There were REAL investments into these singles and the PVs that came with them.

Her albums show it too:

2006's Secret had mostly 4 minute songs. More short, no intro tracks, and more interludes than (miss)understood. It sold over 300,000 copies less than (miss)understood. That's one whole Platinum certification lower.

2008's GUILTY became Ayumi's first album to not reach #1. It was plagued by 4 interludes, lots of songs without or with really short intros, and too simple lyrics. The only true success for Ayu with GUILTY was Mirrorcle World. It sold over 100,000 copies less than Secret, but was not too bad of a drop.

2009's NEXT LEVEL has to be Ayu's least Ayumi work. I think the fact that only 2 threads were made for it in the Ayu Music News forum shows how bad this one ultimately was. Only three songs had Ayu trademarks: GREEN, Days, and rollin'. All of those had good intros, were of good length, and had broad production. NEXT LEVEL debuted with sales of 250,000 copies... Ayumi's worst debut sales EVER for an album. And only sold 350,000 copies... that's barely 1 Platinum certification. Even though it has 2X platinum.

2010's Rock'n'Roll Circus will be bad too. All songs except the horrid Last Links, meaning of Love, Lady Dynamite, You were..., have good intros. But none of them, except the single songs have good length. "count down" is a close exception. Almost every song feels hollow. Like they are all missing half of the instruments. And I never, in my entire life, thought I would hear as poor production on an Ayu track as Last Links, meaning of Love, and RED LINE. I thought "curtain call" was bad... Those songs sound cheesy, cookie-cutter, and cheap. The lyrics are plain and boring... there's no life to them. I'm glad to hear something done differently with the interludes, but did she hire a five year old to do THE introduction? montage sounds like any other ripoff of Beethoven. Jump!

I'm sorry if I sound very cruel, but this is poor. She is the highest selling female artist in Japan. She has more #1 singles than anybody. She hasn't NOT had a #1 since 2002. And in the last two years, I'm concerned that she would have lost that #1 streak had Avex not carefully planned the releases of her singles. She lost the album streak, and we all cried... because there is no reason why an Ayumi album should be anything but #1... unless she's not being Ayumi Hamasaki.

We just saw the aftermath of not being true to who you are as an artist. BoA's Identity TANKED... it tanked so bad that she was immediately moved back to the Korea market.

I hope that Ayu will not let her music continue spiraling out of control like this. It makes me upset to see this because I know that her hearing is only worsening. I know that any album or single could be her last at this point. I just want her to go out like she came in... I want to see the philosophy behind "I am..." and "Duty" and "RAINBOW" and "MY STORY" come back.

I know her sales have been amazing in Asia, but she is the Empress of J-Pop... not some United Nations Ambassador.

Please share your thoughts though.

ごめんなさい　ＦＯＲ　ＲＡＮＴＩＮＧ!

Please share your thoughts.

[Zeke.]

Very good points I believe. I really do miss the length in tracks. Longer J-Pop tracks rock my world. And they never seem too long to me. The last song to really BLOW ME OUT OF THE WATER from Ayu was Days. I completely fell in love with that song. It's a song that WOULD NEVER fair in the U.S. market, but it really made me think "See, Ayu still has it!" I like most of her songs, I'd even say I love them... but I want more J-Pop tracks. Although I do think that Talkin' 2 Myself had that Ayu factor to it as well. But I find myself more and more, especially with this year, anticipating the new single(s) and when they are released, I tire of them much faster than I used to. It's like "oh ok. well I'll wait for the next release I guess." To me, I find myself hoping for more new songs on albums as they are released so if there are 5 tracks that to me seem dull, at least there are 6 new ones that I like. There's more room for failure then.

[love in music]

"But we can truly see why Namie is back in the limelight: her songs are not Americanized."

You lost me there. The reason I don't like a lot of Namie's new music is because it's wayy too americanized. I still don't think ayu's music is very americanized at all, and that's why I love it.

[Cherry Dynamite]

^ I agree you lost me there too...

What exactly isn't Americanized? If Namie isn't Americanized then Ayu must have her own country :O

I get your point but why does long intros before the songs make it sell better?

I think she's selling fairly low for a lot of reason first the economy, second she's losing popularity, boy bands are taking the sales but their sales isn't even as high as 2001-sh sales.

[nanakopy87]

hmm,do i agree that her songs are shorter now.but i don't think this one of the reason her sales isn't that good anymore.if we see the songs few years back,most of the singers/band songs are 5 minute length. nowadays,most of the songs are quite standard,3-4 minutes.

[Andrenekoi]

so... the queen of hip-pop songs are not americanized?
I feel i'm in Twilight zone again xDDD

[freedreamer]

^LOL yea! Namie's songs are Not americanized??? Koda Kumi's making MORE Jpop these days than ever back in her Black Cherry days and yet she has fallen in terms of sales too.

