Quaoar

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/feb/...g-plays-spotify The charts are essentially a measure of commercial success. The mechanism used to give an appropriate weighting to streaming is the key issue here. I have no figures, but my guess is that streaming still only contributes a very modest amount to the revenue received by rights holders. If, say, streaming contributes 3% to the revenue flow then 3% is the weighting it should get in the charts.

In the short to medium term I think the best we can hope for is a separate weekly chaku uta full chart with real sales numbers. Oricon wanted to start publishing three weekly download charts as of 4th quarter 2006 (ringtones, chaku uta full and PC downloads). However this was blocked (I've never discovered the full details of why or by whom). But it seems that currently, at least one vested interest does not want the real download sales numbers in the public domain. For the moment we have monthly rankings from RIAJ for the three download formats combined, but with separate certifications for each format. For eample, last month's certifications for chaku uta full included: one million downloads Kobukuro - Tsubomi 500,000 downloads Ai Otsuka - Peach Mika Nakashima - Life Yuna Ito - Endless Story These certifications are, at the moment, the only verified numbers we are getting for download sales.

The new technology Japan has embraced is the so called 'chaku uta full' format. Pop hits are being downloaded to mobile phones in huge numbers. Numerically, paid for downloads to mobile phone now outstrip both CD single sales and downloads to PC by a considerable margin.

