The Japanese entertainment industry where Shinki is located (remedial lesson) 1

Lesson 1 Q: What exactly is the ORICON list?

A: "Oricon" is quite So Japan’s “billboard” (if you tell me you don’t know this chart, you’re in trouble), brings together almost all the albums released in Japan. The only criterion for these albums to make a difference on the charts is sales. . The Oricon chart is actually Japan's most authoritative record sales list that is updated every week.

In fact, the record systems in different countries are different. Records are divided into albums, EPs and singles depending on the number of songs they contain.

Japanese records have many With the "quick-food" release method, almost all the songs filling the Japanese charts were released in the form of singles. The system ensures the music quality of Japanese records and maintains the popularity of many singers. This record system has greatly shortened the blind spot that the record production cycle brings to the singer, allowing the singer to be in front of the fans every day, and the styles are ever-changing, so the fans will not feel bored. In Japan, almost all idol singers do this.

Japanese singers almost all debut with singles. They wait until they have one or two singles that sell well before releasing an album. The album will contain all the songs from the previous singles, and then Pick out a few title songs from the album, make them into several new singles, and then release them one by one. Therefore, a well-made commercial album is not much different from what we call a "best collection".

The singles chart of Japan's Oricon chart is almost entirely dominated by Japanese idol singers, while the album chart is mostly dominated by albums released by some old and established or world-renowned artists. It is worth noting that there is an album called Single collection in Japan. This album is a selection of singles by a singer. It contains the essence of the albums released by the singer as singles. It can be said to be a real super selection. Records like this usually rank well on the Oricon album chart. In addition, the original soundtracks of anime and TV series, which are an important part of Japanese culture, are also very popular with Japanese listeners. It is worth noting that the Oricon ranking does not exclude foreign language albums, so it is not surprising that foreign stars appear on the list.

In addition, ORICON’s sales are actual sales from the shipped machines, so there is still some degree of fairness~~

Lesson 2: What is the sales volume of the Q:O list? Calculated?

A: You can get the approximate sales volume by multiplying the daily index by the coefficient.

But now there is a correction coefficient. This is because sometimes there is a deviation between the index and sales volume. The algorithm is: actual sales divided by the index. However, it should be noted that the single coefficient is usually about 0.08 to 0.1 more than the album.

It is generally around 1.73. For example, if the number is 1,000 on that day, the sales volume will be 1,730.

Lesson 3 Q: What is the status of the J family in Japan?

A: In addition to those who play a decent role in the behind-the-scenes gang like Burning, there are the following four major companies in Japan - Johnnys`, HORIPRO, Stardust, Yanyin. Losing one of these four means collapse. Together with Burning, they can be called the top four in the entertainment industry.

The first one is of course Johnnys` Company. I believe that for this super powerful firm that specializes in creating male stars and monopolizes Japan's "male sex" market

J's model is also very special

1. Idols not only need to be discovered, but also cultivated.

This is actually the biggest difference between all Japanese agencies and Chinese artist companies. The initial discovery is very important. All new recruits must be scouted personally by the president, in the J family, Kitagawa. Considering that Johnny has dominated the Japanese male doll market for 30 years, the selection does not necessarily only focus on good looks, but the most important thing is personal characteristics. For example, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Tsuyoshi Domoto, Ken Miyake, and Tsuyoshi Morita are probably not "boys over flowers" in the traditional sense. Starting from the age of 12 or 13, students are taught in accordance with their aptitude, and until they officially debut at the age of 20, they have to undergo extremely rigorous training and elimination.

(For specific information, please refer to the Return of Hitoshi - Explosive News Focus - Akanishi Hitoshi's Return to the Team and related links) These boys often appear in public first as backup dancers for their seniors, and then they can participate in the recording and even planning of TV programs, and their popularity has accumulated to a certain level At this level, you can star in Japanese dramas. Therefore, many people are often household names before their official debut. The most typical one is Takizawa Hideaki.

2. Mature and stable profit model

The biggest magic thing about Johnny & Associates is that as long as it wants to make famous artists, there are no examples of failure. The firm has considerable entertainment resources at its disposal. For example, there are 7 male idol magazines in Japan focusing on Johnny artists; they have their own communication company to produce TV programs; they have their own record company to release records: The concert agency takes care of everything about the concert, including the venue, the artist's accommodation and even the performance process: at the same time, their idol supplies stores are almost all over Japan; the most important thing is that they have nearly 1.6 million Johnny family members. Johnny & Associates' annual revenue from membership fees alone amounts to 7 billion yen. Therefore, if you want to make an idol famous, it is not surprising that they have enough ammunition and resources to play such a variety of eye-catching peripherals. Calculated by calculation, Johnnie & Co.'s annual market share is almost one-third of the entire industry's output value.

