Revisiting Morning Musume in the US

Harajuku Station, January 2008: Can such vibe ever get to the US? (Photo ©2008 by G.A. Carroll)

Will Morning Musume and other Hello! Project units ever perform in the United States? Even newbie Japanese schoolgirl acts like SCANDAL have already made an impression in this country, but Hello! Project – for 11 years running a sensational music company in Japan – has made no overtures toward potentially the largest music market the world has ever known right here in the US.

This debate is an old one – whether Morning Musume would be a viable touring act in this country. At one point, the argument shut down one of the most prominent Japanese idol Web sites of them all. Details are here:

http://bloggerparty.com/lights_out_at_international_wota

It was eventually decided at American Wota and its ancillary metablog site, International Wota, to close the debate on whether Morning Musume should ever take a shot at an American tour. But the hangover from that controversy fundamentally changed the way AW and IW were run. Some long-time contributors of comments were first screened, then removed from the site completely – including links to the offending bloggers’ sites. It was a cyberspace version of, say, a Stalinist purge. Since that time, it just hasn’t been the same at AW and IW, still two of the most entertaining Web sites ever, despite the clear discrimination aimed at non-conformers.

Hello! Project headquarters, Tokyo: Keeping prying eyes and ears out. (Photo ©2008 by G.A. Carroll)

That attitude, unfortunately, is typical with the tumultuous world of Japanese idol music, in my view the most exciting music ever composed or performed. It is a wonder that Morning Musume and Hello! Project have hung in there for better than a decade, and have grown and prospered despite the propensity of the Japanese music industry to cut off some of the hands that feed it from overseas markets.

Yes, Japanese music DVDs are available from sites like Yesasia.com. But they are only available on Region 2 format, an open attempt to block US fans from this type of entertainment. DVD players marketed in America are rigged to keep them from playing Region 2 DVDs. Why? The Japanese music industry and its wholly-owned US subsidiaries think that will block unwanted American fans from such music. They’re wrong. The exploding sales of region-free DVDs in  the US – mostly from outlaw Web sites since region-free DVD players aren’t really supposed to be legal in the US – puts a damper on this clearly inappropriate restraint of global free trade.

Sony Music HQ, Roppongi District Tokyo: Rationing J-pop to the US. (Photo ©2008 by G.A. Carroll)

So that's how good Japanese idol music is. Fans are willing to do whatever it takes to access these great DVDs. Live concerts? That road is long and hard, but still possible. It's another story told better here:

http://bloggerparty.com/you_too_can_see_hello_project_live

As for how all this ties into a possible Morning Musume concert or some kind of limited tour here in the States, there’s no way it will ever happen under present circumstances. One, the Hello! Project company is already overbooked for the foreseeable future, just in Japan. Limited expansion is being attempted in Taiwan, and a concert in Korea is possible. Morning Musume has already signed two Chinese performers who have been working at it for more than a year, hinting that some kind of future appeal toward the potentially massive Chinese music market – especially with the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing around the corner.

This exciting H!P Winter 2008 concert scene is not likely in the US. (Photo ©2008 by G.A. Carroll)

Where does that leave the US? In the dark in terms of any live shows from H!P. However, other J-pop and J-rock groups are taking shots at the US concert scene and have left an indelible mark. Maybe Morning Musume will make it here after all.

In any event, this topic will never be squelched, silenced, criticized or otherwise hounded off this site no matter what the opinion is, no matter who wants to respond. This is a free site and and open matter. Forever. And that’s a promise.

This is Rad signing off – for now.