Japanese singles and albums for week ending 2008-03-10 Romanised Top 30's (without any sales figures) are available from Oricon: [singles | albums] ~Singles~ *1　--　230,186　*,230,186　*1　NEWS 「太陽のナミダ」 *2　--　120,562　*,120,562　*1　EXILE 「Pure/You're my sunshine」 *3　--　*81,730　*,*81,730　*1　YUI 「Namidairo」 *4　*2　*43,921　*,277,400　*6　青山テルマ feat.SoulJa 「そばにいるね」 *5　*4　*35,859　*,*70,653　*2　ジェロ 「海雪」 *6　--　*29,086　*,*29,086　*1　℃-ute 「LALALA 幸せの歌」 *7　*5　*28,739　*,*56,559　*2　清水翔太 「HOME」 *8　--　*28,442　*,*28,442　*1　DREAMS COME TRUE 「またね featuring ルフィ,ゾロ,ナミ,ウソップ,サンジ,チョッパー,ロビン,フランキー,ヒルルク,くれは」 *9　*1　*24,115　*,348,338　*2　嵐 「Step and Go」 10　--　*22,112　*,*22,112　*1　AKB48 「桜の花びらたち2008」 11　--　*19,621　*,*19,621　*1　チャットモンチー 「ヒラヒラヒラク秘密ノ扉」 12　--　*18,689　*,*18,689　*1　東方神起 「If...!?/Rainy Night(JUNSU from 東方神起)」 13　--　*16,046　*,*16,046　*1　Superfly 「愛をこめて花束を」 14　*3　*13,640　*,*62,070　*2　宇多田ヒカル 「HEART STATION/Stay Gold」 15　11　*12,973　*,*66,899　*4　木山裕策 「home」 16　--　*12,445　*,*12,445　*1　加藤ミリヤ 「19 Memories」 17　19　**9,952　*,295,010　45　すぎもとまさと 「吾亦紅」 18　*7　**9,844　*,*86,512　*3　氷川きよし 「玄海船歌」 19　--　**9,360　*,**9,360　*1　三枝夕夏 IN db 「雪どけのあの川の流れのように」 20　--　**8,987　*,**8,987　*1　アンティック-珈琲店- 「Cherry咲く勇気!!」 21　18　**8,881　*,*24,498　*4　天童よしみ 「幸せはすぐそこに…」 22　10　**8,840　*,407,146　*4　KAT-TUN 「LIPS」 23　*8　**8,775　*,*55,793　*3　湘南乃風 「黄金魂」 24　*6　**8,388　*,*31,988　*2　平井堅 「キャンバス/君はス・テ・キ♡」 25　17　**5,910　*,*26,770　*3　melody. 「遥花 ～はるか～」 26　--　**5,721　*,**5,721　*1　喜多修平 「Breakin' through」 27　--　**5,652　*,**5,652　*1　RIKI 「紅のバックファイヤー」 28　*9　**5,280　*,*18,756　*2　BENNIE K 「モノクローム」 29　12　**5,247　*,*79,965　*3　ポルノグラフィティ 「あなたがここにいたら」 30　16　**4,788　*,132,442　24　SoulJa 「ここにいるよ feat.青山テルマ」 31　--　**4,689　*,**4,689　*1　上杉香緒里 「おけさ海峡」 32　15　**4,664　*,*53,837　*3　the GazettE 「紅蓮」 33　--　**4,625　*,**4,625　*1　ROLLYと絶望少女達 「マリオネット」 34　--　**4,011　*,**4,011　*1　不二周助&手塚国光 「ここで僕らは出会ってしまった」 35　27　**3,693　*,*33,231　*4　九州男 「1/6000000000 feat.C&K」 36　--　**3,654　*,**3,654　*1　清水博正 「雨恋々」 37　--　**3,605　*,**3,605　*1　SCREW 「RAGING BLOOD」 38　22　**3,432　*,*64,379　*4　大橋卓弥 「はじまりの歌」 39　--　**3,389　*,**3,389　*1　HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR 「フラッシュバック/木漏レビノ歌」 40　33　**3,244　*,**7,312　*2　神野美伽 「若狭の女」 41　13　**3,191　*,*13,999　*2　BoA 「be with you.」 42　--　**2,981　*,**2,981　*1　北島三郎 「忠治流れ旅/こぼれ紅」 43　30　**2,959　*,118,414　*6　ケツメイシ 「出会いのかけら」 44　--　**2,933　*,**2,933　*1　原田悠里 「恋ごころ」 45　--　**2,910　*,**2,910　*1　和田アキ子 「幸せのちから」 46　35　**2,894　*,*51,904　*4　水樹奈々 「STARCAMP EP(Astrogation/COSMIC LOVE/Dancing in the velvet moon/空時計)」 47　41　**2,880　1,200,012　73　秋川雅史 「千の風になって」 48　23　**2,828　*,*77,208　*4　ゆず 「ストーリー」 49　28　**2,758　*,*44,663　*4　the brilliant green 「Ash Like Snow」 50　--　**2,524　*,**2,524　*1　白河ななか(茅原実里) 「D.C.