What would ayu need to do to get amuro-likes sales numbers?

[oaristos]

I never think about that because I don't even think Ayu should do anything to have better sales. I mean, she's a great artist but her peak is over. Older artists usually need to give newer ones the opportunity to shine and have their time, that's just the nature of pop music. Namie Amuro is definitely an exception.

I'm glad Ayu is happy and releasing the music she wants to. Plus, she has been achieving moderate success lately and that's enough, isn't it?

[Raiu-Ayu]

I don't think ayu can really do anything. She's had her time. It sounds cruel but it is true. ayu basically went as high as really was possible. In the early 00s she was a social phenomenon. She was basically one huge trend. And like all trends it came to an end.

Part of the problem with ayu now is, in my opinion, how successful she was. Right now ayu is selling well for a solo female singer in Japan. Her sales are what you would expect of someone in her category. The issue is whatever ayu does is instantly compared to the days when her sales were off-the-chart ridiculous. She'll never get back to that again. Even Namie now, who you're comparing her to, is no where near that level; she's just a popular female soloist.

The big trend in Japan now (and god only knows why because I find it awful) is huge, female idol groups. Give it a few years and people will be asking why AKB48 aren't selling like they used to. People will just move on to the next trend.

What Namie, or her production team, are doing cleverly are giving her no signature sound. She's basically had none her whole career. Where most other artists have a sound that makes you go "oh thats an ayu song" or "thats such a Koda Kumi style song" or "wow thats really Hikki/idol/kpop/etc sounding", there's nothing in Namie's discography like that. She has signature songs but no signature sound. Even in the beginning Namie style was Tetsuya Komuro musical signature. When she parted ways with him she slipped into an off-pop meets hip-hop sound, then on to American/Latino style R'n'B, and now on to the modern EDM music that's trendy. The fact her musical style is so changeable is keeping her listenable to newer generations, which is keeping her relevant, which is keeping her popular.

[paper_doll]

Originally Posted by Raiu-Ayu

I don't think ayu can really do anything. She's had her time. It sounds cruel but it is true. ayu basically went as high as really was possible. In the early 00s she was a social phenomenon. She was basically one huge trend. And like all trends it came to an end.

Exactly.

There's nothing wrong with her not having huge sales. And actually I think she's done extremely well for herself considering how long she's been around.

[melissalove]

Originally Posted by chocopockymaster

She can pull some invasion-of-the-body-snatchers shit and take over Namie's body--that's about the only thing that will bring her sales back up to Namie's numbers.

But no seriously, ayu has already recognize a bit that this new person she's become is not who she really is. Which is why she's reversing back to who she used to be. I think that's what she meant on one of her recent interviews and also one of the meanings behind A One. .

Would she reach name's sales one day? yeah, if old ayu comes back. Cause seriously XOXO, leilo, Shake it, nanana, lady dynamite?? is that really ayu being herself, because that ayu seemed totally fake to me. specially during the performances of those songs

[primavera♥]

Originally Posted by emi♡

Ayu's music is stuck in an era of pop that just doesn't exist anymore. No one wants her brand of creativity or sentimentalism. They just don't. That sort of pop died out everywhere in the early 00s. Even in the west.

There isn't anything she can do. She can maybe wait around for some years and see if the market gets into a trend that is more her style.

I kinda wish she'd get into a more raw sound a la count down, but it wouldn't be popular either. Rock in Japan has it's own culture. A lot of their music genres do...lol But I'd love it

idk why it matters that much. Most musicians today are not making tons in sales. We think about everyone in the media, but, they're still a drop in the sea of music making, and it's only going to get more inundated with musicians lol Our relationship with the arts we actively consume is changing.


PS. Contrail is <3 Beautiful, non-original songs are just *nice* sometimes.

I agree with this post.

I also wish she would have a more raw sound. Even just more rock in general actually.
Or ethereal. That'd be great.

[NintendoHTF1242]

Why does Ayu need high sales this girl has enough money to purchase six homes AND she has a doctor husband lol as long as you enjoy the music it shouldn't matter. It's not like she's gonna fade away. She's done extremely well.

[Zeke.]

More sales equates to a higher budget equates to a stronger production value equates to more staff involved equates to more time spent on all aspects equates to greater attention to detail.

It's all connected people. Less sales equates to less revenue for the company equates to budgeting and/or staffing cuts equates to less time spent / expended on intricacies equates to poor mixing equates to a higher chance of the music sounding more lifeless, even if the song itself is a good one.

