^ what about her?

Why does japan NOT care about digital sales?
They're very important everywhere else...

I think they do, but just not to the extreme as the rest of the world...

but if you look at it, itunes is the big thing.
they jsut recently got into the whole apple craze.

also I think it has to do with having actual something to hold on to... you cant do that with digital... but it also seems where because they lack space so one would assume that they would rather have all that stuff on a harddrive, lol.

I think Japan does, just not Oricon. Billboard Japan counts both physical and digital sales.

Oricon should really get on that.

The strange thing is Billboard Japan features Ayu no where, except in a small advertisement for Hot Shot Discs. She's no where in the hot 100 or 200, which is strange. Even if LOVE was a bomb, her song Missing would definitely rank AT LEAST in the mid 50s, which is currently being occupied by such hits as Akai Jounestu by Super Girls (???) and Follow Me by E-Girls, with Christina Aguilera and Rihanna tagging along as well...

Whats going on!

It's probably why Billboard Japan isn't the 'norm'.

isnt billboard japan something that has just popped up in japan in recent years??
But honestly i dont know why LOVE isnt there yet...

but I do know they dont do day to day... its weekly, so maybe next week?

Japan would care about digital sales I think...if they had better platforms for it...

Their whole industry and business is so ungodly outdated.

Will they rely on ringtones forever :laugh


Anyways. All the flop talk is laughable. Ayu is an old woman. She can do whatever she likes now.

She can release singles and call them mini-albums and charge everyone more. And look, she's still selling very well in that market that's so hostile to female solos. My poor girls.

I can't wait for this damned week to be over so we can have final sales already and chart positions. I hope my Beni makes the top 8.

It started in 2008. Ayu's only #1s on the Hot 100 were back in 2008/2009 with Days and Rule respectively. I wonder what's so different now because her releases don't chart there at all anymore. It's kind of odd to see some of these acts in the "top XX" spots really.

^ it may be because they count digital sales as well? Whoever released on the same day as her might have out sold her with the digital singles included...

Edit:
Oh! And she also got a number 1 with L...
I really dont understand how they do it in japan because she never appears the week she released...

Meh, once a singer or group other than AKB gets a million selling CD, that's when I'll start caring about sales in Japan again.

It's much too one sided right now. It's not normal for (literally) only one act to be achieving such high sales when everyone else is not.

^ 2. lol.
Cant forget about Arishi... although, they still dont get the high amount of sells as AKB... man... this is how it must of felt like for ayumi haters back in 2000/1/2... lol... but AKB is doing about 10x better then ayumi ever did.

38k is really bad, I hope again will do better :/

^thats not the final number, just all that we have at the moment.
But its going to be a low week for her... she might not even break 50K

^ yes I know :)

no sales today?

She'll brake 50k with no problem :)

(50000-38372)/3=3876, I think she'd probably sold more than that during those 3 unknown days.

I expect 60-70k for the first week. Maybe around 100k in total, "again" might even give "LOVE" a slight boost

She stayed put at #5 again but no sales reflected for that except for the top 3

http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/d/2012-11-11/

most likely yes, but I dont want to get my hopes up... lol (its most likely going to be less then 75K though)

Last day - #5

http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/d/2012-11-12/

I wonder where LOVE will be placed at in the weekly ranking overall since it has been ->3-3->4->5->5->5->5 :O

I'm expecting it to be at #4. But a #5 wouldn't shock me with the competition of the week and the single-nature + promotion of the EP.

From FrozenSoul @ JPC

4 - ● ＬＯＶＥ 64,841 64,841 12/11/8 AVT 浜崎あゆみ

at this mark, passing 100k is like a hesitation...

1st Week
Position: #4
Sales: 38,372 + x + x + x + x
Official Total Sales: 64,841

2nd Week

1st Day
Position: #5

Thanks.

Well at least she's still having yearly releases sales of over 400,000. Maybe 500,000 by the end of the oricon year =P

She's still got it! YES SHE DOES!

Not bad for a female solo artist who has been in the business this long. A top 5 finish is great!

let's all be true to ourselves, i'm kinda sad about this.