Ⅱ ～ダ・カーポⅡ～ キャラクターソング Vol.3 白河ななか(CRESCENDO)」 ~Albums~ *1　--　110,653　*,110,653　*1　BoA 「THE FACE」 *2　*1　*42,405　*,134,331　*2　the brilliant green 「the brilliant green complete single collection '97-'08」 *3　--　*34,223　*,*34,223　*1　セリーヌ・ディオン 「コンプリート・ベスト」 *4　98　*25,815　*,*33,008　*5　サラ・ブライトマン 「神々のシンフォニー」 *5　*4　*25,410　*,148,935　*3　いきものがかり 「ライフアルバム」 *6　*5　*21,536　*,145,043　*3　m-flo 「Award SuperNova -Loves Best-」 *7　*2　*20,918　*,105,922　*2　Acid Black Cherry 「BLACK LIST」 *8　*3　*20,874　*,*69,969　*2　伊藤由奈 「WISH」 *9　--　*19,839　*,*19,839　*1　JANET(ジャネット・ジャクソン) 「ディシプリン」 10　*7　*19,146　*,*55,885　*3　マイケル・ジャクソン 「スリラー25周年記念リミテッド・エディション」 11　--　*17,724　*,*17,724　*1　10-FEET 「VANDALIZE」 12　--　*17,516　*,*17,516　*1　田村ゆかり 「十六夜の月、カナリアの恋。」 13　14　*13,939　*,*88,878　*5　V.A. 「ラブリィ! Cute & Sweet J-Ballads」 14　10　*13,335　*,*69,415　*3　平原綾香 「Jupiter ～平原綾香ベスト～」 15　13　*13,232　1,296,344　11　コブクロ 「5296」 16　--　*12,974　*,*12,974　*1　アイドリング!!! 「だいじなもの」 17　15　*12,251　*,318,237　13　V.A. 「アイのうた」 18　12　*11,497　*,572,834　*5　倖田來未 「Kingdom」 19　22　*11,483　*,791,465　45　V.A. 「R35 Sweet J-Ballads」 20　--　**9,837　*,**9,837　*1　セルジオ・メンデス 「モーニング・イン・リオ」 21　25　**9,798　*,833,106　29　徳永英明 「VOCALIST 3」 22　19　**9,513　*,*65,921　*5　レニー・クラヴィッツ 「ラヴ・レヴォリューション」 23　28　**9,193　*,742,722 115　徳永英明 「VOCALIST」 24　*9　**8,893　*,*34,179　*2　くるり 「Phihamonic or die」 25　20　**8,620　*,*63,089　*5　ジャック・ジョンソン 「スリープ・スルー・ザ・スタティック」 26　--　**8,366　*,**8,366　*1　Rickie-G 「am 08:59」 27　35　**8,311　*,651,354　70　徳永英明 「VOCALIST 2」 28　*6　**7,656　*,*42,240　*2　TOKIO 「sugar」 29　18　**7,627　*,*82,255　*4　DOUBLE 「10 YEARS BEST WE R&B」 30　--　**7,503　*,**7,503　*1　SOFFet 「NEW STANDARD」 31　26　**6,881　1,412,166　12　EXILE 「EXILE LOVE」 32　23　**6,766　*,*44,511　*4　シンプル・プラン 「シンプル・プラン 3」 33　30　**5,989　2,812,051　75　コブクロ 「ALL SINGLES BEST」 34　29　**5,857　*,*80,326　*7　綾小路きみまろ 「爆笑スーパーライブ第3集! 知らない人に笑われ続けて35年」 35　16　**5,627　*,*20,015　*2　SHAKALABBITS 「MUSHROOMCAT RECORD」 36　24　**5,615　*,*13,004　*2　twenty4-7 「Life」 37　--　**5,577　*,**5,577　*1　中森明菜 「歌姫伝説 ～90's BEST～」 38　32　**5,421　*,*61,204　23　エイミー・ワインハウス 「バック・トゥ・ブラック」 39　*8　**5,176　*,*30,686　*2　シド 「センチメンタルマキアート」 40　--　**5,114　*,**5,114　*1　ナイトメア 「極東シンフォニー ～the Five Stars Night～@BUDOKAN(完全予約限定盤)」 41　47　**5,087　*,**8,725　*2　V.A. 「シャイニー ガールズ・ヒット・スタイル」 42　--　**4,632　*,**4,632　*1　MEGARYU 「歌にして贈る言葉」 43　31　**4,615　*,208,810　*6　ZARD 「ZARD Request Best ～beautiful memory～」 44　27　**4,124　*,357,314　19　バックストリート・ボーイズ 「アンブレイカブル」 45　17　**4,076　*,*15,579　*2　高杉さと美 「garden」 46　36　**4,049　*,*27,556　*5　V.A. 「グラミー・ノミニーズ2008」 47　43　**4,019　*,**8,585　*2　トリスタン・プリティマン 「ハロー」 48　--　**3,942　*,**3,942　*1　東京佼成ウインドオーケストラ 「ブラバン!甲子園2」 49　45　**3,822　*,624,826　11　BUMP OF CHICKEN 「orbital period」 50　41　**3,731　*,*46,878　*4　BRAHMAN 「ANTINOMY」 Figures above are for physical CD sales only. Japanese downloads are ranked separately.