It's not the fact that more sales means more people love her which is bringing us some sort of validation; it's the fact that higher sales means more time, effort and money are put into her work as an artist. It means there is a higher chance to produce lavish concepts and products.

[Andrenekoi]

^Do you really think the number of people out there working for her to make everything work is lacking? The Cirque de Minuit by itself needs more people working on it than pretty much the whole year of a big japanese popstar...

[mizuki-7]

Originally Posted by emi♡

Ayu's music is stuck in an era of pop that just doesn't exist anymore. No one wants her brand of creativity or sentimentalism. They just don't. That sort of pop died out everywhere in the early 00s. Even in the west.

There isn't anything she can do. She can maybe wait around for some years and see if the market gets into a trend that is more her style.

I kinda wish she'd get into a more raw sound a la count down, but it wouldn't be popular either. Rock in Japan has it's own culture. A lot of their music genres do...lol But I'd love it

idk why it matters that much. Most musicians today are not making tons in sales. We think about everyone in the media, but, they're still a drop in the sea of music making, and it's only going to get more inundated with musicians lol Our relationship with the arts we actively consume is changing.


PS. Contrail is <3 Beautiful, non-original songs are just *nice* sometimes.

I agree with this but unfortunately that's sad !!
The music of Ayu in the Japanese landscape from Loveppears to (Miss)understood was top notch even without following a kind of trend her music was representative of what was the J-pop was since decades (great melodies & rich arrangements coupled with great lyrics) but she kind of missed the change of the Japanese music near the end of the 2000's heavily influenced by the western music (J-Pop since the beginning is influenced by the west but J-Pop is characterised by the melodies while in the west that's more the Beat) and generational changes !
It's not her fault and she is not alone in that case, she has all right to stick at her pattern and I'm glad she didn't jumped on the bandwagon of what she should make to be trendy (she barely tried with Colours) but it's pretty clear that the way she make music today is out of step with the current music scene !

Personally I'm really happy she still makes the music she want to do ! It certainly set her apart of her peers and is definitely one of the last female singer of her generation representative of what was the J-Pop in the past !

But to be real the true problem of Ayu is a problem of image like I said everytime when a thread like this pop up ... this translated article of this Japanese who was fan of Ayu in the end of the 90's shows well that this is an image problem !

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121758

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

^Do you really think the number of people out there working for her to make everything work is lacking? The Cirque de Minuit by itself needs more people working on it than pretty much the whole year of a big japanese popstar...

Her tours are another story. There is no doubt they are high-end productions, but her release patterns and concepts and designs and team behind the material itself is lacking.

Additionally, cirque de Minuit is two projects rolled into one (CDL + Tour). Of course, changes have been made, and continue to be made, but there is no doubt that doing it the way she is doing it now saves time and money on production costs.

[attractive nausea]

I agree with you Zeke., less sales = low budget, and low budget = cheap af PVs, cheap af production and mixing etc etc which can lead to people losing even more interest in her. It's a vicious circle.
However, how do you explain the cheap af PVs we got when FIVE came out even though she was still selling 200 000+ copies at the time?

I think low budget isn't the only problem, for instance _genic PVs are kinda low budget, aren't they? Yet _genic is selling tons of copies. And Namie's PVs are always the same, i don't think they play a big role in her popularity. (even though i really liked Golden Touch PV, so much fun)

I think with the general public Namie has more appeal because like people already said she doesn't have her "sound", no song that will make you say "this is def a Namie song" and she knows how to follow the trend + and she doesn't have any scandal, her life is 100% private, her public image is 100% clean and well managed. To me she's the perfect "product" : a good performer with good songs and she doesn't get involved in scandals or anything because she keeps her mouth shut and stay professional, she's not seen too much in the magazines or on tv like Ayu used to during her peak so that people can't really get tired of her too. I really wonder how this will end for her though and when, because like Ayu, everything comes into a end someday.

[Delirium-Zer0]

Ayu doesn't NEED to do anything - more to the point, she can't.

Her appeal to begin with was that she was making music & writing songs that were particularly timely. They were songs that people needed/wanted to hear, because no one wrote pop songs with subject matter like she did. She was very unusually frank about heartbreak and hope and loss and relief in a way that was unheard of in pop at the time, and millennial Japan was a very stressful place for teenagers, young girls in particular, because of some of the social & economic changes at the time doing battle with much of Japan's conservatism. Suicides due to stress were very high, girls were trying to find their place in the world, and Ayu's words struck a chord with THOSE people at THAT time.

