[7/30] Juice=Juice 4th single - Black Butterfly / Kaze ni Fukarete

[otaku_blue]

isn't that a bit y'know silly though?
the reality is that the reason why they sold 35k+ was mainly from preorders into gimmicks.
take that factor away, and they performed poorly throughout the week in terms of daily sales ranking.

UFA acknowledge that these sales aren't directly related to their popularity, since most of these sales are contributed by exploiting fans.
If Juice=Juice were as popular as their sales suggest, they would've had bigger venues for their concert tour.

Conversely, when they started handshake events they weren't as successful to their sales as they are presently. But that's because of an increase in general popularity and the idol boom. UFA and especially AKB acknowledge this relationship though, and create a kinda "false" sense of popularity to gain recognition than attract more fans. Which is why the consecutive number 1s on oricon are so prestigious for MM, since obtaining such a ranking consistently during such a competitive time is amazing.

But with that said, these gimmicks are easily mimicked by other companies depending on how much money they plan to spend. Like Super GIrls' multiple editions and such, and also LinQ aren't that far behind from J=J and other idol groups in terms of sales. Team Syachihoko are another example of this, selling 34830 in their last single's first week.

So although these sales are commendable, I don't think comparing them to past releases isn't as realistic as it used to be.

[CaptainBerryzGiraffe]

It doesn't matter who they sell to, as long as they sell enough to make a profit.
^That is what most companies think, anyway... Sad that UF is falling to that too. :c

[Obsidian]

If they don't make a profit they go bust and you get no Idols at all though.

[CaptainBerryzGiraffe]

that's true...
but 1) UF isn't in a bad position right now, with MM and C-ute selling really well, and then Berryz at almost 50k this past single, i don't think that's too much of an issue as it used to be...
and
2) If they did promotion better, I doubt they'd need to do the extra sales thing... (although, tbh, I have no clue how they could promote better, I'm not an expert. )

[Obsidian]

It looks like they front loaded the events for this single which would explain why they only ticked along for the rest of the week after that really good first day. Looking at the H!P site though they have events planned a long way into the future, hopefully this isn't the end for this single.

But I wonder if anyone ever makes much money from singles anyway? In the distant past they were conceived as a promoting tool themselves for albums and tours. There's probably a lot of financial risk in paying out the amount they did for that billboard for example, some of the members probably aren't even paid that in a year. They'd basically have to make a dollar on every single sold just to get that alone back.

But yes here I am draining the fun and life out of Idols with ill informed business talk again.

[Menno]

I doubt my 2 preorders counted for the sales, the 2nd one I bought I just asked for the event ticket without even filling in a form. Who knows in which pocket that 1080 yen ended up, it could easily be the guys behind the sales counter at the event. The 2 handshakes were fun btw, although some of the female fans were cuter.

I agree with everyone who is saying that we should not look at 1 bad sales result. It could just be less events, they have been busy with their live house tour and the summer concerts of course. And it's also summer of course. I bet a good percentage of the fans, especially those in the student age group are now back home in the country far away from any idol event.

And even if the next singles will also see some declining sales, it's not the 1st time that a group has a bit of a dip after an initial strong start. It's usually followed by a another peak in the sales after a couple more singles. But that's not a dead given and depends on how the girls will develop in the meantime and if Tsunku gives them some more outstanding songs and not just good songs.

[Amped]

[Amped]

promotion

Radical video jockey message

[Amped]

idol group Sunmyu has taken notice of Juice=Juice's giant billboard in Shibuya and were looking up in awe.
http://ameblo.jp/sunmyu/entry-11905863695.html

[Jessi]

The sales still aren't that bad. It's actually pretty good considering half the single was a cover.