Things Avex Could Have Done To Improve (m)u sales

[truehappiness]

I thought the situation was more:
Ayu liked SWEETBOX and her staff kinda was like "HEY LOOK WE GOT GEO <3" and she was like "Oh. Okay. o_o"

Anyone got any clarification on that?

[LacusClyne]

well, they could have taken the pv out(just leave that in the album), but put the B&D side story in the single.

[truehappiness]

What's done is done, really. Thinking about how they could've changed it doesn't really help too much :p

We should speculate about the coming mini-album <3
I hope she makes album versions of the PVs. REMAKE REMAKE WOO WO OWO WO

[LacusClyne]

^yup. a remake of pv would be great. i want Startin' and Born To Be to be redone. BTB is just wayyy to bright

[Daking]

I agree with needing better covers, the covers were just awful imo.

As for B&D i think if they really wanted it in a single maybe they should've called it Pride and made Pride the first track, that way both songs are still there but people who don't like B&D can buy the album/single w/out thinking to themselves "do i really want B&D?" and it people like B&D great, nothing different there.
I think most people would agree whether or not u like B&D, the marketing of B&D hurt ayu's sales.

[truehappiness]

I think the risk taken by releasing B&D as a single affected (m)u negatively. :x

People might've thought: "Wow, is this the sound she's going for?! x.x"

[Keishi]

If they switch the photobook covers with the CD covers, I believe it would help the sales.

[truehappiness]

The photobook covers were on the back anyway,

So the shopowners could've just displayed it the other way.

[thinkingoutloud89]

I don´t really think the B&D Single was a risk...no fan would have tought of an album so soon and so it was sure that the first days the single will went to one...it was a risk (and it didn´t work out) realesing the album a month after with having mostly single tracks on it...

[immel]

I wonder how much the PVs actually matter for the sales of the album... does people buy it because of the music, or do they overlook the music if the PVs suck?

I guess the fact that the CD/DVD version tops the pre-order chats proves that PVs might be something pretty important.

[Daking]

^considering the P stands for Promotional I would imagine the masterminds behind the scenes think PVs make a difference in sales, i personally am not a big fan of most Ayu PVs, they are ok, but i'm in it for the music.

[truehappiness]

It's probably due to DVD quality PVs that would otherwise sell for 2500yen or something in a bundle.. its a BIG deal [like literally a DEAL.]

I mean A CLIPS 2 or A CLIPS weren't as worth it as (miss)understood is.

[extepan]

the cover really needs to be improved.

though as much as I disliked B&D, I think it was a necessary move for her to venture into a genre that she has not done before, so that she reinvents herself to remain popular.

[Keishi]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

The photobook covers were on the back anyway,

So the shopowners could've just displayed it the other way.

But then again, Amazon, YesAsia, & CDJapan wouldn't bother switching the CD covers & PB covers to attract online buyers.

And isn't the PB limited?



Btw, to some people, PV may matters a bit. Most people tend to enjoy the artist visually. Especially if Ayu is new to some people (if Ayu herself isn't, well her music is new). I know some people who goes "The video looks good! I think I'm buying "

[immel]

Originally Posted by Keishi

And isn't the PB limited?

Yes, it was limited to like the first 500k copies of each or something, because they went out of stock very recently and the album has sold nearly one million.

Btw, to some people, PV may matters a bit. Most people tend to enjoy the artist visually. Especially if Ayu is new to some people (if Ayu herself isn't, well her music is new). I know some people who goes "The video looks good! I think I'm buying "

Yeah, good looking PVs is a very good way of introducing an artists full capabilities to new fans, they won't just have the music to listen to, if the PV is visually stunning it will be great.

[RoboNyanya]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

I think the risk taken by releasing B&D as a single affected (m)u negatively. :x

People might've thought: "Wow, is this the sound she's going for?! x.x"

I really agree with that, because after hearing Bold & Delicious, I became very hesitant to listen to the whole album. And it's misleading since I find most of the other tracks (once I actually sucked it up and decided to give (m)u a chance) to be perfectly likeable and not really shocking or different as B&D would make it seem like.

