As Television Industry Slumps, Talent Fees Decline- The Challenge to Reiwa Entertainment Agencies’ Business Acumen

On March 27, it was widely reported that Fit, to which Mitsu Dan (43) and others belonged, had begun bankruptcy proceedings; on April 1, A-Team, to which Riho Yoshioka (31) and others belonged, announced the suspension of its entertainment division; and a number of entertainment agencies have gone bankrupt or closed their operations.

Fit was established in 1995 at the height of the gravure idol boom. In the 2000s, Otoha (43), who belonged to an affiliate office, became a breakout star. After that, Anri Sugihara (41), Mitsu Dan, and others continued to make their presence felt through their success.

However, after the rise of AKB48 and the Sakamichi series, there were fewer and fewer opportunities for gravure idols. There was a time when we tried to find opportunities to create new businesses, such as creating our own program production company, but it didn’t work out in the end,” said a director of a production company.

After the founding president of A-Team, who was known for his shrewdness, passed away in 2006, prominent talents such as Hideaki Ito (48) and Marika Matsumoto (39) began to leave the company one after another.

Yoshioka was the office’s breadwinner, but her longtime manager also left when Kamio Fūju (25) quit. It was said that it was only a matter of time before Yoshioka left the office. It is said that after the death of the president, the gears began to go haywire when relatives began to interfere with the management of the office. The talent was fed up with being scratched by amateurs. ……” (entertainment professional executive)

This entertainment industry executive noted, “There will be more bankruptcies and closures of entertainment agencies in the future.

After the former Johnny’s’s office received a warning from the Fair Trade Commission for allegedly pressuring TV stations not to use former members of SMAP, no office has been able to stop their talent from becoming independent. …… The major companies, such as Yoshimoto Kogyo and Horipro, also make money from related business, such as being involved in program production. The loss of a few talents is not enough to shake their management. Most entertainment agencies, however, are small organizations. For offices that rely on successful talent, the independence of a talent can have a direct impact on management.

Some of the smaller entertainment agencies are beginning to become affiliated with major companies in order to survive.

Blunt Club,” to which Odagiri Joe (48) and Kawai Yumi (23) belong, came under the umbrella of the Kinoshita Group in 2005. Yonekura Ryoko (48), who became independent from Oscar Promotion, also parted company with a talented manager who had supported her since her days at the previous agency, and I hear that Kinoshita Group President Kinoshita Naoya is now in charge of her agency.

A senior entertainment industry executive analyzes that “it is tough for an entertainment agency to survive without side businesses.

The TV recession has caused the salaries of actors and celebrities to drop. Amuse, a major entertainment company, produces stage productions and owns a number of music copyrights. Stardust Promotion’s affiliate has entered the cosmetics business in earnest. It is dangerous to rely solely on the talent management business.

Reiwa’s entertainment agency must also have good management sense.

From the May 3 , 2024 issue of FRIDAY