I'M. NOT. SO. USED. TO. SEE. AYU. NOT. SLAYING. EVERY. ONE. OF. THEM.

oh well, i think i'll be used to it.

:(

Oh well... nothing surprising about the sales.... With only one billboard in the hole country and no other real promotion I guess it's okay =)

I'm sad about it too, but what can you expect.
There really is not promotion sustain ever. She is gonna have to do a live or two if she wants to sell these things.

Well this isn't bad really o.O I guess the first post wasn't updated?

well yeah, to think Japanese considered this as a single, it's almost the same as L sales :o

Sales are pretty bad, but considering the amount of promo... It's actually good. lol

Only 65k?
Oh well...

For a mini it's actually quite good not so much artist who releases a mini can reach this amount of sale even if for ayu it's a low sale ...

These sale are normal for minis, FIVE and mainly Memorial address where exceptions which sold PRETTY MUCH MORE than usual. But yeah, #4 is not a typical number for ayu...

L sold 70k in the first week, I guess everyone is treating LOVE as a single

Not really. The sales aren't there because people don't care anymore. She's pretty much left with fans only.

What were the singles that charted this week? Out of curiosity, I would like to know how this "album" would have fared if it were considered a single officially.

^ wasnt akb this week?

EDIT:
It was
NMB
THE SECOND from EXILE
Golden Ixion Bomber-DT
flumpool
Nishino Kana

top 5 nikki... I dont think the final numbers are out yet...

#4!?

:thud

Well, another sign of the times... JUJU dominated this, and the Arashi steam was just too strong for Ayu to get a top three - this is her first time in a LOOOOONG time Ayu was outside the top three...?

i dont think it ever happened, lol... (besides remix albums and stuff)

the last time was TO BE so 13 years ago, hopefully it will be certified gold.

ayu and her team need to be more organized cause the past couple weeks leading up to LOVE they have been scrambling to finish "again" and now she's in paris doing more stuff. so it kinda makes it impossible for her to do tv appearances, assuming she even wants to do them.

^ that was a single... this a is an album/mini
and man, it sold 109,860 n the first week.. gone are the golden days of albums sales.

i included singles since most people consider LOVE to be a single.

i think we could potentially see crazy numbers again from someone that isn't AKB, Japanese companies just need to stop being stubborn/dumb and decrease the prices!!

its not a single, so no.

As for lowering prices i dont see that happening since akb sales so much at current prices. CD sales dont decline because of prices, they havent changed much over the years
TO BE single cost 1020
and L cost 1200
thats a about a 12 year difference and less then 200 yen.. not bad if you ask me.

they should try and focus on digital sales... thats where the world is going anyways.

It might not be a single, but it doesn't stop the album from only having three new songs.

We might feel just peachy about that...but it doesn't mean that the Japanese public does.


I think the sales aren't bad at all for a mini like this though. Chart positions don't mean much to me anymore I think.

Still 1020 yen in 1999 wasn't really what 1020 yen is in 2012...

ummm he said "this is her first time in a LOOOOONG time Ayu was outside the top three...?" insituing ALL her releases not just albums calm down :shakehead

and they need to adapt the prices. a standard cd only album costs generally 3059 yen today just like it did in 1992. that isn't right. digital music is overpriced in japan too so....

^ why? People today tend to make more money then they did 10 years ago. Prices match what people make.
I'm surprised they have gone up only 200 yen in 12 years (just ayumi mind you) the prices are different for each artist.

Namies Go ROund - 1050
Koda Kumi latest- 1260
Kana Always - 1223
AKB48 uza - 1600
ayumi L -1200

they all very.
also you have to understand the mentally of the japanese public... they are very different on their 'things' then the rest of the world...
thats why anime dvd's still cost almost 100.00 a piece and only have 2 episodes.

if your talking about conversion... then now, the yen is worth more now, but now we are getting into economics. Is the yen worth more now or has the world's money crashed around it??

but just looking at the japanese economy not much has changed.