While it's true that Ayu's style has become more americanized, but we saw hints of falling sales (the more obvious case) in forgiveness. Then again in B&D/Pride. And I really don't get why Sunrise is AMERICANIZED...The tune is VERY JPOP...same with You were...
And BLUE BIRD's PV was definietly no high budget. If anything fairyland deserved more sales for being a POP song AND having a extremely high budget PV.

MW is an anomaly because of her 10th Anniversary. Even I felt like buying single (and I don't usually buy singles).

If anything, I'd say Japanese are not into the Rock style Ayu is going for. Japanese definitely have a ear for Jpop radio-friendly tunes like BLUE BIRD and Days. But then again, songs like Memorial Address, Because of You are still very famous Ayu classics already and MA isnt even 4 mins long. Yet the THING that makes people love them is the intensity and LYRICS. And i think in GUILTY and R'n'RC, Ayu has written in a very personal manner, esp the latter.

Personally, track lengths don't ever bother me. Sure she could give you a piece for 1 min long intro like in MW to fill up that 1 min gap but I find it so pointless.
and rollin' is definitely Not an Ayu trademark. Even Rule for me, has that classic Ayu thing in it. RED LINE is definitely JPOP. For me, even her songs like Naturally, still alone, RAINBOW, everywhere nowhere..ARE THESE typical JPOP? I don't hear Duty-esque songs everywhere too. The thing is, I think Ayu have always had a unique sense of music going on. Even ASFXX is something I probably won't find in an ARASHI discography.

R'n'RC does have a philosophy going on too. (As waterballoon have interpreted in another thread) Of course, it's up to how you see it and stuff. But Like I have said before, why do fans only put themselves in the shoes of a listener and judge song LENGTH, song MELODY. Bet you'll never understand how Ayu feels while creating and writing the song itself.

Yup, thats all.

(can't believe that was your FIRST post since joining)

[emi♡]

imo Ayu is being held back by the sales because the culture in Japan just isn't really open to the way she's changed.

Apparently, she's been losing popularity since Duty...in Japan anyway.

Honestly, Namie Amuro has high sales because she hasnt had a studio album in forever, AND she's quite popular in other ways, fashion, and image-wise, etc. And imo, Namie's high sales wont last that long.

Female Solos...especially ones that so their own thing, are just not the it thing anymore. That's just how it is. imo, it is impossible for her to have million sales again.


But also...you know, people here at AHS are kinda....blinded a little bit...thinking that an album selling just 300k sucks. A lot of people here have no idea what it's like to follow artists that are never in the top ten, or the top five, and for the vast majority of artists in Japan, that is their reality.

Having an album sell 300k copies in Japan is great. GREAT. I only wish half of the artists I love sold that "badly".

Ayu IS the Empress of J-pop. There are still no other artists in Japan that come close to her status and prestige, and regardless of her sales, that will never change.

[truehappiness]

But also...you know, people here at AHS are kinda....blinded a little bit...thinking that an album selling just 300k sucks. A lot of people here have no idea what it's like to follow artists that are never in the top ten, or the top five, and for the vast majority of artists in Japan, that is their reality.

That's because they were spoiled by the age of million sellers being the norm.

Nowadays, anything from 300-500k is hard to approach for most artists. Even HUGE artists like Namie aren't even at 600k right now. It's a bit sad, but why should sales really matter all that much anyway? (concerning Ayu)

People act like getting #2 or #3 is the end of the world, when plenty of artists would KILL to rank in the top 3. Artists would LOVE to sell 100k+ with a single when they're only selling 11k total. Heck, Ayu was even the highest selling digital female soloist for chaku uta last year!

It sometimes makes me wonder if people realize what a bunch of bull it is when they try pointing out just how "unpopular" she is.

[freedreamer]

^well yea that's true. Poor Hitomi Shimatani.

Even some artistes that create JPOP songs which may be over 5mins (which really isn't the trend now anyways) don't sell as well. GReeeeN who has a rock song sell great though. I believe All idols have a peak. Ayu's peak was there and now she's become an artiste that deserves RESPECT more than sales.

[Tom Punks]

Hmm... I agree with some of the original post but not all of it. I do think that her songs nowadays have lost a lot of their... grandeur? And I do miss the amazing intros they used to have. But making the songs longer is definitely not going to solve the problem. One thing I love about the non-single songs on R'n'RC is that they're not too long. They're pretty much all perfect length (except meaning of Love which is still too long).

So yeah, the problem with Ayu's falling sales is definitely not that her songs are too short or missing amazing intros. O__o It's just not normal for artists to sell 1,000,000+ anymore and Ayu's been around for well over 10 years now. She can't be on top forever.