Her appeal had nothing to do with her doing anything specific or trying to be anything in particular - it was luck. Just like most huge successes are, to be honest. Luck COULD strike again, but it's not up to her if it does.

[luna7996]

^My mom and dad always say that becoming famous is 10% talent and 90% luck. It doesn't matter how talented you are people can choose to not like you and that's not anybodies fault.

[Yumsushi]

Buy a time machine and go back to 2008?

I cant speak for the japanese public, but I personally dont care about who she marries or dates or anything in regards to her personal life, but I do care when her personal anouncements coincide with release dates and her album or pv production quality seemingly plummets to the point where I wonder if she even cares anymore about maintaining the standards she created for herself.

I know that myself and many other fans here struggled to stay interested in ayu over the last few years because of all these issues that began to overshadow her music and we were fans to start. I dont imagine that the general public in japan would even bother to do the same.

But shes had a few moderately successful hits recently, so maybe the public isnt as unforgiving as we al thought. Will she ever have another peak? I doubt it, but I also dont think she cares as, while her sales are nothig to brag about, the public still comes out to her shows, and since this is now her major source of income that is where all the moneybis being spent.

[Zeke.]

I'm kinda get annoyed that it appears users are responding to this question in an accusatory manor. It's just an honest question; what kind of techniques or strategies could be possibly employed to generate a growth of interest and/or sales figures. We know the situation at hand, we know the past, and we know the unlikelihood of her experiencing a resurgence. But, if there WERE something that could help her get there, an integrated marketing technique and/or extravagant concept, what would it be and how would it be implemented?

[primavera♥]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

I'm kinda get annoyed that it appears users are responding to this question in an accusatory manor. It's just an honest question; what kind of techniques or strategies could be possibly employed to generate a growth of interest and/or sales figures. We know the situation at hand, we know the past, and we know the unlikelihood of her experiencing a resurgence. But, if there WERE something that could help her get there, an integrated marketing technique and/or extravagant concept, what would it be and how would it be implemented?

I'm pretty sure most people are just giving honest and realistic answers. And they describe what things they think are needed such as a change in her public image, changes in music/cultural trends, ayu changing and successfully fitting trends, production quality, time passing by, collaborations with "cool", artists etc. Things that have been said here and probably around the forum. And how those things are likely not to happen and much of it is realistically out of ayu's control.
I don't think there are many answers for things that would theoretically work because most things won't. So no one's probably going to say things that they think won't actually work.

And I don't see most posts being unreasonable here.
And I'm sorry if I'm misinterpreting what you mean in your post.

I mean, do you have any ideas on what she needs to do that you were thinking about?

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

Was talking to some middle schoolers recently. One of them honestly had no idea who Ayu was. (She was born in 2000)

When I told another one that Amuro is older (career wise) she was surprised.

Another two girls mocked the way Ayu sings and said like "if that's the case I prefer Koda Kumi...but actually I don't like her either lolol"


Sooo yeah. Girls don't think Ayu's cool anymore. She's not edgy, she doesn't have slick videos, and her face isn't really the face girls are emulating now. Her style isn't relatable and her lyrics are lost on this generation (growing up with rather meaningless songs)

I know this is only one group of girls, but I can't help but think it's a general feeling.

[attractive nausea]

^ How can you not like Koda Kumi...

Well my friend met young (14/15 yo) japanese girls last year and it was the same thing, some didn't know who she was, others knew her but didn't really care about her.
I really wonder what's trendy these days besides Namie, i mean if the young generation doesn't like Ayu or Kuu, what are they listening to? There is Kana Nishino, but i don't see any other singer, is the decline of female solo singers a thing in Japan?

[mizuki-7]

^
Arashi, AKB48, Miwa, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Sekai no Owari, perfume and so on...

The market is more diverse now and people can pick easily what they want to heard ! Why the young people would like to listen to a girl enough aged to be their mother lol ?

Isn't in the west it was the same with Madonna in the 90's ? she was trashy and for the younger generation she was already from the past with the rise of mariah carrey & Celine Dion (to name the most popular)...it's only after Ray of light that the new generation began to pay attention at her etc... and obviously it's the same thing for Namie when she had her second peak !
Tbh it was more easier for Namie because she was still young around 2007/2008 but Ayumi is nearer from 40 years old than anything and in the Japanese industry the number of female singers with this kind of image who have managed to be successful again at almost 40 years is really but really limited !

[melissalove]

^ you forgot kpop and boy groups like exile.