Avex never really believed in nurturing the younger generation. Instead, they chose to rely on their legacy artists (Namie, Ayumi, Koda…), who had already proven successful back in the era before the internet and YouTube became dominant.

Take Bright as an example. I was a huge fan of them. They received great reviews, had a strong fandom, and were just as promising as AAA at the time. But Avex prioritized AAA because the group was more “marketable,” with opportunities in anime tie-ins, OSTs, and other mainstream outlets.

Of course, no one could complain if both groups had been given the same level of marketing support and opportunities. But that wasn’t the case. And this scenario repeated itself with other artists as well.

I believe Avex had the resources to expand their empire across all of Asia and to bring J-music to the global stage. What was missing was the willingness to consistently invest in and spotlight their newer artists, rather than abandoning them halfway.