[Official Message] 『ayumi hamasaki Rock'n'Roll Circus Tour FINAL ～7days Special～』DVD/Blu-ray！ - Page 12

njanjayrp · #**221** 1st March 2011, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeamAyu2004

Yeah, the fans are there and thats all the counts.

As for the early post, position DOES count. Sales are more important true, but if you are a company then you want the artist that has more number 1 albums then albums that don't even reach the top 5. A ton of people go by positions on charts. If its a number 1 seller then people want to know why and go out to buy, which adds more to the sales.

Its all in the marketing and what not.

Then explain to me why the Japanese general public isn't interested in buying Ayu's singles that always reach #1 and albums with so many #1 hits? A ton of people don't care about the charts (in Japan, where it counts in this case). The record labels care about the money they earn.

Let's say you have two artists, one who got 3 #1s and sold 10-30k with each album, or the other one, who has never reached #1, but keeps selling 100k+ with every release? Which one would you sign to your label? Now days good position on charts usually means good timing

Misa-chan · #**222** 1st March 2011, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeamAyu2004

Yes, it is.. if you don't make money for the company then they don't want to keep you, which means less music for her fans. The more number one albums a musician has the more likely they have for staying power and what not.

I seriously disagree. This is ayu we're talking about. The girl personally selected by avex CEO Max Matsuura, and who still has a close friendship with him after all these years. The woman who has been Queen of Jpop for a decade, and still going strong. The artiste who has sold too many amazing releases with crazy sales to count. The first person who more or less everyone thinks about when we say "Japanese music industry".

Selling well is not an issue anymore. Not making money is not an issue either. ayu is one person who will never be dropped.

Let's not even talk about ayu here. I listen to many other artistes, some of whom have been releasing music for years and years, with number of singles/albums in the Top 5 less than 10 times. But they are still around, releasing wonderful music. An extreme example, look at Perfume. They have been around a decade, and only started selling really well a couple of years ago. And look where they are now, one of the strongest girl groups in Japan. If your theory of "drop an artiste if they don't sell" is true, then Perfume would have been gone long long ago, and we would have lost an awesome group.

The Japanese music industry is about people who have talent and the passion to work hard, not about some silly numbers and charts. That's my honest opinion, and I do hope people would stop thinking that money means everything.

njanjayrp · #**223** 1st March 2011, 04:32 PM

^ Indeed, you've summed it up really nice ^_^ Still occasionally people who sell nothing get dropped by the labels or their management finds them an alternative career. Some examples would be Ami Suzuki, Hitomi Shimatani and OLIVIA who barely even release music anymore. Ami is now an actress and a DJ, while Shimatani acts in plays and performs in bars sometimes. So even though avex hasn't dropped them it's quite obvious their music careers are going nowhere because they failed to sell

Misa-chan · #**224** 1st March 2011, 04:44 PM

^ True, though I guess it depends on the artiste themselves too. A record company may drop them or offer them alternatives, but I think it's probably up to them in the end whether they want to make the switch. I've seen many artistes who choose to continue on because their passion lies solely in music, while others like the ones you mentioned may have chosen to leave because of personal ideals and problems (the need to make money, or maybe they were ok with doing something other than sing). Who knows?

njanjayrp · #**225** 1st March 2011, 04:48 PM

^ it could be that too, of course they'll need money so that might be one of the reasons some of them start working in other Entertainment departments or totally switch careers. But yeah I think that it's easier when people are completely involved in the process of making music like Ayu and Hikki are for example, when you can obviously see that the record labels and the music industry don't influence their works a lot. So even if the things might not be progressing well they can always part ways with their label and continue doing what they like.

TeamAyu2004 · #**226** 1st March 2011, 09:18 PM

But your talking about Ayumi who has been in the music business for 13 + years. She has made her place and she doesn't have to be number one at anything. But Im talking about new people.

The changes of a new artist never reaching the number 1 spot or not even breaking the top five and selling 100K + is rare. Ayumi on the other hand is almost selling her singles at 100K.

A company would rather have artist that hit the number one spot and sell tons then artist that cant break the top five or 10 and maybe over time selling 100K

jbrat2219 · #**227** 1st March 2011, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Misa-chan

I seriously disagree. This is ayu we're talking about. The girl personally selected by avex CEO Max Matsuura, and who still has a close friendship with him after all these years. The woman who has been Queen of Jpop for a decade, and still going strong. The artiste who has sold too many amazing releases with crazy sales to count. The first person who more or less everyone thinks about when we say "Japanese music industry".

Selling well is not an issue anymore. Not making money is not an issue either. ayu is one person who will never be dropped.