Japanese Singles and Albums for week ending 2008-03-03 Romanised Top 30's (without any numbers) are available from Oricon: [singles | albums] ~Singles~ *1　--　324,223　*,324,223　*1　嵐 「Step and Go」 *2　*4　*54,950　*,233,479　*5　青山テルマ feat.SoulJa 「そばにいるね」 *3　--　*48,430　*,*48,430　*1　宇多田ヒカル 「HEART STATION/Stay Gold」 *4　--　*34,794　*,*34,794　*1　ジェロ 「海雪」 *5　--　*27,820　*,*27,820　*1　清水翔太 「HOME」 *6　--　*23,600　*,*23,600　*1　平井堅 「キャンバス/君はス・テ・キ♡」 *7　*2　*16,621　*,*76,668　*2　氷川きよし 「玄海船歌」 *8　*6　*13,907　*,*47,018　*2　湘南乃風 「黄金魂」 *9　--　*13,476　*,*13,476　*1　BENNIE K 「モノクローム」 10　*5　*12,927　*,398,306　*3　KAT-TUN 「LIPS」 11　*7　*12,522　*,*53,926　*3　木山裕策 「home」 12　*1　*11,189　*,*74,718　*2　ポルノグラフィティ 「あなたがここにいたら」 13　--　*10,808　*,*10,808　*1　BoA 「be with you.」 14　--　**9,816　*,**9,816　*1　John-Hoon 「サクラTEARS」 15　*3　**7,657　*,*49,173　*2　the GazettE 「紅蓮」 16　27　**7,547　*,127,654　23　SoulJa 「ここにいるよ feat.青山テルマ」 17　10　**7,306　*,*20,860　*2　melody. 「遥花 ～はるか～」 18　32　**7,250　*,*15,617　*3　天童よしみ 「幸せはすぐそこに…」 19　14　**7,201　*,285,058　44　すぎもとまさと 「吾亦紅」 20　--　**7,046　*,**7,046　*1　THE ポッシボー 「ラヴメッセージ!」 21　--　**7,008　*,**7,008　*1　ACIDMAN 「式日」 22　11　**5,580　*,*60,947　*3　大橋卓弥 「はじまりの歌」 23　12　**5,369　*,*74,380　*3　ゆず 「ストーリー」 24　--　**5,282　*,**5,282　*1　RYTHEM 「首すじライン」 25　--　**5,142　*,**5,142　*1　FLOW 「ありがとう」 26　--　**4,993　*,**4,993　*1　LM.C 「JOHN」 27　18　**4,832　*,*29,538　*3　九州男 「1/6000000000 feat.C&K」 28　16　**4,293　*,*41,905　*3　the brilliant green 「Ash Like Snow」 29　--　**4,246　*,**4,246　*1　Skoop On Somebody 「Shining Days」 30　20　**4,225　*,115,455　*5　ケツメイシ 「出会いのかけら」 31　*9　**4,193　*,*20,403　*2　Every Little Thing 「サクラビト」 32　15　**4,100　*,*36,035　*3　木村カエラ 「Jasper」 33　--　**4,068　*,**4,068　*1　神野美伽 「若狭の女」 34　--　**3,759　*,**3,759　*1　キリンジ 「朝焼けは雨のきざし」 35　19　**3,736　*,*49,010　*3　水樹奈々 「STARCAMP EP(Astrogation/COSMIC LOVE/Dancing in the velvet moon/空時計)」 36　17　**3,628　*,*12,030　*2　電気グルーヴ 「モノノケダンス」 37　--　**3,294　*,**3,294　*1　伍代夏子 「京都二年坂」 38　*8　**3,102　*,*21,473　*2　東方神起 「Runaway/My Girlfriend(YUCHUN from 東方神起)」 39　--　**3,069　*,**3,069　*1　霜月はるか 「カザハネ」 40　24　**3,012　*,*13,104　*3　五木ひろし 「この愛に死んでも」 41　33　**2,627　1,197,132　72　秋川雅史 「千の風になって」 42 101　**2,489　*,*46,814　25　水田竜子 「紅花の宿」 43　--　**2,345　*,**2,345　*1　つじあやのとBEAT CRUSADERS 「ありえないくらい奇跡」 44　48　**2,331　*,*18,843　*6　服部浩子 「むらさき日記」 45　23　**2,306　*,110,430　*5　RADWIMPS 「オーダーメイド」 46　51　**2,290　*,*19,806　*9　中村美津子 「恋瀬川」 47　35　**2,243　*,*26,012　*4　いきものがかり 「花は桜 君は美し」 48　30　**2,148　*,*39,378　*4　中川翔子 「snow tears」 49　47　**2,007　*,*25,123　*9　市川由紀乃 「浮世草」 50　46　**1,965　*,**9,522　*3　角川博 「片瀬舟」 ~Albums~ *1　--　*91,926　*,*91,926　*1　the brilliant green 「the brilliant green complete single collection '97-'08」 *2　--　*85,004　*,*85,004　*1　Acid Black Cherry 「BLACK LIST」 *3　--　*49,095　*,*49,095　*1　伊藤由奈 「WISH」 *4　*2　*40,853　*,123,525　*2　いきものがかり 「ライフアルバム」 *5　*1　*37,580　*,123,507　*2　m-flo 「Award SuperNova -Loves Best-」 *6　--　*34,584　*,*34,584　*1　TOKIO 「sugar」 *7　39　*32,811　*,*36,739　*2　マイケル・ジャクソン 「スリラー25周年記念リミテッド・エディション」 *8　--　*25,510　*,*25,510　*1　シド 「センチメンタルマキアート」 *9　--　*25,286　*,*25,286　*1　くるり 「Phihamonic or die」 10　*4　*20,714　*,*56,080　*2　平原綾香 「Jupiter ～平原綾香ベスト～」 11　--　*18,413　*,*18,413　*1　Buono! 「Cafe Buono!」 12　*3　*16,932　*,561,337　*4　倖田來未 「Kingdom」 13　*5　*16,736　1,283,112　10　コブクロ 「5296」 14　*8　*16,073　*,*74,939　*4　V.A. 「ラブリィ! Cute & Sweet J-Ballads」 15　*7　*15,666　*,305,986　12　V.A. 「アイのうた」 16　--　*14,388　*,*14,388　*1　SHAKALABBITS 「MUSHROOMCAT RECORD」 17　--　*11,503　*,*11,503　*1　高杉さと美 「garden」 18　*6　*11,448　*,*74,628　*3　DOUBLE 「10 YEARS BEST WE R&B」 19　11　*11,340　*,*56,408　*4　レニー・クラヴィッツ 「ラヴ・レヴォリューション」 20　10　**9,767　*,*54,469　*4　ジャック・ジョンソン 「スリープ・スルー・ザ・スタティック」 21　--　**8,897　*,**8,897　*1　V.A. 「KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN! オープニング&エンディングテーマソングス -vsヴァリアー編までのアニメ主題歌をフルで聴け!-」 22　14　**8,409　*,779,982　44　V.A. 「R35 Sweet J-Ballads」 23　12　**8,179　*,*37,745　*3　シンプル・プラン 「シンプル・プラン 3」 24　--　**7,389　*,**7,389　*1　twenty4-7 「Life」 25　20　**7,343　*,823,308　28　徳永英明 「VOCALIST 3」 26　17　**7,301　1,405,285　11　EXILE 「EXILE LOVE」 27　21　**6,665　*,353,190　18　バックストリート・ボーイズ 「アンブレイカブル」 28　25　**6,387　*,733,529 114　徳永英明 「VOCALIST」 29　18　**6,354　*,*74,469　*6　綾小路きみまろ 「爆笑スーパーライブ第3集! 知らない人に笑われ続けて35年」 30　22　**6,307　2,806,062　74　コブクロ 「ALL SINGLES BEST」 31　13　**5,993　*,204,195　*5　ZARD 「ZARD Request Best ～beautiful memory～」 32　23　**5,980　*,*55,783　22　エイミー・ワインハウス 「バック・トゥ・ブラック」 33　--　**5,886　*,**5,886　*1　ことちゃん,ワンワン,うーたん 他 「NHKいないいないばあっ!～こんにちは!ったら ラッタンタン」 34　--　**5,818　*,**5,818　*1　JAMOSA 「CRY」 35　27　**5,717　*,643,043　69　徳永英明 「VOCALIST 2」 36　24　**5,117　*,*23,507　*4　V.A. 「グラミー・ノミニーズ2008」 37　15　**4,985　*,*40,143　*3　HOME MADE 家族 「～Heartful Best Songs～ “Thank You!!"」 38　19　**4,912　*,284,022　*6　Bank Band 「沿志奏逢2」 39　--　**4,858　*,**4,858　*1　デルタ・グッドレム 「デルタ」 40　--　**4,740　*,**4,740　*1　甲斐よしひろ 「TEN STORIES 2」 41　16　**4,729　*,*43,147　*3　BRAHMAN 「ANTINOMY」 42　--　**4,653　*,**4,653　*1　KOKIA 「The VOICE」 43　--　**4,566　*,**4,566　*1　トリスタン・プリティマン 「ハロー」 44　28　**4,019　*,*11,298　*2　PUSHIM 「PLATINUM PUSHIM」 45　31　**3,906　*,621,004　10　BUMP OF CHICKEN 「orbital period」 46　--　**3,822　*,**3,822　*1　ロイヤル・ハント 「コリジョン・コース～パラドックスⅡ」 47　--　**3,638　*,**3,638　*1　V.A. 「シャイニー ガールズ・ヒット・スタイル」 48　26　**3,596　*,*69,560　*4　CHEMISTRY 「Face to Face」 49 　--　**3,559　*,**3,559　*1　Choro Club feat.Senoo,SONOROUS,牧野由依,広橋涼,新居昭乃「テレビ東京系アニメーション「ARIA The ORIGINATION」ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK tre」 50　32　**3,513　*,174,404　15　アリシア・キーズ 「アズ・アイ・アム」 Figures above are for physical CD sales only. Japanese downloads are ranked separately.

