Thoughts about Ayumi's Marketing Strategy

[Kikaru]

^Exactly. I don't think Ayu's fashion is less followable, I think it's because the general aim of her fashion sense has gone up the age scale. They're more...professional, like something a normal woman in her late twenties and thirties can wear. And I think certain aspects do change because of her age -- for example, her nails are not that wild now compared to 2001.

I agree with what's said above is that Ayu and Hikki were never marketed in the same area. I always thought Ayu's career is an idol's career at heart, and most of them don't last more than three to four years.

While I agree that certain songs of hers don't seem as catchy, like blue bird/beautiful fighters/fairyland, I love the rock from her guilty/secret album like Marionette and Kiss o' Kill that has the orchestral instruments and stuff. Yes, I do agree that certain arrangers should be brought back. But I guess in a way repetition's in every artist's career (Like for example, I really think most of Otsuka Ai's upbeat songs sound the same -- sakuranbo/smily/happy days/friengers)

For her tours, I guess I can get the reason why countdown live have certain specific songs, but her Arenas tend to vary. I actually think (from personal experience with friends in theater) that the sets tend to be the same because of budget, but I could be wrong.

[KarenPang]

all I can say that ayumi has def come a long way since her debut . Everyone should look like at everything that she has accomplished from this point onwards & what impact she has left in the industry . To find another successor to her to the throne , it's gonna be a difficult task to accomplish .

[ayu_fan929]

I don't really think PVs are a factor. From what I heard, aren't they mainly shown on cable TV which not many Japanese have in the first place? While they might be broadcasted in stores and what not, I don't think the average consumer would pay attention.

[tinka69]

take over the world and make lots of money

[sitara]

ImpactBreaker: "About wings and roads to follow [950 notes]"


omg LOL!! XD i absolutely agree with you. if i hear that one more time, i swear....
also lately i've been reading all her lyrics of the album guilty. every single song uses the same toppic or words. sickening.

even madonna tries other styles of music, ayu should too. and i do believe she sees creating music as her duty, rather than something she REALLY wants to do. then again i really feel she needs a vacation.

[Melon Panda]

Maybe she could write a song on looking back? Or has she done that already?

Ayumi writes about what matters to her, which is probably one topic at a time. The great thing about not understanding Japanese (my situation) is that I haven't an inkling what artists are singing. A catchy tune or strong melody is enough to reign me in. While I really like the lyrics to Memorial address and walking proud, I haven't bothered with the lyrics with any other song, so I don't know how repetitive Ayumi's gotten. I do know that unless something big changes in her life (more death, more happy events, a pre-midlife crisis, etc.) she'll probably be singing about the same thing for years.

Ayumi did have that gospel stint with Bold & Delicious/Pride, and we all know how well that went. She's done pop, rock, and gospel, and I suppose what's left is R&B, which may or may not work out.

[KarenPang]

how about jazz influenced no.s ? I don't think she has done a jazz no. in her career before ?

[lfe.]

this is getting kind of hypocritical now because there have been plenty of threads in these forums establishing the fact that ayu's style of music have changed over the years. Her earlier music was more pop-based. GUILTY is the most rock influenced album in her career so far. It's also pretty clear that GUILTY is a much darker departure from her normally lighthearted songs.

[hightea_xx]

i think ayu is entitled to her "diva attitude". it's sort of like madonna, who is supposed to be a diva. she has to be, because she is "ayumi hamasaki". like it or not, we've made her this way, to an extent. she has to be a diva because she has her image to keep... the more we talk her up to being the jpop queen, the harder it becomes for her to maintain that image. i'm not trying to say that she is in a situation to be pitied, because the girl has done beyond well for herself. but now that she's been on top, the only place she has left to go is down, and if she's going to try to stay on top it's going to take just as much if not more work to try to climb up there.

as for why her sales have been going down... i don't know if you've noticed, but the whole industry is going that way. blame it on internet downloads, blame it on her getting old, blame it on whatever you want, it's just the way it is. people are always looking for something new, and something fresh. i think that eventually, she will just become a sort of "chart staple". i don't want her to slow down, but if she did it might help her popularity. instead of the "freshness" that people are looking for, they might see her with nostalgic anticipation when she releases something. i don't really know, i don't know what the answer is, but i certainly think it is not linked to how a pv looks. a good/bad pv does not deter me from buying her album. it's not like i'm going to watch the pv everytime i want to hear the song.

[rusuke]

In my own experience, the first thing that fans buy her cds are the songs. Secondly is her fashion sense. Third is PV. and so forth.. I guess fans still buy her records because of loyalty. On the contrary, Ayu's sales declined because people prefer to download her songs illegally than to buy original copies("please don't curse me" sadly, i'm doing but I don't have choice).. Maybe they're just being practical..and people get tired of Ayu's music material since SECRET? I guess.

[KarenPang]

I think it also depends on the style of music that she does . Fans doesn't seem to like her to do moody/angry/angsty music . Most of the songs on GUILTY are in that style .

Similarly , when talkin' 2 myself was released , the sales were quite lacklustre as compared to glitter/fated before that .

[Kikaru]

I think she's at a point of life where she write a lot about looking forward, because I guess maybe she put her past behind her, she can be happier and without the baggage. Personally I think some of her newer lyrics aren't bad. Like Untitled~for her~ and Don't Leave Me Alone, and even mirrorcle world. And really I think she's done pretty well lyrically wise, coming out of the generic "I love you because you look nice" lyrics from a lot other artists.