I'm sort of indifferent about the cover images. While I do like that she's giving off a warm playful look on her cover for once, there's something about the aesthetic that makes me think it's tacky. Not a joke, I don't think, but it lacks elegance I suppose. It also reminds me immediately of B&D and Pride. Ayumi to me is glamorous, but something about her getup around that time was a bit glib. Actually, correct me if I'm wrong in assuming this, but it feels like she almost did this in response to Koda Kumi, to compete perhaps? A 'two can play at that game' sort of attitude?

Like Immel said earlier, the general consensus seems to be that Ladies Night is a more fun, appealing song and should have been released as a single instead of B&D. It strikes a good balance between old and new. It's fresh and unique enough just to give fans a taste of m(u), but not so BOOOOOLLLD & DELISSHHYUUUSSS if you know what I mean.

Lastly, though I like Startin' as a song, and I accept the PV as a parody, I don't think most Japanese listeners would have that kind of insight, and might have even been turned them off from 'Startin' in general.

(Note: I actually LIKE Pride, and I don't hate B&D as songs, but I understand why they'd be jarring to the audience.)

[immel]

Originally Posted by RoboNyanya

I really agree with that, because after hearing Bold & Delicious, I became very hesitant to listen to the whole album. And it's misleading since I find most of the other tracks (once I actually sucked it up and decided to give (m)u a chance) to be perfectly likeable and not really shocking or different as B&D would make it seem like.

I was sort of the complete opposite. I found Ayu after (m)u was released, and, after going through quite a lot of her previous work, I downloaded the (m)u DVD, the first PV I watched was B&D, and I just completely loved it to bits. As I discovered Ayu after (m)u was released I never had to take the shock of it being so different, which all her older fans had to.

Actually, correct me if I'm wrong in assuming this, but it feels like she almost did this in response to Koda Kumi, to compete perhaps? A 'two can play at that game' sort of attitude?

I think that assuming anything about the relation between Ayu & Koda is completely wrong, because we don't know them or their relation, and who actually has control over things... avex or Ayu.

Like Immel said earlier, the general consensus seems to be that Ladies Night is a more fun, appealing song and should have been released as a single instead of B&D. It strikes a good balance between old and new. It's fresh and unique enough just to give fans a taste of m(u), but not so BOOOOOLLLD & DELISSHHYUUUSSS if you know what I mean.

Yes. And it's immel .

Lastly, though I like Startin' as a song, and I accept the PV as a parody, I don't think most Japanese listeners would have that kind of insight, and might have even been turned them off from 'Startin' in general.

On the subject on how the Startin' PV was received in Japan it is completely impossible for us to even speculate about, their culture is so different, we know they are one of the few countries who actually welcome the "americanization" with open arms ... well, it's simply so different there. So what we think here can impossibly be transfered to how they might think about it.

[Princess_Of_Roses]

Maybe if she had new music...instead of sampling Sweetboxs music.. ^^ becuase I like her more original stuff more

[immel]

She did not sample SweetBOXs music, but she did use GEOs compositions .

And it's true... while I personally loved the GEO songs, I think it might have affected the sales to have so much of it.

[RoboNyanya]

Originally Posted by immel

I think that assuming anything about the relation between Ayu & Koda is completely wrong, because we don't know them or their relation, and who actually has control over things... avex or Ayu.

But you know what I'm saying? I'm not sure how long Koda's been around, but from what I've seen she's been doing quite well (especially this year) and her approach seems to be well, very different from Ayu's *cough*skank*coughohgodnottheface*. Since Koda's been so successful and both are Avex girls, I think ,whether or not it was Avex or Ayu pulling the strings, her looks on say, the cover of 'Startin'/Born to Be' may have been some sort of reaction to Koda's popularity? Of course, I can always accept the idea of Ayu just changing with the times, but it did seem like a sudden, almost unnatural deviation.

And it's immel .

I beg pardon, thenXD