Rie fu - "Who is Rie fu?" It's confirmed. Rie fu releases her first English language album on March 3rd. Amazon are now listing the release. Born in Tokyo, Rie spent part of her childhood in the US and, more recently, three years in London studying for a fine arts degree. During that time she played a lot of small dates around London (pubs and clubs). She has had 3 albums and 10 singles released in Japan. In December, Japanese music site Barks reported that an English language album would get a European release this spring. Since then I've been waiting for confirmation from a UK retail site, which Amazon have now provided. The release is on a tiny indie lable who probably lack the means to do any real promotion, but hey, I'm excited about this. :) http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/8563/riefutobirase6.th.jpg http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/9618/riefudiscomj9.th.jpg [web site] | blog]

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/6967/odakazumasary2.th.jpg One little item of chart history that deserves a mention, Oda Kazumasa sold a further 4217 copies of his "Jiko Best" album last week, putting it at No.28 in this weeks chart. That completes 300 consecutive weeks on the album chart. Cumulative sales now at 2,447,648. There are 16 new entries in today's daily Top 20 singles rankings. :) A fun week ahead.

OMG東方神起@1 ;)

RIAJ have just posted the monthly download chart for December 2007. http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/7943/avcd23503bve1.jpg 01 Ayumi Hamasaki - Together When ... 02 EXILE - I Believe 03 KOH+ - KISSして 04 Utada Hikaru - Stay Gold 05 Thelma Aoyama - Soba ni Irune 06 mihimaru GT - I should be so lucky 07 Kobukuro - Aoku Yasashiku 08 Masaharu Fukuyama - vs. ~chikaku to kairaku no rasen~ 09 EXILE - Lovers Again 10 Kobukuro - Tsubomi Ayu fans can take some comfort from the fact that one of the tracks from "Guilty" tops the list. Hikki and Thelma Aoyama both make the Top 5 with songs still awaiting physical release. EXILE and Kobukuro manage two Top 10 places each. There are two new gold certifications for downloads to PC: Kobukuro & Ayaka - "Winding Road" (physical release 2007-02-28)Kou Shibasaki - "Katachi Aru Mono" (physical release 2004-08-11) December downloads: 1 - 50 | 51 - 100 | certifications

Looking at your avatar, I was reminded of how funny those drawings are. :) http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/9350/hikki20070915185421yb1.th.jpg Yes, I'm looking forward to next week's releases. The first 'proper' release schedule we have had for a month. I'm expecting Tohoshinki at No.1 on the daily rankings on day one, but thereafter I'm inclined to think the top spot might be up for grabs. For the singles, NINKI have Ketsumeishi ahead of Koda Kuma and I'm inclined to think it will play out that way. But I rather like "Anytime" and would be quite happy to see it do well. I'm also curious to see how well the Thelma Aoyama single will do. The way she is being marketed implies Universal think she has a big future ahead. Other stuff on the release schedule I'm wanting to hear: Sachi Tainaka releases her 7th single "Visit of love" (with an album and DVD to follow in three weeks time). Debut single from Kalafina called "Oblivious" - this is apparently a new project from Yuki Kajiura. Rie fu has a new single "Home" released (with rumours of an English language album in the works). And Suara releases her 5th single "Wasurenaide" - I was 'blown away' (as they say) by her preformance at last summer's Animelo concert and have done some serious listening to her back catalogue since then. I'm still hurting over the announcement that Nanamusica have gone 'on hiatus'. Not been so upset about a pop group disappearing since W went down the tubes. But on the bright side, we have notice of new albums fron Mami Kawada (who is playing a concert in Taiwan today) and Eiko Shimamiya at the end of this quarter, so life isn't all bad. I'm hoping IVE Sound will have something special lined-up to celebrate their 10th aniversary this summer. And then there's that new album from Hikki ... ;)

Early January is when Japanese singles sales hit their lowest point. With no 'major' artists releasing singles for the past three weeks, it has been left to pop group AAA and enka singer Masato Sugimoto to battle it out for the top spot. AAA carry the day by a quite narrow margin. Sugimoto's "Waremoko" was originally released in February 2007. It first entered the chart in April at the anchor position of 200, and then spent the next eight months slowly climbing the rankings, finally arriving in the Top 50 in October. But this slow-motion hit has nevertheless now booked 189k sales making it a major enka hit. That fact secured Sugimoto a place on NHK's end of year TV spectacular 'Kohaku Uta Gassen', which in turn has finally elevated the single to a Top 3 position. By contrast, album sales are currently very strong. The apparently unstoppable Kobukuro hold the No.1 position in the album chart for a fourth week. Sales of the "5296" album have reached 957k and will almost certainly pass the million mark this week. The major new release of the week "Eighth World" from MISIA lands at No.3, close on the heels of Ayumi Hamasaki's "Guilty" album, which passes the half-million sales after three weeks. EXILE drop to 4, but the cumulative total for "EXILE LOVE" (1.3 million after 5 weeks) continues to impress. And lest we forget, Kobukuro have a second album in the Top 10. Their greates hits album "All Singles Best" is at No.8 and, after 15 months on the chart, the cumulative figure now stands at 2,735,658 copies sold.

Hikki's official site now listing the release date for her as yet untitled 5th Japanese album as March 19th. http://www.emimusic.jp/hikki/news/news_j.php

Congratulations to Ayaka for passing the million mark on the 着うた full. A nice way to celebrate the anniversary of the release. :) RSP's "Lifetime Respect -女編-" has not only sold in quantity but done it quickly too. Released in July, certified platinum in August and now double platinum in September. Nice to see EXILE doing well. Atsushi is a talented guy (where would the rest of them be without him?). Further down, BoA at 13 - not bad considering how modest the physical sales were. And SEAMO at 16 - people love his slower songs. I'm looking forward to the SEAMO / BoA collaboration which should be getting air time as of next week. Back to Ayaka - "Why" scores higher than "Clap & Love". I really didn't take to "Clap & Love", but "Why" has kept it's place on my playlist - I've grown to rather like it. Seems I'm not alone in prefering the 'b-side'. Much further down, at 69, Hitomi Shimatani finally makes her first appearance in the download chart with "Shinku". Well, it's a beginning. But really, revenue from her singles sales can barely cover her hairdressing bills these days ...

The RIAJ download chart for September is out. "Kiss & Cry" has a gold certification for downloads to PC. "Beautiful World" has the No.2 position for the month.

Ami at 47. :) She might have made up a little higher if I had a list. But maybe that would be based on sentiment rather than a rigorous evaluation of the music. I continue to hope for the best for Ami. Her voice is so much better now than in the early days with Sony and she continues to be a positive and engaging personality. I recently got hold of the Connetta DVD, the one with live performances from her 25th birthday party. Quiet accoustic versions of some of her recent songs that were really quite impressive. http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/9553/ami25today10015677002xh4.th.jpg http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/3914/amisuzuki10026054915qr1.th.jpg http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/6526/amisuzukianation062wk5.th.jpg http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/2971/ami25today10015677049ve6.th.jpg http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/531/amisuzuki10026054913qi7.th.jpg

