[13.12.04] T-ara's Japanese fanclub suddenly shutting down.. Will they stop Japanese activities?

[nathaniel]

[13.12.04] T-ara's Japanese fanclub suddenly shutting down.. Will they stop Japanese activities?

Fans were left confused and wondering if T-ara will put an end to Japanese promotions after it was announced that T-ara's Japanese fanclub will be abruptly shut down next year in April.

T-ara's official fanclub in Japan "Sweet Treasure" announced via their website that "After T-ara contract expires in April 2014, T-ara's fanclub will be dismissed. The registration renewal will end on the 31st and the fanclub and website will be shut down in April next year."

They also said "Next April will be the final version of the newsletter, but members cannot ask for a refund. Please understand." They also thanked fans for their support for the past three years and apologized for the announcement.

Korean netizens and T-ara's fans were left confused what was happening next and if T-ara will sign a new contract with a new agency.

In regards to this, Core Contents Media said on the 4th, "T-ara's contract with the local Japanese agency J-ROCK that managed T-ara win Japan will expire in April of next year and they will not be resigning it thus the fanclub and website operation by J-ROCK being put to an end."

Core Contents Media continued to say, "Core Contents Media's Japanese office CCM Japan will manage them. There are no plans yet to automatically switch the fans into a new fanclub, but T-ara will not cancel Japanese activities point blank. Next year, they will focus more on Chinese activities."

T-ara are holding their comeback on the 5th at Mnet's "M!Countdown" with their new song "What Do I Do".

***

Source: http://news.nate.com/view/20131204n19765

Translated by: Nathaniel @ Diadem

[HeraldC]

Korean netizens and T-ara's fans were left confused what was happening next and if T-ara will sign a new contract with a new agency.

Oh, my heart stopped for a minute there. I thought it's going to be like Nicole from Kara only with all of them. So, they're only changing the management to CCM Japanese branch. Hope this goes well for the Japanese fans, tough.

[zeezee15]

Oooh. Speculation time!

I postulate that despite their best efforts, T-ara has not been as profitable in Japan (relatively-speaking) as CCM hoped they would be. Think about it, if the profits from Japan were sky high, they would milk that cash cow with every possible gimmick, year in year out. Taking a long hiatus In this idol-saturated market, could easily mean irrecoverable lost ground unless you're a really big household name.

So naturally, T-ara's venturing out to extend and deepen (if possible) their appeal in other markets. China with it's large, youthful population is quite a prize.

[CptFantasy]

I've found that making gifs instead of stressing over misleading news articles enhances my enjoyment of the music.

[jalut81]

I've found that making gifs instead of stressing over misleading news articles enhances my enjoyment of the music.

i second this statement

[mojaslatka]

I've found that making gifs instead of stressing over misleading news articles enhances my enjoyment of the music.

Hahaha. love this. Let's just support and hope the best for them

[arcadey]

Oooh. Speculation time!

I postulate that despite their best efforts, T-ara has not been as profitable in Japan (relatively-speaking) as CCM hoped they would be. Think about it, if the profits from Japan were sky high, they would milk that cash cow with every possible gimmick, year in year out. Taking a long hiatus In this idol-saturated market, could easily mean irrecoverable lost ground unless you're a really big household name.

So naturally, T-ara's venturing out to extend and deepen (if possible) their appeal in other markets. China with it's large, youthful population is quite a prize.

I disagree. T-ara is third most popular Korean girl group in Japan. They're still profitable in Japan, unlike many other Korean artists who debuted there. But I wouldn't be surprised if J-Rock decided not to renew the contract (which was a record-breaking 4.3 million when they signed it) due to Hallyu wave dying and T-ara's scandal. When T-ara signed with J-rock they were on the path to becoming the second biggest girl group in Korea (and Asia) after Girls' Generation, but after the scandal they were knocked down to mid-tier.

Still, I think they are profitable in Japan and any agency would be lucky to have them over there. Especially now that their Korean popularity is rising again, and Hyomin was able to headline her own Japanese movie.

[Felixng]

Well, hopefully they still have another concert at the Budokan next year, if not another Japan tour.

[Scatter_88mil]

Lol, CCM's Japanese office will continue to manage them? Well, that sounds like a pretty bleak future there.

That being said, I really doubt that shutting down of the fanclub inevitably means their activities in Japan will indefinitely stop. Still, it wouldn't be surprising for activities in Japan to come to a lower tempo however. The Hallyu Wave is meeting its grinding halt there - and is probably also a concerning matter, as the biggest portion of overseas income for the K-entertainment industry happens to be from Japan.