3. Extremely strict control over artists

Although Johnny's idols have great glory in front of the camera, they suffer from "exploitation" in life. From the time artists first join Johnny, they can receive pocket money from the company every month, and the company also provides accommodation with first-class facilities. At this time, they usually do not have a regular manager to take care of them, and the artists need to take the tram themselves to catch up with the announcement. Once they debut and become famous, Johnny will still give the artist pocket money every month, but all the artist's income will be given to the company. It turns out that Johnny will sign a long-term work contract before the artist debuts, and then the artist's income will be paid to the company. The year-end dividends are directly converted into a corresponding number of shares of the firm. Once you terminate the contract with the company before the expiration of the term, you will not get half a penny. And the vast majority of artists have become firms after the contract expires. members of the board of directors, so few of them left at this time.

Another big reason why artists would rather be paid huge commissions by agencies than leave is: in Japan, the entertainment industry is almost always dominated by powerful agencies. No matter how famous an artist is, Leaving the office and moving to another country is really more difficult than climbing to heaven.

J Family can indeed be said to control the Japanese male idol market, but it does not mean that those who are not J Family are not popular. There are exceptions, such as W-INDS, WAT, etc. In fact, whether they are popular or not can also be used. O chart to measure, especially the singles chart (although it is not absolute, if you don’t understand, go to the first lesson).

Lesson 5: Q: What other affairs are there in Japan?

A: (1) HORI PRODUCTION (currently known as HORIPRO) was formed in May 1960 by the leader of the rock band "SWING WEST" Hori Takeo. Other members of "SWING WEST" include Akichi Tanabe, the current president of "Tanabe AGENCY", and Mitsuo Sagawa, who is active as an artist in Kansai. Among them, Takeo Hori was once the de facto owner of the firm "Toyo Planning". After the firm was acquired, he founded HORIPRO with his friends.

When it was first built, HORIPRO was called "an inch-and-a-half-inch-long bug" by Kawhi Hori. It was not until the 1970s that it relied on introduction and training to become famous as a big-name musician. During this period, it had many musicians that we are all very fond of today. The familiar legend Momoe Yamaguchi. However, at this time, HORIPRO is still chasing after Tanabe PRO, giving people the feeling of being the "second child". But the most special thing about HORIPRO is that it has never relied on violent gangs like previous firms. Instead, it has established a clean image and even hired employees who graduated from Waseda University. This image has established a reputation as a first-class firm. From 1976, HORIPRO started the annual "HORIPRO Artist Selection Competition" to discover new talents while also increasing the company's popularity. Hori QIEMI, Yamase MAMI, Imori Miyuki, Suzuki Honami, Fukada Kyoko, Sakai Ayana , Ishihara SATOMI, Ayase Haruka and many other idols who can be called the pillars of HORIPRO were born here.

HORIPRO gradually shifted its focus to Japanese dramas and became an established firm second only to Johnnys in this field.

In addition to the above, its popular artists now include Katadaira NAGISA, Yuka, Tsumabuki Satoshi, Fujiwara Ryuya, Funakoshi Eiichiro, Yoon Sunga, Abiru Yu, etc. In addition, HORIPRO also provides services to sports athletes, culture People offer brokerage jobs.

HORIPRO's brokerage business is divided into PRODUCTION1 and PRODUCTION2, each commanding three teams. The most powerful of the six teams is the "Tsujima Team" led by Tsujima Keisuke. Tsushima is the president of PRODUCTION 1. He used to be a program producer and is now the soul of HORIPRO. Yuka was discovered by him. In addition to Yuka, the artists of "Tsujima Class" also include Fukada Kyoko, Ishihara SATOMI, and Fujiwara Ryuya, three of HORIPRO's representative artists. PRODUCTION Part 2 is more focused on variety shows than Part 1. The director of Part 2 is Sei Nishio, who has been Wada AKIKO’s manager for many years.

Compared with other agencies, HORIPRO has more young artists and is good at discovering new talents through various star discovery activities and auditions. But the music department is relatively weak. Comedians have never been a strong point, and there are quite a lot of top- and half-rated comedians. The ability to develop peripheral and related industries is also hard to compliment.

HORIPRO opened the "HORIPRO IMPROVEMENT ACADEMY" training school a few years ago. It has trained many child stars, and it is said that the course fees have also made a lot of money. Ishihara SATOMI and Abiriyu were born here.

The monthly salary of HORIPRO’s artists is very famous in the industry. Unpopular artists earn less than 100,000 a month. Even the biggest name Wada AKIKO still needs to be paid, and the salary is very disproportionately low for his big name status. The way it retains its artists is mainly through favors. This agency will never abandon artists just because they have become outdated. Many artists who have lost popularity are still staying in the agency and being supported by the agency.

