[tabloid] Pop pundits see mutiny on Hamasaki's horizon

[FoObY]

By Ryann Connell
Staff Writer

July 1 , 2005

"She doesn't need to do the back-breaking work anymore."

Ayumi Hamasaki faces the once unimaginable prospect of being dumped by the label she is even now regarded as holding up, according to Shukan Jitsuwa (7/14).

The 26-year-old diva is regarded as the face of Avex Records, which has ridden on the back of Hamasaki's success to become one of the most powerful players in the huge Japanese music industry.

Hamasaki is said to work hand in hand with Avex President Katsuhito Matsuura and is rumored to have the "power of an Empress" when it comes to decisions regarding the company's personnel. But whispers have it that Hamasaki's rule is under threat.

"Ayu is just too powerful, so people within the company really hate her. Matsuura discovered Ayu, she has too much power for even him to say some things to her. There's been a movement for some time to get rid of her," a music industry insider tells Shukan Jitsuwa.

It's only natural in some ways that Hamasaki has the power she wields. At one stage, her earnings made up 40 percent of all the money Avex made. But the situation has changed.

"Now, her sales are about 5 billion yen. The ratio of money she makes for the company has declined significantly, with the firm taking in about 75 billion yen," the insider says. "That's why the company wants to rid itself of her influence."

Matsuura, Hamasaki's biggest supporter, is apparently no longer the staunch ally he once was.

"Avex has just signed Ami Suzuki, who was one the verge of retiring because of troubles with her talent agency. The trouble is, Ayu despises Ami. Because Matsuura signed Ami without asking Ayu's permission, the relationship between the two has soured," a music writer tells Shukan Jitsuwa.

Coming into the middle of what seems to be a crumbling empire is Yasuhide Uno, the president of cable radio company U-Sen and a newly appointed director at Avex. Uno has a reputation for wielding the ax and has already started implementing a major internal restructuring at the record company.

"Whatever way you look at it, the management style at Avex is warped. When there were moves afoot to sack Matsuura last year when he was still managing director, Ayu said she'd quit if he was fired. That was enough to save Matsuura's job. And then he was promoted to president. It's ridiculous that a single artist can influence who is going to run the company," the writer says. "Uno is obviously not happy with a company run like that, which is the real reason behind his appointment as a director."

And as Hamasaki's professional relationships may be on rocky ground, her recording career is also under threat, with her past two singles barely mustering much attention at all.

"She's already a regular on biggest taxpayer lists and isn't hungry for success like she once was. Hamasaki's success over the past four or five years would have seen her pocket at least 5 billion yen. She would have no trouble paying cash for a posh 200 million yen apartment," an Avex insider tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "She doesn't need to do the back-breaking work anymore."

It's the suggestion that Hamasaki has reached the comfort zone that is fueling speculation that Avex no longer needs her.

"Even if Hamasaki and Matsuura's relationship is as prickly as rumor would have it to be, the reality is that the pair of them alone still control the fate of a company employing about 900 people. It's weird that a situation like that could even exist. The company's slide is entirely the fault of those two," the music industry writer tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "You don't hear too much good about Uno, either. But Uno sees (Hamasaki and Matsuura) as two peas in a pod. If he's not happy with the management of the company, he'll lop them both off. If Hamasaki is sacked, there's no doubt she'll form her own company to go into direct competition."

Source: http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/waiwai/face/index.html
==================

I think there was another thread that was refering to this news, and this article extends that. It's unfortunate hearing this, but I hope she'll keep it going for a little longer still.