I guess there's jazz, but I'm not really sure how well her voice actually fits with jazz. I would love an R&B though, not like hardcore R&B, but just a ballad like Kuu's Hands or something that has an influence or something.

[keikeiaznqueen]

Originally Posted by lfebaggins

Ayu's marketing strategy seems to be expanding fanbase in other Asian countries. For Japan, the strategy seems to be keeping the fanbase she has instead of trying to increase it. Reasoning behind this is her continuation of releasing music and concert tours while decreasing the amount of magazine shoots and public appearances. Musical releases and concert tours are usually for satisfying and maintaining fanbase, which she continues to do so. Publicity is what increases fanbase, and these days she seems to do a lot less advertising and magazine shoots.

I think that's the best reason. Also, when the fact that Ayu has been releasing "too regularly" comes in as a point to explain why her sales are lowering, it might perhaps be beneficial if ayu's focus is on expanding to other places where she has the potentaial rather than attending loads of shows and having loads of interviews, as she will become saturated. So expanding to the rest of Asia has a kind of "diluting" effect (as opposed to the saturation) on the Japanese listeners, while others in Asia will see her as something fresher.

I also agree that she has been very conservative as of late.

About Ayu's change in style, I think she made it pretty obvious, and it wasn't really a sudden thing. Her music history is often divided as "chapters", and those chapters do more or less mark her change in style, like how RAINBOW had been a new chapter for her and she drifted away from her trance sounds found in LOVEppears.

Ayu often talks about choosing roads and leaving things behind and moving forward-- but I think she does have to do that a lot. It was probably also a large decision for her and Avex as to whether or not she wanted to expand to Asia and just maintain her fanbase in Japan. It's gonna be an awful lot of work for her, but she chose to do it anyway. Ayu had always been known for change, like her hair, and her clothes, but her music, too, changes. Ayu has a large staple fanbase who will follow her wherever she goes, so even if she changes her style once in a while, I still think she's entitled to and she can because there will be people who support her. (And she's still the same Ayu.)

I kinda want there to be some kinda huge interview for her soon though. I feel like I haven't seen that sorta thing in a while. XDD

[StaRR&]

I think it's mostly the tie ins with dramas/animes. a lot of people know utada and ayu because of their songs for well known animes.

I feel that the reason why Utada and ayu rose to popularity so quickly was because they were new faces in the industry, and everyone is interested in new things. but if you notice now, they're not so new anymore and both of them have been declining in popularity

[che0173]

Originally Posted by Halla

Ayu probably has more marketing that Hikki overall. both have PV's in heavy rotation, but Hikki does barely any tv whereas Ayu does all the biggest music shows and specials.

Ayu also has a huge presence in fashion. She's on the cover of all the biggest fashion magazines in japan so many times. Vivi , Cawaii , Scawaii etc and even a couple of Vogue Nippon editorials.

so IMO there's nothing wrong with the Ayu's recent sales (or lack of, according to some ...) and certainly the promotion is not the problem.

i reckon the reason why ayu has more marketting than hikki overall is because she has a lot more songs released than hikki.
for example...hikki's first album under the name of cubic u...released i think just after nothing from nothing?
and after that she had first love which was like...AN AWESOME HIT!
and after that she slowly stopped making music regularly unlike ayu
ayu makes new songs quite often!
and theres been an album almost EVERY YEAR
whilst hikki... her third album deep river and 4th album ultra blue
there was a 4 year gap in between!

[KarenPang]

I rather ayumi takes her own time to release great material . it seems that when she releases material & keep on putting out singles & albums on a yearly basis , quality seems to suffer .

I rather she takes her own time & then come up with something BAM

[reixminako]

Originally Posted by karenpang

I think it also depends on the style of music that she does . Fans doesn't seem to like her to do moody/angry/angsty music . Most of the songs on GUILTY are in that style .

Similarly , when talkin' 2 myself was released , the sales were quite lacklustre as compared to glitter/fated before that .

But it was the moody/angry/angsty music that got her famous, right? If I remember correctly most of the lyrics from A Song for xx and LOVEppears were pretty dark in themes (e.g. A Song for xx, POWDER SNOW, monochrome, etc.).

[KarenPang]

Originally Posted by reixminako

But it was the moody/angry/angsty music that got her famous, right? If I remember correctly most of the lyrics from A Song for xx and LOVEppears were pretty dark in themes (e.g. A Song for xx, POWDER SNOW, monochrome, etc.).

You're right but I'm speaking musically . A Song for XX & LOVEppears's music styles are so different as compared to her recent works .

[Kikaru]

Originally Posted by karenpang

You're right but I'm speaking musically . A Song for XX & LOVEppears's music styles are so different as compared to her recent works .

They were different from recent works, but music trends then were different too, like trance/dance pop were way more popular back then in the 90s in general. Nowadays I don't really know where trance is generally that popular...

[*Petit*]

I think she needs to release a powerful epic ballad this autumn after releasing her usual summer hit. Her biggest hits have been ballads and she hasen't released one in ages:

"Love ~Destiny~" @1 sold 650,800

SEASONS @ 1 sold 1,367,400 her best selling single song to date

"M" @1 sold 1,319,070

THen there's voyage, No way to say. Her last A side ballad was HEAVEN back in 2005 SHe doesen't ned to do something fresh, she needs a ballad that is very easy on the ears, that har a beautiful melody and profond, but accessible lyrics.