Hello everyone, today Shanghai SEO (SWJ) will share with you an article about the "money-making" plan and behavioral rules of Japan's heavyweight entertainment agency - Johnny & Associates!
Although our domestic situation is different from Japan's, there are many things worth learning from. Good articles are meant to be shared. I hope everyone can provide more opinions or suggestions. o(∩_∩)o
The "money-making" plan and behavioral rules of Johnny & Associates are as follows:
Domestic agencies can be described as being in a "primitive social form"!
When it comes to celebrities' agents, people generally think they just arrange performances, act as assistants, and do odd jobs for artists; and the quality of various entertainment agencies is mixed. Therefore, some people think that there's nothing much for domestic artists to do. However, artist management is not a declining industry but rather an infant one. Describing it as being in a "primitive society" is not at all exaggerated. If you look at the models in Japan and South Korea, you'll realize how weak the domestic entertainment industry is.
In Japan, the entertainment industry is very mature, centered around idols. The fan economy industrial chain includes not only records, performances, and advertising endorsements, but also various fan organizations which are important sources of company revenue. In contrast, the domestic entertainment industry is still in its infancy, with most companies focusing mainly on product songs. As a result, most artists only have two sources of income: ringtones and performances.
With the rise of talent shows in recent years and the popularity of Japanese and Korean music, a large number of loyal fan groups have emerged in China, forming a fan economy. Until today, there has been no official fan organization led by a talent show or record company like Super Girl. Various global fan clubs are self-organized by fans and lack effective management, thus unable to better serve the fans.
The core of the entertainment industry is the interaction between "people and people." For entertainment companies, in today's channel-dominated era, they must monopolize content to compete with channel monopolies. Content has two levels. "Content is king" has two modes: one is product-centric, the other is people-oriented. Monopolizing songs is not as good as monopolizing stars; monopolizing song-centered record companies is not as good as monopolizing people-centered ones; monopolizing people-centered companies is not as good as monopolizing institutionalized companies that cultivate new talents.
Let's take a look at Japan's Johnny & Associates model.
(The following content about the Johnny & Associates model is partially excerpted from the Internet)
Introduction to Johnny & Associates
Nowadays, people may recognize Johnny & Associates through stars like Kimura Takuya, V6, KinKi Kids, etc. But in fact, Johnny & Associates has monopolized the Japanese male idol market for over 30 years.
Since its founder Kido Jackie established the first group Johnny's in 1962, Johnny & Associates has dominated half of the Japanese entertainment industry with its strong power and innovative spirit. The reason why it's said to control half of the industry is because Johnny & Associates specializes in producing male artists. However, these male artists almost cover all the kings of the Japanese entertainment industry, from Hideshi Saijo and Hiroshi Masuda in the 70s and 80s, to SMAP (Takuya Kimura, Masahiro Nakai, Shingo Kariya, Goro Inagaki, Takeshi Kaneshiro) who became famous across Asia in the 90s, Tackey & Tsubasa (Hideaki Ryuji and Tsubasa Imai), KinKi Kids (Tsuyoshi and Kotaro Domoto), currently popular Yamashita Tomohisa (a member of NEWS), Jun Matsumoto (a member of Arashi), Jin Akanishi, and Kamenashi Kazuya (a member of KAT-TUN). They are all artists cultivated by Johnny & Associates. Some famous kings like Takuya Tokihiro and Yuki Morikage were also trained by Johnny & Associates. Such glorious achievements cannot help but make people investigate how Johnny & Associates operates to create miracle after miracle, ruling Japan, the most developed place in Asian media, for nearly half a century.
Johnny & Associates has around 200 junior members each year as reserve forces. These junior members are selected from tens of thousands of Japanese boys. They are usually in junior high school, and the company spends a lot of time training them every day in various aspects such as performance, dance, magic, physique, vocals, instrumental music, hosting, program production, editing, etc. However, only a few ultimately become "finished products," making the competition extremely fierce. Those who stand out from the junior members are usually all-round talents and become idols with both charisma and substance.
Johnny & Associates manages nearly half of Japan's popular male artists. These artists follow the company's arrangements to shoot TV dramas, host programs, release albums, and hold concerts. Almost every season's Japanese drama awards include TV dramas participated by Johnny & Associates members. The entertainment program "SMAPxSMAP" hosted by SMAP is considered one of Japan's most popular TV programs, and the program "Campus Idol Ranking" hosted by V6 is also a highly rated and popular program in Japan.
In short, Johnny & Associates is a very successful star factory, mass-producing popular stars every day. Johnny & Associates strictly manages its artists. From the moment they enter the company, artists sign long-term contracts with Johnny & Associates and receive very low monthly salaries. Even stars like Takuya Kimura earn only about 10,000 yen per month. Their advertising revenue, record revenue, and royalties only belong to themselves after exceeding an astronomical figure; before that, all the money goes into the company's coffers.
Main Business Model of Johnny & Associates
1) Training School
Recruited in their teens, once they enter the agency, they undergo extremely strict singing and dancing training while signing "indenture contracts."
2) Publishing House
Johnny & Associates owns its own publishing house and publishes seven specialized magazines that introduce the dynamics of male artists under its umbrella.
3) Self-produced TV Programs
Johnny & Associates has its own media production company and directly collaborates with TV stations to participate in the production of TV programs.
4) Record Company
Johnny & Associates has its own record production company and can directly collaborate with record companies to produce albums for its artists.
5) Membership Club
Johnny & Associates has the largest membership-based club nationwide, with nearly one million members. The club membership fees alone generate approximately 400 million yen annually for Johnny & Associates.
6) Performance Company
Johnny & Associates has a dedicated concert planning agency and collaborates with multiple venues on a long-term basis.
