Idol Tenshoku Ondo wrote:Just randomly thinking this but the only time a new group didn't rapid fire singles for the first 2 ish years was Beyooooonds and they more or less just released those songs in an album rather than singles. (Plus corona happened.) Groups need to build material for setlists and to make an image for themselves.
Indeed. It's standard operating procedure and always has been for new groups. Some of them even did it with "indie" singles before their "major" debut. (Tsubaki Factory did three of those.) The only reason why this might seem unusual is recency bias.
Same deal with the MVs: the first couple for a new group get actual narratives and special effects, and then it's back to simple sets and "dance shot / closeup shot" editing.
The thing to remember is, they don't make their money by releasing singles; that's just a way to recover production and marketing costs. They make their real money from concerts and merchandise. (I include albums in merchandise.) And Morning Musume — the entire run, not just the current lineup — already have such a huge catalog from which to make set lists, they only occasionally need to release new singles to say "Yes, we're still here" (and to reassure the current lineup that they're not just a glorified cover band).
Posted: Tue May 06, 2025 6:20 am
