[Charts & Rankings] Official Oricon Thread ~Love songs~

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by Heavenly Zerase

I was expecting around 180k, butthat doesn't mean it is a good number

It's the best she can do atm. Selling almost 200k in a week can hardly be bad atm.

[isthisLOL?]

Originally Posted by Heavenly Zerase

I was expecting around 180k, butthat doesn't mean it is a good number

RnRC that didn't sell very much more was a #21 yearly and was a #1 weekly on the worldwide charts though girlgroups and boygroups are on a massive rise again, so how is this, selling just around 15-20% less right now, not good?

You live in the past if you call a 185k first week bad. In this first week it already beat everything but the top 34 of 2010.

[Beauty4123]

nice first week sales.

[Jwiz]

Originally Posted by isthisLOL?

Actually it's not that much lower than RnRC, if you take the general minus in record sales in consideration and it being her second album in 2010 already it's quite good.

So true. I hope the next album could be released at a much later time, say early/mid 2012 or something? I would rather sit back and wait for a few great singles release next year than hope for another album release like 6-8 months months later.

[ren'ai]

Not bad at all! Good job Ayu <3 Here's hoping for some steady sales in the coming weeks

[AyumiAi]

Yay good first week sales! so happy!

[adantatu2]

It's amazing!!!
she is gonna cross the 200k the next week!!!
and ayu isn't a boyband or an idol group for sell more than 500k in the first week.
And probably kana and namie can sell much more with their albums, but ayu is selling pretty good with her singles and tours ^_^

[Mirrorcle Monster]

It seems like you can't tell your opinion. Of course, if we comoare woth other artists you will say that the sales are great. But we are not talkin about random artists, we are talkin about Ayumi Hamasaki, the record-breaker, that girl called the Jpop Empress. Of course i can't compare Ayu with Arashi or AKB48 right now, but i think ayu's sales could be better, just that. Of course is not her fault, she has done an excellent job with the album and quite good promotion. But is pretty sad to see ayu losing 40k in eight months. Of course i can't live in the past and think she will hit the million, but i thinl those number are quite sad. I know the sales in general are being so bad, but i would jever expect to see Ayu 180k in a week. I suppose i will have to get used to it. I'm worried too, because if the sales keep floping i doubt she will be able to do such great tours and ultra expensive PVs. I might be overworried, is just the way i see it

[isthisLOL?]

I can state my opinion, just that this really doesn't have to do with opinion. If Ayu sold 50 million copies of her new album and someone called that bad, would it be right because it's an opinion? If you say yes you're a liar, if you say no a hypocrite.
Also, you never stated your posts as an opinion before this last one. The only way to compare sales in a declining economy is by looking at other artists and unless everything below the top5 is bad, Ayu sells very well. Ayu is perfectly in the overall drop of sales, basically EXACTLY there and has been for some time. If you calculate with that you will notice that in fact, Ayu is not selling worse, she is selling less, but not worse than in the last years. She is, however, selling worse than around her peak, but no peak has ever lasted more than a few years for any artist.

Her tours(which obviously make her main income) have just been becoming bigger and tickets selling better over the past years and for her PVs I'm pretty sure she pays at least part herself, ever since she started doing million-dollar PVs their singles/albums either hardly got the money back in or not at all, there is no way avex is paying for that.

[truehappiness]

But is pretty sad to see ayu losing 40k in eight months.

Hold it right there. How come people weren't like this for the last few studio albums then? She had decreased about 100,000 or MORE every 12 months. This is amazing imo that she's not really dropping all that much in comparison to the previous album that came out, at least compared to the million to 800k to 666k to 550k and so on. I wonder where these people go... do they just lose interest in Ayu?

[Bigtop]

She's 32 years old already and has not been stopping since back in 1998 (when she was only 19).

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by Heavenly Zerase

It seems like you can't tell your opinion. Of course, if we comoare woth other artists you will say that the sales are great. But we are not talkin about random artists, we are talkin about Ayumi Hamasaki, the record-breaker, that girl called the Jpop Empress. Of course i can't compare Ayu with Arashi or AKB48 right now, but i think ayu's sales could be better, just that. Of course is not her fault, she has done an excellent job with the album and quite good promotion. But is pretty sad to see ayu losing 40k in eight months. Of course i can't live in the past and think she will hit the million, but i thinl those number are quite sad. I know the sales in general are being so bad, but i would jever expect to see Ayu 180k in a week. I suppose i will have to get used to it. I'm worried too, because if the sales keep floping i doubt she will be able to do such great tours and ultra expensive PVs. I might be overworried, is just the way i see it

Sales have nothing to do with opinions. Ayu stopped being HUGE back in 2005, when Bold & Delicious was released and Startin'/Born to be...'s sales just further confirmed that something did happen to her popularity. Sure has had a few hits since then, but it never was the same. And after almost 6 years you can hardly say or expect her to sell the same way Ayumi Hamasaki did in her prime. As you said, you will have to get used to it.

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Hold it right there. How come people weren't like this for the last few studio albums then? She had decreased about 100,000 or MORE every 12 months. This is amazing imo that she's not really dropping all that much in comparison to the previous album that came out, at least compared to the million to 800k to 666k to 550k and so on. I wonder where these people go... do they just lose interest in Ayu?