[Andrenekoi]

Why are Ayu sales are falling?

- Cuz sales in general are falling
- Cuz she is an old act now
- Cuz her peak has ended
- Cuz most of her fanbase is over 25, and huge sellers apeal to teenagers, not adults

And sorry, but concerning mainstream jpop, Ayu is by far the one with the most japanese music...

[zellyx]

Another reason her sales are falling is because not many people buy physical CD copies... :/
Also, I'm an American, and I can see how Koda & Namie ARE Americanized....
And because she's a woman, she doesn't have the huge fangirl fanbase, like DBSK/TVXQ/Tohonshinki does or Arashi. I think Ayu has changed a lot, and become more daring, bold, etc... and it's not sitting as well with the Japanese as, say... Arashi, who they like for his moral character, and girls love him for his looks.

[Bad Wolf]

"Unfortunately, the new songs are just as bad as the ones on NEXT LEVEL."

And here's where I stop take everything you say seriously.

Sorry :/

[happiholic★]

First off, the first post is kinda weird because this person joined in 2009 and this is their first post and also at the end it seemed like this was copied and pasted from somewhere, but anyway... Cherry Dynamite basically took the words right out of my mouth:

Originally Posted by Cherry Dynamite

^ I agree you lost me there too...

What exactly isn't Americanized? If Namie isn't Americanized then Ayu must have her own country :O

I get your point but why does long intros before the songs make it sell better?

I think she's selling fairly low for a lot of reason first the economy, second she's losing popularity, boy bands are taking the sales but their sales isn't even as high as 2001-sh sales.

I agree with every point here. The fact is that Ayu has hit her peak, just like Madonna has. It doesn't make them any less epic, but their time of being the "it girl" is out.

Originally Posted by emiko

But also...you know, people here at AHS are kinda....blinded a little bit...thinking that an album selling just 300k sucks. A lot of people here have no idea what it's like to follow artists that are never in the top ten, or the top five, and for the vast majority of artists in Japan, that is their reality.

Having an album sell 300k copies in Japan is great. GREAT. I only wish half of the artists I love sold that "badly".

Ayu IS the Empress of J-pop. There are still no other artists in Japan that come close to her status and prestige, and regardless of her sales, that will never change.

I agree. I wish so badly that sifow had "only" sold 300k copies of her last album. Maybe then she would still be making music. And I'm sure Hiromi would be more than pleased to have "only" sold even 100K of one of her albums.

[rainydayumi]

thats just your opinion.. i think youre not considering the drop in music sales.. this shouldnt be a thread. you could have posted it in an album discussion thread.

[SunshineSlayer]

I think you have some good points and yes Ayu would indeed have lost her single streak a couple of years ago most likely. But some of your points about Americanization I think are far off. But I am staying far away from this thread....

[Bad Wolf]

^^^ Took the words right out of MY mouth (poor sifow ;~; )

I really do think people are spoiled by high sales, and I will NEVER understand why only Japanese music lovers put such a high emphasis on it. Nobody I know here in a America gives a **** about sales unless it's REALLY BAD -- like a total flop of less than a thousand, haha. Why, then, do people who love Japanese music OBSESS over how much a damn single or album sells? Who the hell cares, really? It's not like sales are any indication of talent, artistic integrity, or worth (let's all just take a good look at who dominates the charts time and again [coughboygroupscough] and REALLLY ask ourselves whether they're artists or just products with pretty voices [and faces~]).

I don't know why I'm wasting the time to post this, though, considering this person's probably a troll, copypasta'd this post from somewhere else, and is really obviously flamebaiting us all @_@

... The only good thing about this post I just made was that it made me an I am... Initiate

[KarenPang]

is it bad that I laughed at this post which was made ?

really , I can't understand why some people would place so much emphasis on sales >_> . Physical CD sales are dropping as each year goes by & nowadays , it's very hard for solo artistes to sell well as compared to 10 years ago

To me I don't care if ayumi sells 1 million or 10,000 copies of her material . I still think that she's great at what she has been doing since debuting on the scene 12 years ago

can you find me another FEMALE SOLO artiste who still has this long lasting power in the jpop scene & in the process , left her mark on numerous stuff be it on the musical & non musical aspect of things

the fact that she's still able to clear 100K & above for her singles & to sell decently well for her albums , it's alright & some people on here already long ago accepted that this few figures are the new 1/2 million / million figures

but obviously other people have crazy whack expectations & always expect way too much of her

really they need to get a reality rain check >_>

"Unfortunately, the new songs are just as bad as the ones on NEXT LEVEL."

I laughed at this too

are you sure ? I think the album tracks on Rock'n'Roll Circus are better than NEXT LEVEL's

at least they weren't so over experimental/over the top

[rainydayumi]

he only has made 1 post in the forum.. attention seeker.