Idols%20and%20Celebrity%20in%20Japanese%20Media%20Culture

Introduction: The Mirror of Idols and Celebrity 21
Fans wanting to shake hands with more than one member of the group
were expected to buy additional copies of the CD.
Each event described above aimed at selling more CDs by harnessing
the fans’ energy, defined in terms of the quantity of consumption.
At the same time, the fans’ volition was exploited by the promise of
an experience of greater qualitative intimacy and connection with the
idol. In AKB48’s business practices (AKB48 shōhō), the affective sensibility
of fandom is commodified to generate greater CD sales. Fans are not
purchasing CDs (music) so much as they are buying an experience that
resonates with emotional meaning intensified through the frequency of
their investment in the idol.
The fans of AKB48 typically describe themselves as “supporters” rather
than “fans.” AKB48’s 12 latest consecutive singles have topped the
charts in Japan, and they have sold nearly 11.8 million CDs, making
them the most successful female group in Japanese history (as of January
2012). These sales figures attest to the group’s commercial success,
but, with fans purchasing multiple copies, CD sales may exaggerate their
actual popularity. In other words, unlike in the past, CD sales are not an
accurate measure of the number of people who listen to their music.
These fan practices are in fact not uncommon in Japan’s music industry.
The male idol duo Kinki Kids have had 32 number one hit singles
since their debut in 1997 (as of January 2012). Since their 11th single in
February 2001, they have held the record for the most number one hit
singles. Most music industry experts believe that this record is due to
ardent fans purchasing multiple copies of their CDs, particularly within
the first week of their release. 24
While one might be inclined to describe the Japanese media industry
as a system that integrates consumers from above, the audience arguably
are empowered through their agency to decide which idol to devote
themselves to. Okajima and Okada (2011, 21–26) argue that, unlike
the idol group Morning Musume, whose popularity peaked in 1999–
2004, AKB48 has been better at responding to fan needs. Though often
at the price of a CD, AKB48 promotes greater opportunities for proximity
and connection between fans and group members. As Franceso
Alberoni (quoted in Dyer 1979, 19) writes, “the star system thus never
creates the star, but it proposes the candidate for ‘election,’ and helps to
retain the favor of the ‘electors.’ ” While Alberoni sought to revise the
view of the star system as a “narcotizing illusion” that manipulates and
distracts its audience from the real conditions of their exploitation, the
metaphor of the electorate becomes problematic in light of the dubious
techniques of marketing and promotion aimed at fan communities.