(2) STARDUST PROMOTION, the “Stardust Cluster” known as the “Thean Hou Palace of Japanese Dramas”.

It was founded in February 1979 by Yoshiro Hosono, who had been affiliated with OSCAR PROMOTION and ABC PROMOTION. Hosono was also a member of the current Nagara Group.

In the past, STARDUST's main business was to provide agency management for foreign models and produce advertising music, and its scale was relatively small. In the 1980s, it was just a mid-level company. In the mid-1990s, it suddenly became rich thanks to a group of actresses with great ratings and appeal, led by Takako Tokiwa. After poaching Matsuyuki Yasuko and others from BURNING, it became the top large agency in the Japanese entertainment industry.

STARDUST President Hosono has various rumors in the industry. It is said that he treats his artists well and has a relatively tolerant attitude towards the love affairs of female artists. Even if the female artist's lover is exposed, he will let it go. President Hosono did not object at all to Yuko Takeuchi's proposal to get married last year. Despite the strong dissatisfaction of advertisers and film producers, he immediately gave Yuko Takeuchi a big vacation, which shows his open-mindedness. Ando Masanobu has expressed more than once in magazine interviews that when he first entered the entertainment industry, he struggled with interpersonal relationships. He was still troubled by the strict relationship between his seniors and juniors, but the president came to him for a heart-to-heart talk and expressed his understanding. Later, when Ando was at the peak of his popularity, he took the initiative to say that he no longer wanted to be a star or act in TV series, and that he would focus on developing individual films. President Hosono finally supported him. Similarly, Takako Tokiwa proposed not to appear in Japanese dramas because she was overwhelmed, and President Hosono gave the nod. In addition, the remuneration paid by STARDUST to artists is relatively commensurate with the status of a major agency. But it is also said that the way he treats actors and entertainers who appear in variety shows is obviously different, and he treats the former more favorably and the latter less favorably.

President Hosono has a close relationship with Mitomo Iijima, the managing agent of JOHNNYS agency SMAP. Because of this relationship, STARDUST actresses often have the opportunity to co-star in TV series and movies with SMAP members. , the benefit is not small.

Currently, STARDUST has well-known actresses such as Takako Tokiwa, Yuki Shibasaki, Yasuko Matsuyuki, Yuko Takeuchi, Miki Nakatani, MIMURA, Erika Sawajiri, and Kaho, as well as other actors who are active in In terms of variety shows, Moe Yamaguchi, Rika, Anna Umemiya, etc. It even has former Hanshin coach Hoshino Senichi.

In fact, STARDUST is an affiliate of the printing company Guangjido, and Nagara PRODUCTION and the music production company BEING are both members of the group. There was a time when some singers from BEING were also affiliated with STARDUST, such as Izumi Sakai of ZARD. What is also special is that some of STARDUST's artists are the children of Nagara PRODUCTION artists who belong to the same system. For example, Umemiya Anna, the daughter of Umemiya Tatsuo, and Hashi Ryugo, the son of Hashi Yukio.

Although STARDUST has been expanding its power in recent years and has more than 300 artists under its banner, it actually relies on a handful of popular actresses and variety artists to support the scene. The business side business was extremely unsatisfactory. A weight-loss drug previously launched as a brand for the agency's artists caused 30 people to be hospitalized with liver dysfunction after it was released, causing a big scandal. In addition, as a relatively large-scale agency, STARDUST has not joined the Music Industry Association. Although it has several groups of singers, they have little influence. The only long-term best-seller is Shibasaki Yukiwa Yui, whose song and film amphibious film is owned by Amphibious. However, ORANGE RANGE, which has recently been used as a business supporter, has been selling like hot cakes and has become the best-selling singer in the past two years. In addition, STARDUST is often criticized for not being good at dealing with the media.

Recently, STARDUST has also begun to pay attention to the training of male actors. The ones who are being promoted recently are Takayuki Yamada and Hayato Ichihara. Both of them have carved a niche in the industry as new actors. Yuya Yanagi, the winner of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award, is also a STARDUST artist. As young artists in this period, the company's Hongo Kanata and Hamada Gaku also participated.

STARDUST’s secret method of discovering new talents is to have talent scouts in every lively neighborhood. It is the best among Japanese entertainment agencies to discover future stars on the street. Many of its artists were star-rated on the street. Discovery.

In the past two or three years, STARDUST has started to get involved in the field of male artists and has formed a competitive relationship with the J family. And it seems that among the four major families, STARDUST itself has not accumulated enough connections. Coupled with the laissez-faire approach to artists and lack of control over the media, STARDUST began to face a crisis in popularity. For example, Erika Sawajiri's negative news is everywhere, and she has not been given the opportunity to get involved in TV dramas for a long time. This is a reflection of the current situation of the company.