Bikkuri Project

I love Morning Musume dearly, but I’m forced to admit that some things ought to change if they want to gain back any popularity. I know that digital music sales are bringing down CD sales for ALL JPop artists, but I’m talking relative popularity here. While other artists have lower sales than they did a few years ago, quite a few of them are still selling significantly more than Morning Musume. MM used to be on top of the heap, and they’re just not anymore. So, acknowledging that things are not as dire as they seem if one only looks at CD sales now vs sales 7 years ago, it’s still undeniable that Morning Musume is much less popular than they used to be. It’s not that they’re doomed or failing, but there is certainly room for improvement. The problem is not lack of looks or talent, but rather their overall marketing strategy. I know I’m not alone in thinking this. Here is my plan to help Morning Musume. I’m thinking that all the blog entries along these lines should be submitted to Momusu’s management, debated, and then they can implement the best plan(this one!)

1. Get more of the Members into Dramas- The mainstream Japanese public does not watch Morning Musume concerts or Hello Morning. The mainstream Japanese public does watch dramas. Relatively unknown girls could get their cute little faces out there and gain some recognition with small rolls, and more established members could play leads. Other idols do it all the time, but MM members rarely seem to be in dramas. I’m not talking about “made for h!p” dramas either. Ai-chan probably has the most experience with them, so getting her involved in that more would be a good place to start. Considering that there’s only so much time in the day, some sacrifices probably would need to be made in order for this to happen. Namely, they probably wouldn’t be able to do as many concerts. However, Morning Musume participates in 4 full concerts a year, and that is a good 2-3 concerts a year more than your average Jpop artist. I suspect that a lot of their revenue comes from ticket sales from these concerts, so it would be a calculated risk to cut out one of their yearly concerts in order to allow members to participate in dramas that season, but I think it would be worth it to them in the long run. The people going to the concerts are the established fans, and right now Morning Musume needs to attract some new fans. The other thing is that drama themes tend to sell quite well. Even just one girl being in a popular drama and Morning Musume singing the theme to it would bring them a lot of positive attention.

2. Continue to pursue the more sexy/mature image- I don’t mean go all VUDenishly boobtastic on us. Stuff along the lines of Kanashimi Twilight and ONSA are the direction I’m thinking. Morning Musume needs to show that they’re evolving and, more importantly, they need to differentiate themselves from Berryz and Cute. The kids groups are still a bit on the young side to pull off a full on sexy image, and with Maki/VUDen gone, there is definitely room for the group to move in that direction. Perhaps the poor sales of Mikan prove that super happy/positive songs just won’t work for Morning Musume anymore. Accordingly, new members added should be around age 15-16, not 12-13. Preferably, these new members should be Eggs so while they are coming in a bit older, they already have some experience. A more ‘cool and mature’ look would also allow them to keep the older members like Ai-chan around for longer, which brings me to my next point.

3. No graduations for at least a year- This isn’t just because I’d hate to see the last of the Gokkies leave. Ai-chan is one of the most well known/ recognizable members left in the group, and I think that her star power is needed to help the other group members gain recognition. Every time a member leaves, she takes fans with her, and I don’t think that MM can afford to lose Ai-chan’s fans right now. If the other points to improve their popularity worked and more new fans were gained for the newer members, then maybe it’d be time for a graduation. Right now though, I think it would be disaster.

4. Someone needs to step up and start talking back to the music show hosts- The girls are just too damn polite in their TV appearances. That’s fine for most of them, but they’d be a lot more interesting to watch if someone would talk back, be loud, and get into some verbal sparring with the hosts. I’m thinking that Reina would be most suited for this, or maybe JunJun, if her Japanese is good enough now. Actually, JunJun needs to be promoted more period, because she seems to have one of the most entertaining personalities out of the bunch right now.

5. Get more creative songs- MM songs used to be really unique. Souda We’re Alive, The Peace, and Koi no Dansu Site, for example, are extremely weird songs, and they remain popular today. Songs now’ a ‘days are too safe and formulaic. Yawn. Morning Musume needs songs that set them apart. In the early days (morning coffee, daite hold me, memory seishun no hikari) there were a lot of interesting harmonies which added depth and interest to the songs. I know that several MM members are good at harmonizing, so I do not understand why their skills are not being utilized. It may take a bit of extra effort to write and rehearse a harmony, but I feel that it’s worth it. Or, if they don’t want to go that way, the ‘golden era’ songs and a bit beyond were distinguished by being stuffed full of catchy hooks: little moments that make the audience cheer and get stuck in your head for weeks after you’ve first heard them. Mikan was essentially hookless, and their last few songs weren’t much better about it. This is NOT okay. Songs that don’t have moments that stick out feel boring and ‘samey’. What’s your motivation to keep listening or to listen again? I hate to say it, but if Tsunku isn’t capable of composing that sort of thing anymore, then they’d better hire someone who can.

and was the title a pun on the word ‘tune’? I’ll leave you to decide that.