Which would probably explain the sudden rush into China nowadays and CCM is merely following the trend.

I disagree. T-ara is third most popular Korean girl group in Japan. They're still profitable in Japan, unlike many other Korean artists who debuted there. But I wouldn't be surprised if J-Rock decided not to renew the contract (which was a record-breaking 4.3 million when they signed it) due to Hallyu wave dying and T-ara's scandal. When T-ara signed with J-rock they were on the path to becoming the second biggest girl group in Korea (and Asia) after Girls' Generation, but after the scandal they were knocked down to mid-tier.

Still, I think they are profitable in Japan and any agency would be lucky to have them over there. Especially now that their Korean popularity is rising again, and Hyomin was able to headline her own Japanese movie.

Just because they're the third most popular Korean girl group in the country doesn't mean it's going to keep them afloat well in the long term. In fact, it's also hit KARA and SNSD as well, both who are much bigger than T-ara is by popularity.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment/view/has-japans-k-pop-bubble-burst-weakening-yen-hits-major-korean-record-label-hard

http://www.soompi.com/2012/09/06/k-pop-popularity-in-japan-declining/#.Up7wj8RdW30

That being said, the scandal from last year and declination of Kpop aren't likely the only factors. Furthermore, T-ara becoming the second largest group after SNSD - that was never going to happen. The moment KKS started mouthing off some of the most controversial things to the press regarding the group by calling them lazy, threatening them and putting unnecessary members and the massively increasing amount of work i.e. nonstop promotions since the second half of 2011 right up to the day of the scandal, it was pretty obvious that the group was heading to a celebrity-crash-and-burn scenario.

In fact, one may say it was inevitable.

[Guest Phailinator]

I've found that making gifs instead of stressing over misleading news articles enhances my enjoyment of the music.

Pretty much. But I'll still manage to stress about it. *sigh*

Knowing how horribly CCM treated T-ara, I wonder how will the Japanese branch do them justice... ㅠㅠ

My whole brainstorm was mentioned in other people's comments so I'm just gonna stop here.

[Guest rokwitu]

Well,, that's so funny.. It feels like a bunch of haters coming this way, bashing our girls hard again , now we have to listen to a bunch of insult words..

[xbot]

This was from AKP's translation of Sports Seoul: "We plan to manage it through Core Contents Media's CCM Japan. Although the fan club will not be automatically switched over, we plan to start one again... T-ara's Japanese activities will definitely not come to a close. Once they complete their activities in China, they will start again in Japan next year."

I don't have any Korean language skills so I can't say which is more correct. But if its correct, the Sports Seoul is really not that gloom & doom of a news: So CCM won't use J-rock anymore, T-ara will be more focused on China for next year and there will be a new Japan comeback in 2014. Anyway CCM also have Choshinsung/Chōshinsei/Supernova which have quite a following in Japan so it might not be a bad idea to have their own agency branch handling things there. They also don't need to look around if they want to market SPEED & their other acts there.

Personally I don't think J-rock did a very well job of handling T-ara in Japan so I'm kind of happy they are gone. Did they even do any real promotion at all for Number 9 JPN or even Target ~anyone seen a live performance of those? When was the last time T-ara got into a major Japanese music show or even be on TV besides small time cable and morning news clips? <For a group that has done Budokan and always get top ten in Oricon except one time (more on that later) it is unforgivable that T-ara never performed in Music Station...> Why do T-ara always launch songs when the top local girl bands are also launching theirs? Who launches a CD single (lovey dovey Jpn) just two weeks before the launch of an album (Jewelry Box --> Lovey Dovey is in it)? Why come out with a pirate concept but don't promote with it? etc. etc.

Of course you might say that the bone head moves were made by CCM (read KKS) but J-rock was the local expert of the market and should've known better. Some might also say that T-ara not showing that much on Japanese TV is because the scandal & that T-ara is not that popular any more... are you kidding me? T-ara gets top ten in Oricon for every single title song they have (even with lackluster promotions) except Number 9.. but even that song managed to get #13 without any promotion & with the Korean comeback ending just days before & still fresh on J-Queens minds (The Japanese do get youtube and can buy Korean albums in Japan also you know CCM). And you can even count with your fingers the number of Japanese girl bands that get to play in the hallowed Budokan Hall.. T-ara did two-day concerts there twice, this year alone (that's four times in my book) not to mention having a multi-city concert tour.

[BlackQueen's]

t-ara will debut in china...???

seriusly...???

whatever happen i will always support t-ara

foreveerrrr......

queen's foreverrrrr...

t-ara hwating....

