[Translation] [2013] ayu loses sales record to AKB48 (Article)

[Andrenekoi]

^Ayu and Namie are pretty much living legends, even if their sales hit rockbottom they will always have a top star recognization...

BoA was never at the same level as them... Her "god" impact is much more a western jpop fan thing... She will always be a big deal in South Korea

AKB48 won't have huge sales forever, nobody does... But they pretty much have their name written on the japanese pop music history right now... It's like Morning Musume, they aren't a big deal as far as sales goes, but they sell well enough to keep around.

[marty]

Originally Posted by NintendoHTF1242

Why are you guys bumping this thread and still attacking these girls this is so February.

LFMAOOOO!!!

But, really. I thought we all agreed the two were too damn different to be compared to each other.
It's already difficult enough to compare solo artists like Ayu and Kumi Koda, with similar styles and all, to do so with a solo singer who has a legend status and a group that is a brand-new phenomenon and trend is IMPOSSIBLE.

[visionfactory]

^You talk nonsense, they worked with normal sales 3 years (2006-2009), they don't NEED selling million copies per every single and their sales won't stay strong forever, they will be struggling to reach 1 million copies in the next singles I bet

[marty]

^
I agree. But, why do I talk nonsense? lol
They're too different to be compared, and that's a fact.

[Trinu]

And selling 900k would be considered bad?

The 1 million streak will end at some point, but we're a few singles far from that.
First, they have to stop getting the 1 million in a week (cause they'd get there in the 2nd week), then not get the 1 million in that 2nd week (but they might get it in a month...).

Declines are slow, and in AKB's case, sales won't fall below 700k. The mainstream public might buy 0 copies, but as long as there are fans (and there will be) buying the thatre editions that come with the handshake ticket, the franchise will continue.

[Andrenekoi]

If the theatre editions are sold on the concert venues, they won't be counted fully, only 33% of the sales...

I wouldn't be surprised if Ayu for example sold more than Oricon count because of fans buying her albums at the concert venues...

[Trinu]

The theatre editions are sold through chara-ani and they count fully towards Oricon.

Soundscan, on the other hand, counts the sales without said theatre editions and they're usually around 300k. Still enough to top Oricon.

[November4]

My gosh so many stupid rules for charts. Charts nowadays are so crap, people care too much about them.

[Andrenekoi]

^They don't count venue sales in full because they are easier to fake^^

[visionfactory]

Originally Posted by marty

^
I agree. But, why do I talk nonsense? lol
They're too different to be compared, and that's a fact.

lol sorry I wanted to quote another person XD

[marty]

^
loool
Sorry, I should've imagined it! XD

[mizuki-7]

Originally Posted by Trinu

The theatre editions are sold through chara-ani and they count fully towards Oricon.

Soundscan, on the other hand, counts the sales without said theatre editions and they're usually around 300k. Still enough to top Oricon.

What it show is that without these gimmicks (theater version, tickets, elections etc...) their power is much less important ... 300 K is amazing for sure but if we compare with the 1500 K thanks to gimmicks it's not that amazing !
But yeah the strategy of Akimoto is perfect for idols fans so ...

[SummonerXI]

I may have said this a long time ago, but I don't mind saying it again. I don't care how well Ayu does against AKB48 or any other flavor of the week band/artist. As long as Ayu continues to release music, is happy doing so, and continues to pour her heart and soul into her music, that is all I care about.

[JesA]

Originally Posted by Trinu

Is that really the nowadays conception of Ayu IN JAPAN?

Cause I in another board something like:



AKB will go out of fashion, but their sales will stay strong because they can't work otherwise. There will always be fans willing to pay money to see their favourite.

That was me! :p Small world, eh? Pretty sure that was on Stage48.

[Trinu]

It was! lol
I lmao'ed when I read that.

Originally Posted by mizuki-7

What it show is that without these gimmicks (theater version, tickets, elections etc...) their power is much less important ... 300 K is amazing for sure but if we compare with the 1500 K thanks to gimmicks it's not that amazing !
But yeah the strategy of Akimoto is perfect for idols fans so ...

But that's the thing. They could very well sell the HS tickets alone, but I'm sure only the usual Akihabara people would notice them. Selling it with the CD makes it count to the ranking everyone looks to when they wanna know what's in atm so they can reach a wider audience.

I think Arashi or EXILE did something of the sort (putting a ticket to participate in a lottery to get tickets for their concert maybe?) and it boosted their sales. So... people are willing to pay for it, so I consider it more like "perks" of buying the actual CD than just downloading the songs from iTunes or ripping them from a rented single.

[rusuke]

Honestly speaking, reading this makes my heart ache. And yeah, it's a group versus a single artist but it doesn't matter anyway. It already happened and we all clearly knew this would happen one day. Even so, Ayu already held that record and I'm proud of it!

Oh well, congrats to AKB48.

[JesA]

It's all about trends. Sales records are nice while they're going, but everything comes to an end eventually. Ayu isn't trendy anymore. Akb is getting their limelight for now, but as a huge AKB fan, I accept the fact that it'll fall apart sometime in the future.

But yeah, my Japanese fans make fun of me all the time for still listening to Ayu and Namie :p Just like my American fans make fun of me for listening to Madonna.

[kiseki89]

Originally Posted by Misa-chan

This single contains a serial number voting card to allow fans to decide who gets to be centre in the "AKB48 32nd single general elections" (vote counting to be held on 8 June at Yokohama Nissan Stadium). The four contenders are Watanabe Mayu (19), Shimazaki Haruka (19), Ooshima Yuuko (24) and Itano Tomomi (21). The 16 members with the highest votes will be selected to sing the cover song for their next release (to be released in August).

■ Overall bestselling artiste for singles (Female) TOP 3
1. AKB48... 21.85 million (Manatsu no Sounds good! / 1.822 million)
2. Hamasaki Ayumi... 21.416 million (monochrome / 1.631 million)
3. Amuro Namie... 16.558 million (CAN YOU CELEBRATE? / 2.296 million)

I believe that plays a huge role in the sales...
Anyway i think they should avg the figures out according to number of person in the group...

[November4]

Originally Posted by kiseki89

I believe that plays a huge role in the sales...
Anyway i think they should avg the figures out according to number of person in the group...

Yup.

Imagine if 1 in 10 singles had a ticket for a meet & greet with Ayu, wouldn't you buy more than 1? Her sales would sky-rocket. And sometimes AKB48's singles with these tickets are a lot cheaper than regular singles.

I actually find it quite unfair, like how in western music industry they now take YouTube views into consideration and lady gaga always tweets her fans to links that endlessly loop her video.

[perfectodub]

Originally Posted by JesA

...
But yeah, my Japanese fans make fun of me all the time for still listening to Ayu and Namie :p Just like my American fans make fun of me for listening to Madonna.

well their logic is crap... beatles, elvis and michael jackson has thousands of fans...because there is nobody better than them, the trajectory is way more impotant than any new crapy music band.

in fact i would be very ashamed to say that i'm fan of AKB48 on my work or friends.