^ http://aramatheydidnt.livejournal.com/4414189.html

^ okay, a pointless article about why pirates can no longer get their free music...
from my understanding albums sales are about the same this time as the same last year...

also, there is no indication on who they surveyed, how many, along with no sources of quotes, and so on.

also, if you noticed the graph, it only changed (from what was reported) by 6.1... which isn't a lot.

A huge portion of sales from the music industry in Japan is from young people, as they grow up they might stop buying music and with the stagnant population it is only natural for the music sales to decline.

Sales are good for a disc with only 3 new songs. I know they are not ok for Ayu's standards but... Well, ok!

We should be happy that she's still in the field of action and can sell half million cds with her releases in 2012! :P

Let's be satisfied with that till we see what's gonna happen in her 15th anniversary!

A maxi single disguised as a mini-album against BEST/COMPLIATION Albums be included in the Top 5? How is that even a flop?

Lol... :innocent

^ would you actually want to contribute something of substance?

I don't get the point of any of this.

LOVE sold just as much as it should have in that ridiculous market.

It EXACTLY met my expectations so far(60-70k first week, then something around 100k in total) - and I wasn't expecting a flop. I think it's doing REALLY well considering the circumstances. The market, her career/the length of her career, the nature of the songs and of the release as a whole, the promotion...

omg you just argue in circles with everyone. i like how you're some expert on the spending habits of Japanese people when last week you didn't even know how talent agencies worked.

where are you getting the idea that most sales are from young people? how exactly are they buying this cause minimum wage in japan is only 600-700 yen per hour...and that's IF they're even able to have a job due to how crazy school in japan is. 6.1% decrease is a lot also.

and lol at you trying to question the validity of this article by not pointing out who they surveyed and the sources. http://blog.livedoor.jp/dqnplus/archives/1737101.html go on and read the nearly 3000 comments this article got cause just like the users at arama...they agree.

I dont argue in circles, and I never claimed to be an expert on japanese people spending habits. I said young people drive the music scene... and they do. You can look at sales all across the world and see this.
It extends to almost every facet of entertainment. People want to hit that young audience because thats where the money is.

And by your comment Ill just assume you are thinking about young people as 10-highschool something?when in fact it includes everyone in their 20's as well and some would include the 30's as young (the american entertainment shots for an 18-49) compared to people in their 70's and 80's. Japan has one of the smallest unemployment rates in the world and the information i found said that 15% of the population is on mini wage... so... take it how you want.

I know how talent agencies work, thanks.
I didn't really think about how Idols where managed, but they have a complete image that is different from your everyday artist. And in all in tense purposes they don't really belong to any label, but to the agencies that founded them they just rent out the studio time and have the label produce the physical cope of the album.
(and I'm totally flattered that you follow my post! thanks so much!)

As for your link, already read it, thanks again. But most ALL (wow, one little typo, one would think in an international forum people would be used to this) of those post were AFTER the article was posted.
We still do NOT know who was polled which would be important. For all I know the person doing the article asked 30 people next to him/her which isn't a real comparison to the rest of japan, now is it.

also, while I'm at it... I really dont see how you claiming me 'being an expert on japanese spending habits' has anything to do with not knowing about talent agencies.

And finally... for your 6.1 comment... I don't think it is... thinking it is or isn't is subjective...

try not to be rude again if you want to comment back.. I was never rude.

So... you are telling us Japan is lacking on 14~30 years old people? :000 That's sucks!

I think they do have a higher population of older people? Or something? Like I know there have been articles coming out for years how they don't have enough people of working age to fill jobs or something.


But anyway...older people in the Japanese industry are quite important too.

I mean, Koda comes to my mind first. But last year, I thought it was hilarious when she was on...Best Artist I think, where they show the demographics of the fans...and she had a huge portion of 55-65 year old men :laugh It's not just her of course. She's probably no where near the most popular with the age group.

You can even see this with videos on youtube.


At the end of the day, things are marketed towards the younger generations...but the Japanese market has more to do with tastes than age. And the tastes across the board of all ages, are kind of unanimous. They want idol music.

^^ what?

