Watanabe Miyuki (Mirukii) / 1st Generation

Only speculations or is there any evidences? I've heard it before but no evidence.

 

I didn't watch Mirukii's graduation Mv yet but I want to say congrats for the graduation and I will really miss her, she is my favorite NMB member along with Sayanee, and it will just be so weird that she won't be here anymore ;___; I will miss her a lot. and she looks so cute right now with the short hair, too bad we won't see her for a while (especially if the 2 years without activities contract thing is true). I hope she stays active on IG because I like seeing her updates

 

No real evidence, but some circumstantial evidence then. If it's true I'll call it slavery contracts.

 

ok thank , 2 years it's a long time for see her again......or not

 

Non-compete clauses are common in the US. Even physicians have them. This is to prevent a popular physician leaving the group, opening a clinic across the street, and taking all his patients with him. This clause could prevent Milky from joining another agency right away and taking all her fans with her, as fans = money.

Now, the issue with the non-complete clauses is enforcement. It is possible that the original agency choses not to enforce it legally. She could also offer to buy it out, or, if her new agency thinks she's worth it, they could buy it out. Some clauses have an area limitation such that the physician in my above example could open a clinic in the next city if it's far enough away.

 

No agency would be powerful enough (or dumb enough) to try to buy out a Yoshimoto contract so its a moot point. Milky could have continued with Yoshimoto but she really seems like she doesn't want to stay in showbiz anymore.

 

I can accept a non-compete clause in some cases but not for an artist. Of course Milky would take her fans with her but it's her fans, not Yoshimoto's or any other artist's. I prefer the individual freedom of choice without imprisonment.

 

But how did Milky get her fans? As a member of NMB48. Consider that Yoshimoto, as the operating company of NMB48 and manager of the talent in NMB48, spent their money promoting her, allowed her to perform in a theater they own and manage, etc., etc. Now that she is popular, they are not going to let her go to another agency and take all her fans and their money with her. This is why there is no issue if she stays in Yoshimoto as their investment in her, and her future profits, stays with the agency. The non-compete for any agency or group (artistic or otherwise) is to protect their investment so that artists don't just leave right away after they make it big.

 

Milky's fans are her fans, not Yoshimoto's or any other girl's. I'm quite sure that Yoshimoto already have taken their part of the money Milky have earned during this years. And beside that, they lose all money in the future anyway, both if she could have gone to another agency or if she leave show biz because of the contract. I see it only as a revenge. It's ok with some month but not two years.

 

^ As if you give a crap about Milky, you're just here to bang on about your own agenda.

 

It's a moot point regardless because Milky doesn't want to be in show business anymore anyway

 

Anyone has Miyuki's photos of taking her photo down at NMB Theater (not AKB Theater)?

 

If she leaves the entertainment industry, no one gets her future profits; if she goes to another agency, that agency gets her future profits. Huge difference. And future profits isn't limited to fan revenue. There are potential fees involved in appearing in CMs, variety shows, dramas, and movies.

Businesswise, this is no different than if Toyota spent money on R&D with a certain researcher to develop a more efficient car battery, only to have him jump ship to Honda once that battery is perfected and ready for use. You can bet Akicha's ass that Toyota would protect their investment legally. And before anyone gets upset at me for comparing Milky to a car battery, investment-wise, they are similar in that they are both products developed for their respective industries.

 

@Madoka I mean that Yoshimoto lose the future money anyway so why have this kind of contract? It's only for revange and for hurting her. Nice guys. If they were smart they would have let her go where she wants but if she earns money inside show biz they should have a part of it for one or two years. That would benefit all parts.

 

That would mean that she would have had to sign a non-exclusive contract in the first place for her to sign with a second agency after she leaves. This is because both contracts would have to be in effect for her to work for Agency B and still be under some legally binding clause for her new agency to give some of the profits to Yoshimoto.

When they sign a new talent like Milky, Yoshimoto would want to sign an exclusive contract. She's new and unproven. If it were a non-exclusive contract, Yoshimoto could spend money on promoting Milky, and when she gets popular she leaves and signs with Agency B. Now Yoshimoto has spent 100% of the money to make her famous, but now is getting only, say, 50% of her future profits for only 2 years. If she ends up having a 40 year career Yoshimoto would have lost out big time. This is not an attractive scenario for Yoshimoto. They would only want to sign exclusive contracts which would have non-compete clauses to protect their investment and future profits. Talent agencies have no incentive to share successful stars.

 

What Madoka says is correct. The Japanese entertainment industry is still under the oldschool "studio system" that Hollywood used, way back in the 1930's/1940's. Currently, everything is oriented towards making management the most money possible and the interests of the talents is downplayed because there is a widespread belief that any and all of them are ultimately replaceable. Maybe, in the future, Japanese idols and entertainers will create something similar to the Screen Actors Guild, which would give them some influence and allow them to collectively bargain with management, but realistically, that seems to be years away, at best.

Right now, it is what it is: The talent does all the hard work and management sets up everything where they always make money and the talent gets screwed. Will this change soon? Probably not. Will this change eventually? Almost certainly. Now, Hollywood non-compete agreements are illegal. Yet, Hollywood hasn't collapsed. Weird, huh?

In any case, if Milky wants to remain in the Japanese entertainment industry and she has such an agreement, she only has to wait for two years. Milky will probably still be alive in two years. You and I will probably still be alive in two years. If she pops back up then, all we can do is support her as we always have. That's how I feel about the issue.

 

afaik she has repeatedly said she wants to completely leave the entertainment industry. So all of these posts are basically moot

 

@Stolichnaya Vodka Exactly, you hit the nail on the head. I have nothing more to say in this issue.

 

Here are Miyuki's last two mobile mails translated and also a translation of Sayaka's mail in regards to Milky's graduation.

This was a posted a day before her graduation stage at NMB theatre.

And this was posted on her graduation day itself.



Sayaka's mail a day after the graduation stage regarding Milky's grad:



Source: https://twitter.com/nmb48_teppen