These are the Top 10's for singles and albums that Oricon will publish tomorrow, for week ending 2007-10-22. ~Singles~ http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/8056/barkensquealkscl1200ma7.jpg 01　 115,673　 L'Arc~en~Ciel - Daybreak's Bell　 (115,673) 02　 *31,826　 Dreams Come True - Ai$h!teru no Sign -Wata$h!tachi no Mirai Yosouzu-　 (113,069) 03　 *27,230　 B'z - Super Love Song 　 (207,880) 04　 *12,852　 YUI - LOVE & TRUTH　 (124,622) 05　 *12,631　 Sendai Kamotsu - Gei School Otokogumi!! / Over the Geinbo　 (12,631) 06　 *12,536　 Aya Hirano - Love Gun　 (12,536) 07　 *11,140　 Oshiri Kajiri Mushi - Oshiri Kajiri Mushi　 (106,135) 08　 **9,976　 SOULJA feat. Thelma Aoyama - Koko ni Iru yo　 (49,270) 09　 **9,264　 9mm Parabellum Bullet - Discommunication EP　 (9,264) 10　 **6,048　 Miyu Nagase - Key ~Yume Kara Samete~　 (6,048) Rock group L'Arc~en~Ciel comprehensively outsell the opposition to take the No.1 position. Their 33rd single "Daybreak's Bell" puts them at the top of the singles chart for a third time in 2007. Dreams Come True retain the No.2 slot for a second week. After 12 weeks on in the chart, Oshiri Kajiri Mushi passes the 100k sales mark and puts himself within biting distance of a slot at the bottom end of 2007 Top 100 biggest sellers list. [ABC news] ~Albums~ http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/2953/spitzupch1620qk7.jpg 01　 116,229　 Spitz - Sazanami CD　 (116,229) 02　 *65,222　 YUKI - Single Collection "five-star"　 (245,918) 03　 *34,006　 Ai Otsuka - LOVE PiECE　 (308,374) 04　 *26,110　 Yuzu - Yuzu no Ne 1997-2007　 (121,621) 05　 *21,315　 Hideaki Tokunaga - Vocalist 3　 (467,576) 06　 *19,305　 Jennifer Lopez - Brave　 (19,305) 07　 *16,327　 Suga Shikao - All Live Best　 (16,327) 08　 *14,339　 Aya Kamiki - A$h!ta no Tame ni ~Forever More~　 (14,339) 09　 *14,160　 Various Artists - R35 Sweet J-Ballads　 (512,611) 10　 *13,522　 Sotte Bosse - Moment　 (30,170) New Releases - Singles KANJANI8 - It's My Soul The Gospellers - It Still Matters ~Ai wa Nemuranai~ / Kotoba ni Sureba Ryu Siwon - Hana no Kubi Kazari Cute - Tokaikko Junjo (Don't stop Junjo) KOTOKO - Shichiten Hakki Shijo Shugi! New Releases - Albums Tackey & Tsubasa - Tackey & Tsubasa Best abingdon boys school - abingdon boys school ZEEBRA - World of Music Kazuyoshi Saito - I Love Me A 'Best of' album from duo Tackey & Tsubasa is favourite top next week's album chart. They will have competition from Takanori Nishikawa's slightly tounge-in-cheek supergroup Abingdon Boys School who release a self-titled debut album and from hip-hopper ZEEBRA who releases his fifth studio album. Oricon: Singles | daily rankings | weekly top 30 Albums | daily rankings | weekly top 30 Daily rankings are updated at noon (european time), new weekly charts are plubished each Wednesday.

A couple of figures you might want to note. The "Golden Best ~15th Anniversary~" album had sold 465k by the end of 2006, and 488k at the time of Izumi's death.

When Mr. Children's career sales passed the 50 million mark in March this year Oricon published this article with up-to-date figures for the top five on the list. I think the official list for career sales just gets updated once a year when the Oricon yearbook is published? I don't know of anywhere/anyone who attempts to maintain running totals. I'm assuming this list at thePPN is accurate as of April 2007 (it's what I'm using as source). I would expect the totals for ZARD and GLAY to be very close when the list is next revised. ZARD are unlikely to to catch Yuming. Of course GLAY and Yumi both have the advantage in the longer term. Sales for the "Golden Best ~15th Anniversary~" album have passed the 875k mark, and the two recent compilations together have sold 250k+. Add to that sales of other albums (the 1999 "Singles Collection" returned to the Top 10 briefly) and you should be looking at a total of 700k+ albums sold in the last four months. Glay have a single scheduled for release 31st October. Their last single in April "Kodo" didn't sell that well (about 95k) despite being No.1 for the week of issue.

These are the Top 10's for singles and albums that Oricon will publish tomorrow, for week ending 2007-10-15. ~Singles~ http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/1552/bzbmcv4006ve1.jpg 01　 180,650　 B'z - Super Love Song　 (180,650) 02　 *81,243　 Dreams Come True - Ai$h!teru no Sign -Wata$h!tachi no Mirai Yosouzu-　 (81,243) 03　 *24,279　 YUI - LOVE & TRUTH 　 (111,770) 04　 *17,788　 Nightmare - Konoha　 (17,788) 05　 *13,628　 Mika Nakashima - Eien no Uta　 (13,628) 06　 *11,357　 SOULJA feat. Thelma Aoyama - Koko ni Iru yo　 (39,294) 07　 *10,437　 Oshiri Kajiri Mushi - Oshiri Kajiri Mushi　 (94,995) 08　 **9,349　 Kazuki Kato - impure love　 (9,349) 09　 **9,268　 RAG FAIR - Akai Ito　 (9,268) 10　 **8,041　 SOUL'd OUT - Tongue Te Tongue　 (8,041) Rock duo B'z are Japan's biggest selling music act. Career sales of 76 million put them in a class apart. "Super Love Song" is their 44th single and their 40th No.1 hit. Fifteen of their singles have sold over a million and their total singles sales exceed 34 million. Two weeks after the death of her husband, Miwa Yoshida (lead singer with Dreams Come True) will probably find liitle comfort from seeing the group's latest single at No.2 in this week's chart. All promotion for this single has been cancelled. Dreams Come True are at number 5 on the all time biggest sellers list with career sales of 41 million. ~Albums~ http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/6643/yukiescl30134kh3.jpg 01　 180,696　 YUKI - Single Collection "five-star"　 (180,696) 02　 *95,511　 Yuzu - Yuzu no Ne 1997-2007　 (95,511) 03　 *66,337　 Ai Otsuka - LOVE PiECE　 (274,368) 04　 *33,791　 Miyuki Nakajima - I Love You, Kotaetekure　 (33,791) 05　 *26,772　 Tokyo Jihen - Goraku (Variety)　 (128,247) 06　 *23,448　 Underworld - Oblivion with Bells　 (24,935) 07　 *22,203　 Hideaki Tokunaga - Vocalist 3　 (446,261) 08　 *19,211　 Angela Aki - TODAY　 (150,640) 09　 *16,648　 Sotte Bosse - Moment　 (16,648) 10　 *15,655　 Various Artists - R35 Sweet J-Ballads　 (498,451) New Releases - Singles L'Arc~en~Ciel - Daybreak's Bell Naohito Fujiki - Tuning note Aya Hirano - Love Gun Hitomi Yaida - I Love You no Katachi / Hane Yume Miyu Nagase - Key ~Yume Kara Samete~ RYTHEM - Winner If the pre-sales data is correct, L'Arc~en~Ciel could outsell the opposition by a margin of 4:1 next week. The opposition includes popular seiyuu Aya Hirano, releasing a single under her own name for once. She last appeared in the Top 10 four weeks ago in the guise of one of her anime characters. Newly married Hitomi Yaida releases her 19th single and girl duo RYTHEM are the latest artists to contribute a song to NHK's sucessful children's TV show "Minna no Uta". But of the 'minor' releases next week, one which may be watched closely is a third solo single from 19 year-old Miyu Nagase, former guitarist and vocalist with girl band ZONE. This will be Nagase's first solo release for nearly nearly three years and is also the very first release via brand new record label 'CAM Entertainment'. During the period 2001 - 2005, Nagase provided vocals for 16 top 20 hits. New Releases - Albums Spitz - Sazanami CD Jennifer Lopez - Brave Suga Shikao - All Live Best Aya Kamiki - A$h!ta no Tame ni ~Forever More~ Nao Matsu$h!ta - poco A poco It seems that BuzzJack's naughty words robot has not only censored Nao Matsu$h!ta's name but her web-site URL as well. It you want to visit the site you will need to change $ to s and ! to i by hand. Oricon: Singles | daily rankings | weekly top 30 Albums | daily rankings | weekly top 30 Daily rankings are updated at noon (european time), new weekly charts are plubished each Wednesday.