I think you might be taking for what said too literal? Maybe... it's a growing concern that Japan is a very old population and people are only having 1 child maybe two...
its very interesting...

What I was saying was that as the young grow old, there are not enough new young to replace what was once there... does that make sense?

and what emi said was true too... from a marketing standpoint it goes for the younger crowd.

EDIT:
there is actually a TON of information on the aging of japan and how it is becoming a problem. the main article is on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aging_of_Japan
you can find all the references at the bottom is you want to check sources.

^ lol.. what a nice way of putting it..

^
^
That's right! Japanese people need more sex if Ayumi want to sell more again. She tried herself but it didn't work, Koda did her best! Also the friends of Namie's son buy her music, that makes sense to me.

xD

For a release with 3 songs, this sold well. I couldn't even compare this release to something like FIVE because that had more original content and more video clips.

It's actually REALLY true lol

They have such a weird thing going on over there. And yeah, no one ends up having sex.

It would've also been nice if this were promoted a smidge more.

Quite a lot of people had no idea this was even being released.

Yep.. I asked someone over there in Tokyo right now if they had seen of heard anything. He said he had no idea she was releasing something.

He even likes her stuff! (although saying her highlight was fairyland was a little disturbing... lol)

Maybe the 5 consecutive release campaign will become more well-known towards the end, so we could see a growing trend in sales with every release. Plus again is coming out just before Christmas, so that could give it a boost over this.

G-music:

LOVE debuted at #9 in Taiwan with an estimation of 953 copies sold

Not a huge drop since PQ sold a bit more than 1k in its first week :)

Oh god, only 953 copies? That's sad :(

oh man :laugh ALL of the comments were made after the article was posted not "most", how can someone comment and agree on an article that hasn't even been published yet? :roflmao This isn't the first article about this obviously, there's tons of them. This one just happened to be translated.

As for the talent agency thing idk why you're talking about idols when Kis-My-Ft2 were the only ones mentioned...you point blank said avex trax promotes kis-my-ft, Namie, Kumi, EXILE etc. more than Ayu before Andrenekoi was kind enough to correct you. This is common sense for a j-pop fan, so for you to be talking all this stuff and not knowing that well I just found it interesting :)

and yes I'm including Kuu & EXILE cause there's a big difference between Rhythm Zone and Avex Trax which wasn't addressed but that can be for another day.

What else...oh right when talking about statistics in regards to buying habits (or anything really) you can't just lump such a large age range into "young people"....there's way more factors also but omg I can already tell this will go nowhere so I'm throwing in the towel. Goodbye congrats etc. give yourself a pat on the back

oh can you give me the link please ? it's interesting !

you make little to no sense, but thats cool.. I cant expect much.

As for Rhythm Zone and Avex Trax... you clearly show here that you know little to nothing about the subject.
They are the same company. Avex trax. Rhythm Zone is a sub label.

as for the idol thing. I brought that up because thats what Andrenekoi (that you so kindly brought up) said.
http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showpo...&postcount=116

before taking bits and pieces of what ever you want to try and make a point fully read everything...
also, since you seem to be so knowledgeable on the subject I would like some sources on all the information that seems to be so clearly evident for the average j-pop fan.

besides that, Im done... you cant even make a comment without being rude.

The only point on having a sub-label is having different strategies for it. It wouldn't make sense for Avex to have smaller labels to do things exacly like the main brand does.

^ but for the conversion we are having; Who belongs to avex/doing promotional stuff there isnt a difference.

the point of the sub label is to provide a different image and how they go about doing things... for the point of the conversion we are talking about promotional which the only difference would be the target audience and how they do it...
not if they do it or not.

hehehe that part made me laugh too :x

Top Ten Singles
*1 317,051 NMB48
*2 106,161 THE SECOND from EXILE
*3 *45,177 AKB48
*4 *34,699 Flumpool
*5 *23,047 ゴールデン・イクシオン・ボンバー DT
*6 *21,362 西野カナ
*7 *11,530 HALLOWEEN JUNKY ORCHESTRA
*8 *10,721 スフィア
*9 **9,869 ソナーポケット
10 **9,588 Dream5