I don't think they're necessarily loosing interest. For example, I don't buy BoA's albums anymore, but I still listen to her and like her music a lot. People just outgrow the phase of feeling the need to buy everything, especially now that you can easily get everything in so many ways (both legal and illegal). I am guessing that teenagers and people in their early twenties are the ones who'd be buying cds the most and I am not sure if Ayu's music is very appealing to teenagers in Japan who follow trends, particularly now when Ayu isn't really "in".

[Mirrorcle Monster]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Hold it right there. How come people weren't like this for the last few studio albums then? She had decreased about 100,000 or MORE every 12 months. This is amazing imo that she's not really dropping all that much in comparison to the previous album that came out, at least compared to the million to 800k to 666k to 550k and so on. I wonder where these people go... do they just lose interest in Ayu?

No i didnt lose interest in her, sales have jothing to do with my ayu-fandom, but i just dont see the sales great. Theyre quite good, but not great

[truehappiness]

No i didnt lose interest in her, sales have jothing to do with my ayu-fandom, but i just dont see the sales great. Theyre quite good, but not great

....huh?

I was talking about the 600-700k or so people who purchased MY STORY or Memorial address that haven't been buying her latest works. I always wonder where those numbers go. Do they just go on to buy other artists' works? Do they stop buying CDs in general for whatever reason?

[Andrenekoi]

If u watch her Best Artist performance from this year, u can see that most of her fanbase is made of people over 20... She is not a teen idol in a while now... and teen idols are almost always the best sellers, anywhere in the world...

[Mirrorcle Monster]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

If u watch her Best Artist performance from this year, u can see that most of her fanbase is made of people over 20... She is not a teen idol in a while now... and teen idols are almost always the best sellers, anywhere in the world...

That could be the key. Most of 20-30 are already parents or will be soon, so their preferences totally change. They are not dying for the new album, they probably buy it when they see ber on TV and they can do it.
Off Topic, but is someone watching TV when CDTV lives are broadcasted??

[jbrat2219]

I know that sales drop for everyone every year but I always wondered where those people who bought 800k copies of her album but only about 600k copies the next album went? Are those entire numbers just made up of casual fans and really it was only 200k+ hardcore fans who stuck with her this entire time? I mean I know she may lose fans here or there or some fans may not think an certain album is worth the money and will wait for the next one but in general Ayu made big sales even after her peak.

I don't know if I'm making sense and I know that the economy + the rise of the digital age + oricon's out of date charting + loss of popularity + Japan's obsession with fads etc play a big part in Ayu's loss of sales. But my question is, how many "hardcore fans" did Ayu really have if her sales had dropped so dramatically before but so little now. Is it around 300K? Btw, I don't classify HC fans as people who buy her albums, I know they may contribute in other ways like TA or going to her concerts regularly. But I consider myself a HC fan and I never miss an album...

[4ever*ayu]

^yup...and we were ayu's teen fans (but not anymore ..lol)

[isthisLOL?]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

I know that sales drop for everyone every year but I always wondered where those people who bought 800k copies of her album but only about 600k copies the next album went? Are those entire numbers just made up of casual fans and really it was only 200k+ hardcore fans who stuck with her this entire time? I mean I know she may lose fans here or there or some fans may not think an certain album is worth the money and will wait for the next one but in general Ayu made big sales even after her peak.

I don't know if I'm making sense and I know that the economy + the rise of the digital age + oricon's out of date charting + loss of popularity + Japan's obsession with fads etc play a big part in Ayu's loss of sales. But my question is, how many "hardcore fans" did Ayu really have if her sales had dropped so dramatically before but so little now. Is it around 300K? Btw, I don't classify HC fans as people who buy her albums, I know they may contribute in other ways like TA or going to her concerts regularly. But I consider myself a HC fan and I never miss an album...

Even hardcore fans don't neccessarily buy a new album right when it comes out, or physically. If it's not charting anymore it doesn't matter if it sells steadily for some time, sales won't appear. If you purchase it digitally, sales won't appear.

[Melodie]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

I know that sales drop for everyone every year but I always wondered where those people who bought 800k copies of her album but only about 600k copies the next album went? Are those entire numbers just made up of casual fans and really it was only 200k+ hardcore fans who stuck with her this entire time? I mean I know she may lose fans here or there or some fans may not think an certain album is worth the money and will wait for the next one but in general Ayu made big sales even after her peak.

I don't know if I'm making sense and I know that the economy + the rise of the digital age + oricon's out of date charting + loss of popularity + Japan's obsession with fads etc play a big part in Ayu's loss of sales. But my question is, how many "hardcore fans" did Ayu really have if her sales had dropped so dramatically before but so little now. Is it around 300K? Btw, I don't classify HC fans as people who buy her albums, I know they may contribute in other ways like TA or going to her concerts regularly. But I consider myself a HC fan and I never miss an album...

You make a good point. I wonder sometimes too. Does a big part of Ayu's fanbase consist of casual fans or do so many people really no longer like her music...