Let's not even talk about ayu here. I listen to many other artistes, some of whom have been releasing music for years and years, with number of singles/albums in the Top 5 less than 10 times. But they are still around, releasing wonderful music. An extreme example, look at Perfume. They have been around a decade, and only started selling really well a couple of years ago. And look where they are now, one of the strongest girl groups in Japan. If your theory of "drop an artiste if they don't sell" is true, then Perfume would have been gone long long ago, and we would have lost an awesome group.

The Japanese music industry is about people who have talent and the passion to work hard, not about some silly numbers and charts. That's my honest opinion, and I do hope people would stop thinking that money means everything.

My Japanese Language History professor says that the Japanese never get rid of anything! I guess that's true in music, too! I listen to some artists who made hits back in the 80's early 90's and not so much anymore and other's who have never even appeared on the pop charts and they all continue to make wonderful music. Groups usually end by disbandment more than being dropped by a label, right?

Kanzaki · #**228** 2nd March 2011, 02:09 AM

*GASP* WHY...HOW COME...I didn't see this before

Blu-ray! My PS3 is gonna be happy

douggn · #**229** 2nd March 2011, 03:04 AM

I always hope for ayu gets #1 but she does go up agains band groups and she has been a big hit for ages with regardless of her possition she will always pull in the crowds and the big$$$ and for how long she's been around, even in the top 10 or 5 will always look good for her, and despite ther ranking her income is more than enough to show how popular she is

Misa-chan · #**230** 2nd March 2011, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

My Japanese Language History professor says that the Japanese never get rid of anything! I guess that's true in music, too! I listen to some artists who made hits back in the 80's early 90's and not so much anymore and other's who have never even appeared on the pop charts and they all continue to make wonderful music. Groups usually end by disbandment more than being dropped by a label, right?

True, girl bands usually disband when one member gets married and goes off to have a kid. The other members just continue on in showbiz, as TV hosts and stuff instead of singers. Boybands seldom disband, they usually last really long.

Lol, we just have to watch big music shows like a-nation or Kouhaku and we'll see loooooooooots of artistes we've never even heard of before, who have been in the industry forever but never made a big splash, but still happily singing.

That's why I sorta agree with your prof, as long as their passion for music is there, record companies don't really drop people.

njanjayrp · #**231** 2nd March 2011, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Misa-chan

True, girl bands usually disband when one member gets married and goes off to have a kid. The other members just continue on in showbiz, as TV hosts and stuff instead of singers. Boybands seldom disband, they usually last really long.

Lol, we just have to watch big music shows like a-nation or Kouhaku and we'll see loooooooooots of artistes we've never even heard of before, who have been in the industry forever but never made a big splash, but still happily singing.

That's why I sorta agree with your prof, as long as their passion for music is there, record companies don't really drop people.

Yeah, I remember back in 2005 when I saw my first a-nation DVD, seeing bands like TRF, globe, Road of Major (which sadly disbanded) and other singers like hitomi and a few others who I don't really listen to make crowds dance and sing along to their songs, so you just have to grow to like stuff like CRAZY GOING CRAZY, survival dAnce, DEPARTURES, feel like dance, Japanese girl and a few others xD

Andrenekoi · #**232** 2nd March 2011, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

Yeah, I remember back in 2005 when I saw my first a-nation DVD, seeing bands like TRF, globe, Road of Major (which sadly disbanded) and other singers like hitomi and a few others who I don't really listen to make crowds dance and sing along to their songs, so you just have to grow to like stuff like CRAZY GOING CRAZY, survival dAnce, DEPARTURES, feel like dance, Japanese girl and a few others xD

Just for note, considering the post u quote, it may seen like TRF, globe and hitomi are "we've never even heard of before, who have been in the industry forever but never made a big splash", but them (don't know about Road of Major) were all in the top of the game some years ago^^

njanjayrp · #**233** 2nd March 2011, 01:29 PM

^ I didn't mean it like that XD They ones sold like mad and then just stopped selling xD Road of Major never hit it big though

LacusClyne · #**234** 2nd March 2011, 04:20 PM

that's a thing i like about japan music industry, the not-so-selling artist can be still around AT LEAST within 5 years after their debut, it should have something to do with their huge market.

In a record company, they should be artist who sell well and some who sold very little, like Ayu/kuu/hikki with their steady sales, so even if the company has a few artists whom aren't selling, at least the company has earn enough and don't make a loss in the end, so they can to stay.
well... that's what i think anyway

jbrat2219 · #**235** 2nd March 2011, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LacusClyne

In a record company, they should be artist who sell well and some who sold very little, like Ayu/kuu/hikki with their steady sales, so even if the company has a few artists whom aren't selling, at least the company has earn enough and don't make a loss in the end, so they can to stay.
well... that's what i think anyway

That makes sense.

But sometimes I wonder with things like PVs, sometimes when artists get a very large budget does it come out from what the artist themselves earned for the company over all or does it come from what the company itself earned from all the artists over all...?