I'm not sure I see how long as the key issue. Neither of Ayu's two most recent singles have sold in sufficient quantities to 'guarentee' the No.1 position, although on each occassion, the sales were enough within the context of the week of issue. "Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry" has comfortably outsold both of Ayu's recent singles despite not reaching No.1. The margin "Glitter / Fated" had over the Porno Grafitti track that came in at No.2 wasn't that great, and although "talkin' 2 myself" outsold last week's Tohoshinki offering, it was well short of the sales of their previous No.2 hit - "Summer Dream" outsold twenty of this year's No.1's on first week sales (including "Glitter / Fated"). Ayu is no stranger to not being No.1 (thirteen of her singles haven't made the top) and at the end of the year, Avex are going to put a heavier weighting on revenue than on chart statistics. Clearly, quite soon now we are going to see an Ayu single not reach the top, but I think who beats her is the main point of interest. If Porno Grafitti had pulled it off two months ago, I doubt many people would have been that bothered. They make a completely different style of music and appeal to a very different type of audience. But think of the ignominy of loosing the top spot to someone like, say, Erika Sawajiri or even (heaven forbid) Leah Dizon. When she looses out to another female pop singer it will be the end of an era.

"Glitter / Fated" was Ayu's first single release for more than a year and I suspect the sales benefited from that. The sales figures for the last 6 No.1's tell a story: 2007-08-29 - Keisuke Kuwata - Kaze no Uta wo Kikasete - 93,312 2007-09-05 - L'Arc~en~Ciel - My Heart Draws a Dream - 112,607 2007-09-12 - Arashi - Happyness - 192,196 2007-09-19 - KinKi Kids - Eien ni - 190,495 2007-09-26 - Auymi Hamasaki - talkin' 2 myself - 70,325 2007-10-03 - Yui - Love & Truth - 87,491 It looks to me as if the era when rival record labels were willing to give Ayu a clear run on the grounds that she was 'unbeatable' ought now to end. I almost feel sorry for BoA, not breaking 30k and being beaten into third by some unsavoury rocker. There's nothing really wrong with "Love Letter". It's just another slightly ponderous ballad in a style that she has already done to death, but no worse that it's predecessors. The most recent of her Avex releases that I really enjoyed was "Brand New Beat ~nanairo no a$h!ta~". Other than that, the BoA tracks which have stood the test of time are early recordings she did with SM Entertainment at the start of her career. Songs like "Sara", "Atlantis Princess" and "Milky Way". It currently seems her personal support is withering even faster than Ayu's. That said, I'm certainly not about to write her off. I quite expect her to take on a new lease of life at some stage, but it does seem to be time for a rethink. Simply following the Avex formula isn't working the way it once did. Time, maybe, to return to Korea and do some more work with the people who made her famous in the first place?

