[2005] who do you think is the richest singer(s)?

Utada.
You can't just pick Ayumi because she's your favorite.

[4nGeLuS]

From the ppn wiki: "In 2005, Utada was listed as the person who pays the most tax in Japan. This is the equivalent in Japan of the 'rich list' (as the amount of tax payed is roughly equivalent to the amount of money made) Star's actual incomes are kept secret, which is why the amount of taxes payed is used."
http://wiki.theppn.org/Utada_Hikaru#Other_Facts

[My Rainbow]

Ayu and Hikaru!

[Holly]

Ayumi of coz... wif all tat mangazine covers, cds and endorsements... She's one material gal..

[Pow!]

AYUMI!! NO.1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gogirlanime]

Ayu, because she sells so much stuff, it's not just CDs and DVDs, its the advertisements, the Ayupan, the concert merchandise, etc. If it were just CDs and DVDs, then obviously Utada Hikaru, she's sold the most. But then again, Ayu has sold insane amounts on remix CDs, so Ayu makes up for it. So I guess if it were ONLY original albums and DVDs, Utada would win.

[Celaphorce]

I beg to differ about Ayumi's sales sometimes they're not so good, now I still love her but I think Namie is the richest out of everyone on this list, mainly b/c of her older album/single releases.

[ayu_fan929]

i was reading a hk newspaper, and it said this celebrity jpn magazine, they did a list of the biggest celebrity taxpayers in japan since 1986. hikki came 8th with like 5billion yen in taxes. ayu didnt come in the top 10 i believe. yeah, its from a hk newspaper, but i dont think reporters can lie about info that can is easily available from the japanese gov't....

link: http://hk.news.yahoo.com/060418/12/1n2f7.html

[AlphaBlaze]

I voted for Ms. Ayumi Hamasaki with the highest net worth compared to those other singers. She has so many albums, singles, etc. out and plus she's all super glamed up. Of course she's rich ^_^. Utada Hikaru would come in second.

[Nyshal]

Originally Posted by ayu_fan929

n SMAP does distance themselves from JE a lot as they dont even appear in the annual tokyo dome countdowns

Sorry for being a little late... and just to kinda add to this ^^;;

SMAP doesn't purposely distance themselves from JE. Back in 95-99 they still used to go to the JE sports events... but JE had to cut them out because they became so popular they would have to increase ticket prices by a lot AND most of the fans would be SMAP fans. And I don't think JE did the countdowns until 98-99 in which the same logic can be used.

[mishidabo]

def. ayu... i mean c'mon... ... panasonic CMs all her life.. companies pay millions to artists for endorse products... and also ayu is a top seller...

you know.. also the B'z... but just because they have been like 20 years around

[ayu_ready?]

Ayumi...
no?!

[Echoed_Memories]

I always thought it was Utada Hikaru, but if not her, then Ayu

[HELVENEUE]

i think it said somewhere that hikaru utada is one of the higest tax payers in all of japan--not just singers.

and i may not be the smartest fish in the pond, but if you pay the most taxes, you make the most money, no?

[Maiku]

my guess would be ayumi as she release often singles/album does tours all over japan, appears in CM


as for the

higest tax payers

that changes all the time while ayumi may not be no.1 for a year that dont mean the years b4 she wasnt. atleast a few times and unlike hikaru. ayumi often release stuff..

example - hikaru,single/album lately havent sold that great. lets say with her coming in 9th place this year on higest tax payers would that make her Poor? when she top the list the years b4 ?

i don't think we will ever know how many million $$
Ayu
hikki
B'Z
Smap
ectz really have on their bank acounts

[ayu_fan929]

Originally Posted by Maiku

my guess would be ayumi as she release often singles/album does tours all over japan, appears in CM
as for the that changes all the time while ayumi may not be no.1 for a year that dont mean the years b4 she wasnt. atleast a few times and unlike hikaru. ayumi often release stuff..

example - hikaru,single/album lately havent sold that great.

i know u only used as an example, but hikki doesn't even have to release anything and still get a lot of money cos hikki has ownership of the copyright to the songs she does, whereas ayu doesn't. selling cds is like just a bonus for hikki as copyright fees are huge. over the past 7-8 years that ayu/hikki have been in the industry, i think still think hikki has made more money than ayu.

[darkswordz]

don't ayu also have the copyrights?

[ayu_fan929]

Originally Posted by darkswordz

don't ayu also have the copyrights?

unfortunately no. i read a thread from here that avex gets 100% of the copyrights

[andre2907]

Sorry guys, party's over. Utada Hikaru is much richer than Ayu. And the richest singer is Komura Tetsuya.

From Dorama World:
Top 10 showbiz earners for past 20 years, From 1986 to 2005
Due to the privacy issue, the taxation authorities will no longer issue the ranking of the top income tax payers from this year onwards. Thus, some magazines have features by compiling data from past years. In this case, the following are the top 10 earners by calculating their income from 1986 to 2005.

1) Komuro Tetsuya
2) Ishibashi Takaaki (Tunnels)
3) Kuwata Keisuke (Southern All Stars)
4) Inaba Koshi (B'z)
5) Matsumoto Takahiro (B'z)
6) Matsumoto Hitoshi (Downtown)
7) Hamada Masatoshi (Downtown)
8) Utada Hikaru
9) Mori Shinichi
10) Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi

No Ayu on the list, just Hikki.

But Ayu is the 2nd in the Top 22 Richest Female Artists from 1995 to 2005.

1) Utada Hikaru
2) Hamasaki Ayumi
3) Matsu Takako
4) Iijima Naoko
5) Matsuda Seiko
6) Yoshida Miwa (Dreams Come True)
7) MISIA
8) Sakai Izumi
9) Kuraki Mai
10) Shiina Ringo (Tokyo Jihen)

11) Yamaguchi Tomoko
12) Fujiwara Norika
13) Suzuki Kyoka
14) Matsushima Nanako
15) Oguro Maki
16) YUKI
17) Mochida Kaori (Every Little Thing)
18) hitomi
19) Sakai Noriko
20) Komiya Etsuko
21) KEIKO (globe)
22) Amuro Namie

The Taxation Authority isn't releasing the list anymore but the magazines in Japan did the estemation and... yes, Ayu's contract SUCKS! I mean, she sold MUCH MUCH MUCH more than Hikki and Hikki is at 4th and Ayu at 13th! In the female list, Ayu is at 2nd and Hikki is at first as usual.

[ayu_fan929]

^yeah, i read about that a while ago in a hk newspaper.

im surprised matsu takako is so high up on the female list....