[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