These are the Top 10's for singles and albums that Oricon will publish tomorrow, for week ending 2007-10-08. ~Singles~ http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/2118/yuisrcl66334ox9.jpg 01　 87,491　 YUI - LOVE & TRUTH　 (87,491) 02　 35,060　 Acid Black Cherry - Black Cherry　 (35,060) 03　 28,369　 BoA - LOVE LETTER 　 (28,369) 04　 18,653　 Ayumi Hamasaki - talkin' 2 myself　 (88,978) 05　 17,136　 SID - Mitsuyubi　 (17,136) 06　 16,319　 Ryotaro Nogami (Takeru Sato) - Real-Action　 (16,319) 07　 14,286　 Oshiri Kajiri Mushi - Oshiri Kajiri Mushi　 (84,558) 08　 13,936　 SOULJA feat. Thelma Aoyama - Koko ni Iru yo　 (27,937) 09　 13,791　 Koda Kumi - Ai no Uta　 (101,444) 10　 12,801　 SEAMO - Kiseki　 (12,801) YUI's 10th single "Love & Truth" provides her with a second No.1 hit. Since releasing her second album "Can't Buy My Love" in April, YUI's career seems to have moved up a gear. Sales of the albums have now reached the 625k mark. Yasu, vocalist with rock band Janne de Arc, takes the runner up spot with a solo project under the name Acid Black Cherry. ~Albums~ http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/8783/aiavcd23396bbv7.jpg 01　 208,031　 Ai Otsuka - LOVE PiECE　 (208,031) 02　 101,475　 Tokyo Jihen - Goraku (Variety)　 (101,475) 03　 *42,771　 Angela Aki - TODAY　 (131,429) 04　 *28,231　 Hideaki Tokunaga - Vocalist 3　 (424,058) 05　 *25,098　 Motohiro Hata - Contrast　 (25,098) 06　 *24,935　 Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace　 (24,935) 07　 *18,625　 Ketsumeishi - Ketsunopolice 5　 (643,204) 08　 *17,899　 Will I Am - Songs About Girls　 (37,842) 09　 *14,549　 BOOWY - THIS BOOWY DRAMATIC　 (170,094) 10　 *14,124　 Various Artists - What's Up? R&B Greatest Hits! 2　 (49,525) Ai Otsuka's fourth studio album "LOVE PiECE" takes top honours this week with first week sales of 208,031. The third album from Shiina Ringo's band Tokyo Jihen "Variety" just manages 6 figure sales to take the runner-up spot. New Releases - Singles B'z - Super Love Song Dreams Come True - Ai$h!teru no Sign -Wata$h!tachi no Mirai Yosouzu- Mika Nakashima - Eien no Uta Nightmare - Konoha New Releases - Albums YUKI - Single Collection "five-star" Yuzu - Yuzu no Ne 1997-2007 Miyuki Nakajima - I Love You, Kotaetekure Underworld - Oblivion with Bells RYO the SKYWALKER - The Best Way To Walk In The Sky m.o.v.e - 10th Anniversary MEGA BEST Oricon: Singles | daily rankings | weekly top 30 Albums | daily rankings | weekly top 30 Daily rankings are updated at noon (european time), new weekly charts are plubished each Wednesday.

It seems that some inital work is now starting on a follow-up to "Exodus". http://www.u3music.com/message/index.php?m...7092523322e.xml

These are the Top 10's for singles and albums that Oricon will publish tomorrow, for week ending 2007-10-01. ~Singles~ http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/3347/ayumihamasakiavcd31332bup7.jpg 01　 70,325　 Ayumi Hamasaki - talkin' 2 myself　 (70,325) 02　 33,691　 Tohoshinki - SHINE / Ride on　 (33,691) 03　 22,377　 Koda Kumi - Ai no Uta 　 (87,653) 04　 20,287　 KinKi Kids - Eien ni　 (210,782) 05　 16,712　 Utada Hikaru - Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry　 (190,151) 06　 15,843　 Oshiri Kajiri Mushi - Oshiri Kajiri Mushi　 (70,272) 07　 14,962　 Arashi - Happyness　 (238,094) 08　 14,001　 SOULJA feat. Thelma Aoyama - Koko ni Iru yo　 (14,001) 09　 13,614　 SS501 - Distance ~Kimi to no Kyori~　 (13,614) 10　 12,859　 Hitoto Yo - Tsunaide Te　 (12,859) Ayumi Hamasaki's 42nd single provides her with a 29th No.1 hit. Tohoshinki take the runner-up spot for a third consecutive time. ~Albums~ http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/6670/angelaakiescl30289xw4.jpg 01　 88,658　 Angela Aki - TODAY　 (88,658) 02　 41,830　 Hikawa Kiyoshi - Enka Meikyoku Collection 7 Abayo Kiyoshi no Soran bushi　 (41,830) 03　 35,745　 Hideaki Tokunaga - Vocalist 3　 (395,827) 04　 28,003　 Ketsumeishi - Ketsunopolice 5　 (624,579) 05　 23,114　 BUCK-TICK - Tenshi no Revolver　 (23,114) 06　 21,456　 Dragon Ash - The Best Of Dragon Ash with Changes vol.2　 (174,943) 07　 21,267　 BOOWY - THIS BOOWY DRAMATIC　 (155,545) 08　 20,254　 AAA - Around　 (20,254) 09　 20,149　 BOOWY - THIS BOOWY DRASTIC　 (152,063) 10　 19,943　 Will I Am - Songs About Girls　 (19,943) First week sales of 88,658 are enough to give Angela Aki's second album "TODAY" a comfortable margin at the top of the chart. Enka singer Hikawa Kiyoshi takes the runner-up spot and Will I Am manages a Top 10 finish. Other new entries in the Top 20 are Shoko Nakagawa (11), Arch Enemy (14) and Maki Goto (18). New Releases - Singles YUI - LOVE & TRUTH Acid Black Cherry - Black Cherry BoA - LOVE LETTER SEAMO - Kiseki SID - Mitsuyubi vi-yu-den - Jajauma Paradise MELL - Virgin's High! / Kicks! New Releases - Albums Ai Otsuka - LOVE PIECES Tokyo Jihen - Goraku (Variety) Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace PUFFY - Honeycreeper Oricon: Singles | daily rankings | weekly top 30 Albums | daily rankings | weekly top 30 Daily rankings are updated at noon (european time), new weekly charts are plubished each Wednesday.

Half-a-million in 12 weeks is a pretty satisfactory result for "PLAY" and, amasingly, another 12 concerts have been added to Namie's current tour. Apparently the 53 performances originally scheduled wasn't enought to satistfy demand. I also noticed the 'rather modest' download sales for Beautiful World, but Hikki's career is hardly in crisis, she does have the biggest selling pop song of the year against her name. ;) The question for GReeeeN now is can they follow up? Good luck with your YA order. I confess I get everything from CD Japan. New product released in Japan on Wednesdays often reaches me on the Saturday. But I should note that my local postal service is very reliable - a concept the UK seems to have discarded.