[Scatter_88mil]

Personally I don't think J-rock did a very well job of handling T-ara in Japan so I'm kind of happy they are gone. Did they even do any real promotion at all for Number 9 JPN or even Target ~anyone seen a live performance of those? When was the last time T-ara got into a major Japanese music show or even be on TV besides small time cable and morning news clips? <For a group that has done Budokan and always get top ten in Oricon except one time (more on that later) it is unforgivable that T-ara never performed in Music Station...> Why do T-ara always launch songs when the top local girl bands are also launching theirs? Who launches a CD single (lovey dovey Jpn) just two weeks before the launch of an album (Jewelry Box --> Lovey Dovey is in it)? Why come out with a pirate concept but don't promote with it? etc. etc.

Of course you might say that the bone head moves were made by CCM (read KKS) but J-rock was the local expert of the market and should've known better. Some might also say that T-ara not showing that much on Japanese TV is because the scandal & that T-ara is not that popular any more... are you kidding me? T-ara gets top ten in Oricon for every single title song they have (even with lackluster promotions) except Number 9.. but even that song managed to get #13 without any promotion & with the Korean comeback ending just days before & still fresh on J-Queens minds (The Japanese do get youtube and can buy Korean albums in Japan also you know CCM). And you can even count with your fingers the number of Japanese girl bands that get to play in the hallowed Budokan Hall.. T-ara did two-day concerts there twice, this year alone (that's four times in my book) not to mention having a multi-city concert tour.

Doubt that J-ROCK is to be the only one to be blamed for this just entirely. It's not like they have a massive pull on the showbiz on Japan like KKS does in Korea and you can't deny possibilities of other parties also rejecting T-ara's appearances in TV for whatever reason they have.

Overall K-pop popularity in Japan has been on a decline this year, and T-ara is just one of them. Just because they had songs that were high up in the charts and did some concerts here and there followed by a tour does not mean that everything is going to be necessarily fine and dandy for them, especially since the group only caters to a niche audience, much like the rest of K-pop does anywhere else.

Likewise, their sales in Japan this year, especially Target and Treasure Box have been pretty abysmal compared to the past - the same exact trend that has been going on with KARA and SNSD, both who have a significantly larger fanbase in Japan.

[subtle_yuki]

I don't understand what they are doing. Suddenly shutting down your japanese fanclub and then focusing on chinese activites?!! Since when did they even started thinking about the Chinese market? Oh dear lord!

[GVK]

Wait what?! Chinese activities??? Please don't rush things. Enter slowly.

I really hope they still do Japanese activities. I love their Japanese songs as much as their Korean songs.

[EJJ]

Sweet Treasure sells T-ara merchandise at T-ara's concerts in Japan. I spent more than $100 for those stuff when I went to see them at the Budokan, more than the ticket itself. CCM, on the other hand, seems so oblivious to the fact that fans love merchandise and are willing to spend more for them.

So, no more ST, no more official merchandise.

[zeezee15]

On a related note, I have read on other boards that in addition to the depreciating Yen that makes Korean merchandise more expensive, another reason why K-pop is on the decline is that the Japanese are getting fed up with K-Pop acts that parachute in abruptly to hold concerts, sell albums and then immediately make a beeline out the country once the job's done, and may of these acts can't string a proper Japanese sentence by themselves even after years of performing in Japan.

It was assumed that the Japanese anticipated and expected their idol groups to form "lasting and reliable" holistic relationships with their fans. The Korean groups are becoming increasingly perceived as exploitative and insincere.

Anyone knows what's the real story behind this?

[mia camille]

i hope that it will not end just like that...

[mindori]

ccm bad manage. should find new agency -*-

[JiyeonGirl]

so T-ara will focus on China next year??? lucky Chinese fans !!! more T-ara fans

[lacey]

Aww... Either way, i will continue to support my girls!!

[Abbez]

That being said, the scandal from last year and declination of Kpop aren't likely the only factors. Furthermore, T-ara becoming the second largest group after SNSD - that was never going to happen. The moment KKS started mouthing off some of the most controversial things to the press regarding the group by calling them lazy, threatening them and putting unnecessary members and the massively increasing amount of work i.e. nonstop promotions since the second half of 2011 right up to the day of the scandal, it was pretty obvious that the group was heading to a celebrity-crash-and-burn scenario.

In fact, one may say it was inevitable.

Oh god reality is so depressing

One can only hope that KKS dies or something and maybe he has a kind-hearted successor. The management in the world of K-Pop is hard to grasp for me, so after their contract expires (however long that is) couldn't they just ask to be managed by a company that's not made up entirely of assholes?