Top Ten Albums
*1 104,869 JUJU (BEST STORY ～Life stories～)
*2 *97,567 JUJU (BEST STORY ～Love stories～)
*3 *77,636 累計 778,896 嵐
*4 *64,841 浜崎あゆみ
*5 *50,462 BENI
*6 *33,556 エアロスミス
*7 *20,422 YUKI
*8 *18,548 ゴスペラーズ
*9 *16,331 (THE IDOLM@STER ANIM@TION MASTER 生っすかSPECIAL 05)
10 *11,343 Ms.OOJA
Courtesy of FrozenSoul @ JPC

it was already known from the very beginning that LOVE doesn't stand a chance to get #1 since it was up against 2 JUJU best albums

let alone it doesn't seem that again will be able to get #1 next month either since it's sandwiched in between the 1st 2 weeks of Dec which has a lot of best albums getting released on 5th Dec and if not on 12th Dec too

this probably will be her 1st year not to get any #1 for her releases but it doesn't really faze me so much :shrug

Wow. Ok, thanks.

The amount of promotion you get (or doesn't get) it also a part of marketing strategy. ;) Sometimes the same company needs to promote some things a lot and to underpromote other things a lot, depending on the result they want to reach.

Yeah... Not only JUJU but even Arashi - and that wasn't even close...

another valid point, but its not the point for this conversion.
The point is if they promote or not, not how or why they do it.

BUT, this goes into a completely different topic (the one that we had a few days ago and ♥ you! that would help her poor sad little case, but didnt) from the one that was started...

I would love to talk about that some more, but I have no sources for it and ♥ you! has yet to give me sources, so I have no idea if what you and she are saying is true or not... I for one don't work in the japanese music industry so i don't know how agency's like that would work or not... I know how the average one works in america, but for a japanese idol or the claims that vision factory or LDH handles of all it ? I just dont know. :shrug

=\\ cant believe it

If it was single it would've been at #3, even ahead of AKB48.

And man it's doing great judging by that album chart. She's against two BESTs with one MINI (which is more like single). Come on people give Ayu some credit.

Recochoku
1st Week
chaku uta: #2 Missing
chaku uta: #12 Song 4 u
chaku uta: #43 Melody
chaku uta: #63 You & Me
chaku uta FULL: #8 Missing
chaku uta FULL: #9 Song 4 u
chaku uta FULL: #52 Melody
chaku uta FULL: #74 You & Me

Kana's Always got #1 in the chaku uta, oh well.

I really hope this time Missing can have longevity and get certification in the long run!

2nd Week

1st Day
Position: #5

2nd Day
Position: #16

http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/d/2012-11-13/more/3/

:dead2

8 new entries in the top 10 so :x

*death*
Oh well
Bring on again.

Oh wow, it looks like Japan finds Melody kinda boring as well, lol.

and thankful that Kana did good on Recochoku, she did rather badly on oricon...
Come on oricon! Combine those numbers for us!

for a "single" (i guess more japanese would treat this as a single with just 3 new tracks) 1st week sales, these are pretty decent sales tbh for someone who is in the industry for close to 15years ^^

reading this, actually we cannot complain at all

I think I somewhat agree :yes

I'm afraid she cant reach 100,000

^ maybe?

with the next release some might be waiting?

Yeah, I have a feeling about that - stiff competition, aging - but we should also consider about how digital music has taken a hit...

I just cant believe she is still selling like this 15 years into her career...
not many people can do that.
Not many many women in Japan can do this...

How many people still sell crazy like this?
Koda (shes been around for what, 10 years)
Namie (20 years)
Ayumi (15 years)

If utada ever comes back im sure she would still sell like crazy.

Don't forget that in your list Utada is the only who has never knew a real decline ! Namie took something like 5/6 years for shining again & Koda had a later succes with a quick decline after !

We can put a lot of artist who are in this business since nearly the same time like Mika Nakashima, Ai otsuka, ELT, Aiko, Ami suzuki, misia, Kuraki Mai and a lot of other singer ... People dramatize too because of her diva status !