Single AKB48 40th [Bokutachi wa Tatakawanai] (2015/05/20)

I don't understand. How can BwT be #1 2nd week when MNSG sold double? Is it the whole sale since start?

 

@gotbild

Most likely there wasn't much chart competition. I don't think any hugely popular act released anything this week.

 

There wasn't. It was an "off week" as some people liked to put it.

AKB48's 40th Single (3rd Week, Day 1 Sales)
6,638 (Total: 1,740,846) (2nd)

 

It all depends on the competition. Iwasa Misaki managed to get #1 with just 10k+ sales.
And MnSG got #2 in its 2nd week because Not yet's Suika Baby was released on that week.

Anyways "off week" is really wrong to say it just because #1 sales isn't like 100k+. It's a seriously fierce week from #2 till #17, with sales across much higher than the usual.

 

Ok, got it. Btw, it would be nice to see a comparison in a near future with all week selling for all summer singles. To me it sound like BwT had a big first day but then fall down faster than the other. Maybe a @rka diagram.

 

I think they're doing fairly well considering Matsui Rena(5th), Kojiharu(top 10), Kawaei and Iriyama didn't join this year.

Not to mention Japan's economy hasn't been stable as of late.

 

It's actually selling just as well as Labrador, so...

Which makes me think that the fans are still in when it comes to the biggest event the group has. So it's all good.

 

I must say it kinda useless to say which #1 and so on when the competition changes for every week. The numbers comparing with other AKB singles is enough.

 

It is doing well since it is SSK single. No more no less

 

Obviously. But it could have done worse than Labrador. Just like Labrador sold less than SayoKuro.

Makes me think that the decrease on sales in the rest of the singles is, apart from an obvious decline in overall popularity (not the same as not being popular), could be the huge backlog of HS/2shots tickets the fans are sitting on.
But what do I know.

 

Well, the soundscan trend is decreasing. That is despite soundscan still take into accounts which includes HS tickets, request hour tix and of course ssk tickets. So yeah, 48g still depends heavily on gimmicks.

 

I really wonder what the sales would be if AKB released an Album, say 10 songs. CD or CD/DVD. Only one version, no HS, no 2 shot, nothing except the disc(s). But I think they never dare.

 

well, HS isn't really their cashcow gimmick at first. didn't they just accidentally discover that because there were some malfunction on one of their events so, they decided to have an HS to stall for more time.

 

Everyone know 48G albums/singles without benefits sell bad.
And everyone know that SSK singles sell a lot, and with votes increasing why would it not sell better, fairly obvious tbh

And yeah release a album without anything and it will sell like garbage in comparison, it will not happen however because they know it just as well as everyone else, they are not stupid

I mean, thats just how it is, not much to think about really There is a reason they sell copies, it's not like its 1.7 mil unique buyers

 

Are we all condemning HS practices now?

While it definitely inflate sales, but it can only work if people are willing to pay for it. So I don't see what's wrong with it.


That said I really do not understand why people talk about "AKB's sales are not legitimate".
As if they're denying the fan's support.

To quote Oshima Yuko
"To us, every vote are love from the fans." This could also apply to HS ticket.

Who are we to deny it?

 

No @rka I say as the Animals, don't let me be misunderstood. I know that 48G's business is mostly to sell merchandises and not music but that not bother me. I just want to know more exactly how big the fandom is and that you can't tell by the selling number now when people buy multiple tickets and throw the following discs away. It would be better if the sell only tickets, at least for the environment with less garbage.

 

They wouldve done it if the tickets themselves would count as CD sales lol. Like ALOT of money saved as they now only have to pay for the venue and papers

 

True.

However, on the flip side, those newer fans who claim that AKB is the most popular music group in Japan or the world or whatever, also miss that very same point. AKB group is not (primarily) about music. Music is a side business. It's a good side business, it sort of envelops the whole concept, but it's not the main point. And so members who might not be musically talented but still find adoring fans should be respected.

 

DIVA? The sub-unit that was disbanded? Yea, I have their last single and last album and the ticket inside was for the last concert (it's like if you had both tickets you get inside the concert, I believe). It was actually a concert ticket in disguise really lol.

 

Which is exactly the "gimmick" that Exile uses to get high sales.

It's a bit of a coincidence that on a comic book forum that I frequent there are regular arguments over "variant" covers. Basically, the average american comic book from Marvel or DC sells around 30k (there are some popular characters like Batman that sell 100k+ but there are many more that sell sub 20k) and the sales for many comic books are bumped up by variant covers. The most common tactic is a 1 in 100 variant, this means that for every 100 copies of a comic that a comic book shop orders, they get 1 copy of a variant cover (variants covers are normally done by popular sought-after creators) which the retailer can then sell on to collectors. Variant cover comics can sell for hundreds of dollars but many of the "normal cover" comics that the retailer needed to get the variant go into the 50cent boxes or get flung into the recycling bin.

And just as you get people here complaining about AKB's sales tactics, so you get people complaining about Marvel and DC's sales tactics, that they distort the marketplace, don't show the true level of fandom, blah blah blah. When it's pointed out that the variant covers subsidise the creation of the comics that they profess to love then there comes the same grumbling mantra over and over.

Some people just seem to be bound and determined to make themselves feel miserable no matter what, when the point of idols is to make people happy.