I’ve mentioned a few things about idols and foreign fans in the past,
\nbut generally, if you like Japanese idol groups and you’re not
\nJapanese, you have a bit of a disadvantage. Shipping stuff from Japan
\nis a pain, there is probably a language barrier involved, and, most
\nimportantly, you can’t go see live events. Seeing live events is a
\nmajor area of interest for some idols, and, frankly, vital for some
\n(especially indie idols that don’t have much in the way of
\nprofessional releases). So every time I see idol acts become known in
\nthe US (since that is the country where I live) or when I see idols
\nperform abroad, I get excited.<\/p>\n
The Japanese music industry is strong, which is both a blessing and a
\ncurse, in a way. It’s a blessing in that the industry behind our
\nfavorite acts isn’t in any danger; it is profitable to be in the
\nJapanese music industry. However, in a selfish way, it is a curse, in
\nthat there is not much of a financial need for exportation of music.<\/p>\n
There’s a reason that KPop has had some success in exporting its
\ncontent. The Korean music industry, for all its renown, isn’t that
\nstrong. South Korea is usually around the 10th or 11th largest music
\nmarkets in the world, which isn’t terrible unless you consider that
\nJapan made about 14 times more in music sales. So it makes sense for
\nKorean acts to promote in Japan and even the US; there’s money there.
\nHowever, for Japanese acts, there’s a ton of money in the industry.
\nFurther, most of the really profitable music artists are Japanese;
\nsome of the artists are from elsewhere (America, Korea) but those are
\noutliers.<\/p>\n
So really, there aren’t many reasons for Japanese music artists to
\nexpand beyond promoting in Japan. That’s why, whenever an idol group
\nor idol singer has a concert outside of Japan, I’m always excited but
\nintrigued as to why. Lately, idol groups are looking more and more to
\nperform in Europe, in the US and other countries in Asia, for a
\nvariety of reasons.<\/p>\n
When I saw that Morning Musume was planning on performing in New York
\nCity this October, I immediately thought to the concept of
\n“reimporation” that was brought up at the beginning of this year.
\nBasically, the idea was that by improving Morning Musume’s
\ninternational reach, that the buzz about Morning Musume would travel
\nback to Japan and help them (presumably so that they can make it to
\nKohaku Uta Gassen). It’s an idea that was discussed a lot when it was
\nbrought up.<\/p>\n
It’s not a terrible idea, and Morning Musume certainly isn’t the worst
\nidol group to try this. Morning Musume is arguably the most popular
\nidol group outside of Japan, at least in the English-speaking world.
\nThey have a recognized fanbase in the US; it’s a relatively small one,
\nbut large enough to justify focusing on trying to improve that
\nrelationship. Far smaller groups have attempted to reach an
\ninternational audience (Starmarie at Anime Expo, Cheeky Parade’s
\nupcoming New York concert).<\/p>\n
Lately, Up-Front has been doing a pretty solid job. On their
\nmerchandise site, E-Lineup, there’s a link for international shipping
\nthrough Tenso.com. They’ve been putting English subtitles on their
\nvideos on Youtube (though I’ve seen the argument that this will make
\npeople want to buy DVDs to see the non-subbed videos). And recently,
\nthey reached out to JPHiP to do a survey to judge the interest of
\nHello!Project fans outside of Japan. I don’t know if that survey lead
\nto Morning Musume’s concert in New York decision, but it’s a fair bet
\nthat that survey helped.<\/p>\n
The biggest thing that I’m wondering about is how much of this concert
\nwill be American fans and how much will be Japanese fans willing to
\nfly out to make the concert. It’s a reasonable assumption to say that
\nthis concert will be used as a promotion for Morning Musume to talk
\nabout their New York live. The biggest question is how much of this
\nconcert will be in service of the American fanbase and how much of
\nthis will be for their promotion.<\/p>\n
I’m planning on trying to go to this. Morning Musume isn’t my top
\ngroup anymore, but I’ve regretted not going to see them at Anime Expo.
\nI’m also excited to meet other people that I’ve known for years, but
\nonly online. However, much like Greg of Selective Hearing, I have to
\nsay that this is going to be a struggle. The VIP tickets ($100 a pop)
\nare going to be gone in no time. Since the basic ticket is $42, an
\nadditional $58 isn’t a bad price for an additional CD, an autographed
\nVIP pass and priority entrance. That said, I have a feeling that these
\ntickets are going to go fast in general.<\/p>\n
All of this is making me excited for the future of a more global idol
\nworld. Idol Matsuri and Morning Musume are spanning the gamut of indie
\nand major, and, more and more, the international fanbase is making
\nitself heard. Do I see Jpop being more than a niche in the US?
\nProbably not. However, things are slowly starting to snowball as idol
\nmusic is making itself more and more heard outside of Japan, and
\nthat’s really exciting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’ve mentioned a few things about idols and foreign fans in the past, but generally, if you like Japanese idol groups and you’re not Japanese, you have a bit of a disadvantage. Shipping stuff from Japan is a pain, there … Continue reading