How do people in Japan not know that she's doing new music?!?! Don't they look at billboards?!?! :D

hope for more!!! ayu needs massive promotion...

What does she need MORE promotion for? avex cleverly picked a release date where there is virtually no competition at all....Unless she does so poorly that SJJD passes her on the charts or something. I can't imagine that though. IMO, they're doing more than they need to already, especially for a mini album.

...Ayu's promotion is quite poor compared to others who actually sell. She is no where to be seen on TV shows which seems to be important now. It also seems that only her fan base is aware of the majority of her releases, so there is actually a lot they can do.

Aren't there promotion trucks in the city area? I remember a Japanese fan recorded a video of trucks playing "You were...". I can't agree that it's the best form of promotion but better than nothing!

love the billboards. Guess they didn't fix the finger lol but I would of never noticed if no one ever said anything

Ayu's staff/Avex are a joke, Koda Kumi just released a single and the PV for her next single is already previewed while we probably won't see any of the PVs from FIVE till someone at Ayuchina rips the DVD and uploads it.

I read on Wiki that the appears video was only released 4 days prior to the single, which means she's been like this for a looong time haha.

granted, she did a million lives for it.

With this thread we know now, that's a long time that Ayu's sales are big only because of her fan base. I'm sure avex know it. So, why it'll spend more money in promotion for her?

Moreover, I think to start promotion one week before the release date is a good strategy. When it start too early, people don't pay attention to the promotion after some weeks & maybe forget it! I mean do you remember again the poster that is on the bus/at the corner of the street, that you see on your way each morning since a month? Personnaly, I don't.

actually, I let my friends ( never listen to Jpop before) listen to beloved - all of them like beloved so much 0_o
I like beloved too =]]

I have the feeling many fans will love beloved in Japan :P

beloved is such a girlish song. she has the chance to reach out to new listeners with this release thanks to ToX, but I don't think wading through the stereotypes that people have of you anyway is the best way to do that. although her fans will eat this release up as usual, it's definitely a missed opportunity.

^ this.

A bus driving around Tokyo is probably not going to be worth it as her fan base sells her CDs.

It seems like every release we get this 'omg ayu not promoting enough' but this is a smart marketing decision by avex and its not going to change anytime soon. there is no point pouring money into heaps of promotion when:

1. her fanbase is what's generating her sales; and
2. she is guaranteed the #1 spot if released on the right day

And think about Ayu. What do you think she decided? She probably likes it this way. Only thing that annoys me is that they don't bother sending PVs to music TV channels earlier - the whole point these videos are made is to promote the song, so use them.

I think the only time avex will ever promote the hell out of her releases is if she is challenged to the #1 spot eg. Mirrorcle World single.

I adore Why and Beloved so much too! it's simple yet melodious. love her voice and the arrangment =) although i'm always excited when Ayu experiment with new sounds/styles like Do it again, Sexy little things, Don't look back etc. the classic Ayu style is still what i long for once inawhile. Five is definitely the classic Ayu sound I first fall in love with her. Scream loves for Why and Beloved - feeling nostalgic =)

Yeah but, koda's stuff ALLLLWWWAAAYYYSSSS leaks early. We had the covers for ai wo tomenaide or whatever it's called before we even had everything from 4TIMES lol

Ayu's stuff always takes forever, probably cause they always had to be super secretive in case people were unfairly profiting.

but I don't get this whole "no promo" thing they've got going on...and honestly, even koda's promotion was a little light as far as tv and physical stuff.


Maybe they are making the switch to promo after the thing is released? But then that would undermine the whole "first week sales" being so important...but then, maybe they don't want that :shrug

I think Ayu totally doesn't care about promotion! Maybe for the magazine release & tv live yes but for the rest...no. I think she only does what she like. She like working with Leslie Kee & it's why we have a lot of magazines shoots this times. Maybe all are not shooted by Leslie Kee but we already know he did two of the 7 magazines!

no, koda's working months in advance, ayu does everything the very last minute before her contract with avex explodes right in her face.

I dont think Ayu is doing the same again with FIVE. We have two collaborations, something unusual on her career and that is enough refreshing for me. She also has "progress", which is not just a good song but also a great tie-in that she didnt have since some years... BRILLANTE also looks like it will be something different, and even if "beloved" is the less innovative song the piano intro is fantastic and the song is great

^And actually, though the arrangements are totally unoriginal for beloved, I somehow think the melody is kinda... different for an Ayu song... Dunno how I could explain that !

Guys, don't forget that the two songs that will probably end up being the most "original" on FIVE are not revealed yet :D

This peaked my interest! What happened there?