7) Idol Specialty Stores
Main Revenue Models of Johnny & Associates
1) Fans Club Membership Fees and Annual Fees
Membership fees are the biggest source of income for Johnny & Associates. Each Fans Club requires a 4500-yen membership fee, and memberships across different Fans Clubs cannot be interchanged. Since the concerts of Johnny & Associates artists are only open to Fans Club members, fans who do not join will not have the qualification to purchase tickets.
In addition, members must pay an annual fee of 1000 yen each year. Members have the priority to purchase concert tickets, but without any discounts. Whenever there is a concert or event, Johnny & Associates Fans Club will send letters to inform members along with the ticket payment. Tickets are selected through a lottery system, and if not selected, the previously sent ticket payment will be refunded but with a 3% handling fee deduction.
2) Concert Tickets
The advantage lies in the multitude of groups within Johnny & Associates. Often, once SMAP finishes, V6 takes over, and after V6, Arashi continues the cycle throughout the year. V6 once set a record by holding 11 consecutive performances over 7 days at the same venue. Although concert tickets in Japan are not expensive, uniformly priced at 6000 yen, many loyal fans who enjoy vacations often follow their idols on tour, combining travel with concert attendance. For example, during the autumn this year, SMAP generated over 6 billion yen in revenue, another astonishing number.
3) Stage Play Tickets
To maintain superstar momentum, Johnny & Associates rarely holds autograph sessions or handshake events. Therefore, for fans, watching stage plays becomes the best opportunity for close interaction with idols. Despite smaller venues and lower earning efficiency compared to concerts, the cumulative income remains impressive. Taking the musical "Shock" performed by Tsuyoshi Domoto as an example, with 150,000 tickets initially priced at 12,000 yen each, already a high price, the best seats on the last day of "Shock" were resold for up to 50,000 yen per ticket. Clearly, Johnny & Associates' astronomical income figures are not exaggerated; the celebrity aura truly is priceless.
4) Related Products
Products related to Johnny & Associates stars, such as idol stationery, mobile phone charms... V6 even released a computer game allowing players to transform into V6's manager, thoroughly "playing" with V6. Moreover, Johnny & Associates excels at limited-edition games; despite the same photos, fans must visit various sales points to collect complete sets. Once, Kotaro Domoto released 107 photos, making fans run until exhausted and buy until hand-weary.
5) Books and Yearbooks
Photobooks or magazines introducing single groups are self-evident, but Johnny & Associates' strength lies in skillfully utilizing program resources to publish books. For instance, SMAP divided into two teams to compete in culinary skills on "SMAPxSMAP," resulting in an annual SMAP cookbook now in its fifth edition. On "SMAP Saturday," SMAP member Shingo Kariya transformed into "Kariya Mom" visiting audience homes to prepare breakfast, leading to the publication of "Kariya Mom's Cookbook"; similarly, V6 released "VIVA VIVA V6" cookbooks.
During student enrollment periods, Johnny & Associates extensively publishes academic calendars, with individual releases from Kotaro Domoto, Tsuyoshi Domoto, V6, Arashi, JR... totaling five editions at a time. The most popular Kinki Kids each get separate editions. Johnny & Associates employs a strategy of never putting all eggs in one basket, making even their money-making tactics ostentatious.
6) Selling CDs
Buying CDs is a fan's duty, while releasing multiple versions of CDs with exquisite packaging or different photo cards to encourage fans to repeatedly purchase the same CD is Johnny & Associates' common CD marketing method. SMAP once launched 12 different color covers.
7) Endorsing Ads
For fans, products endorsed by idols may not necessarily be practical, but posters and life-sized boards featuring their idols are treasures they must obtain. Product manufacturers have also become increasingly savvy, designing products to ensure fans spend their money wisely. For instance, purchasing goods might come with exclusive idol-endorsed phone cards or other items, leaving fans no choice but to buy, and buy in bulk.
8) Sports Events
Every October, Johnny & Associates hosts a sports event at Tokyo Dome, where major idols compete in sprinting, baseball, soccer, and various sports matches, offering free admission to Fans Club members. With 55,000 tickets available, they received over 1.6 million requests. Beyond this, Johnny & Associates regularly collaborates with TBS Television, deploying hundreds of cameras to capture both on-stage and backstage moments of the idols, including even changing clothes for sports events. Advertising revenue is naturally split between the television station and Johnny & Associates.
9) Overseas Tours
Collecting money in Japan isn't enough for Johnny & Associates, so they also lead fan tours abroad for concerts. Led by Johnny & Associates, these Taiwan and Hong Kong concert tours charge higher fees, attracting around 1,100 Japanese fans. Johnny & Associates knows how to win the hearts of these high-spending fans, arranging for idols to personally serve tea or take group photos to thank Japanese fans for their long-term support. Since these are activities idols wouldn't engage in domestically, Japanese fans enthusiastically participate in Johnny & Associates' overseas tours.
10) Harsh Treatment of Artists
All earnings of Johnny & Associates artists are paid on a monthly salary basis. Even superstar Takuya Kimura earns only 150,000 yen per month, which is already the highest monthly salary at Johnny & Associates. However, if they contribute significantly to the company's profits, they might receive some bonuses, though these are settled over longer periods.
After reading this, what are your thoughts? Personally, SWJ feels that if such practices were implemented domestically, only ** would participate. SWJ believes that whether it's celebrities or fans, maintaining a normal mindset is sufficient. There's no need to invest excessive energy or funds, as celebrities are unlikely to become your boyfriend or girlfriend. It's an improbable reality. We should detach ourselves from fantasy and face reality—this is what young people today should focus on. This is SWJ's personal opinion!
This article was reprinted from: Shanghai SEO http://www.seo-sh.cn