60 replies to this topic

[Kuraudo17]

I'm just wondering, how much are idols earning? When Ai-chan graduated to become a stage performer, it made me think, won't that have a huge effect on her lifestyle? Sure, being the most popular member in a legendary idol groups pays much more than being a stage actress? We never really hear of the "private" side unlike usual celebrities, so it's also intriguing. We know that Airi is rich, owns more than one house, and could practically live off her parents' and still be able to afford anything, but what about the rest? Is it true that Momo is supporting her family?

[the rose garden]

I once heard that Ai-chan makes/made $200.000,00 a year, which can be considered very little in comparison with everything that she does/did. Especially if you consider that some celebrities make millions by doing nothing

[Moondoggie]

Varies between idol groups and what they are doing within their idol groups. Taxes are public in Japan so you could look it up and work out how much they earn a year if you really wanted exact numbers,

I think even some of the small fry idol group members are earning a fair amount for a salary. And Aichan has been around a long time she's had time to save money and she's still under contract with UFA she just graduated from the group not the company. They still pay her the same and she'll likely do more projects with them that can earn her royalties. Not sure what percentage they get but i hear they make money from goods too so those that sell a lot of goods are making decent money. (Which is why Ai Kago had a ton of money from her younger days since there was so much Mini Moni merch and general goods with her face on it since she was popular, And then her parents used up that money >.>)

I think also salary increases for how long you have been with the company so people like Airi and Momoko who have been around a long time and also sell tons of goods are likely the higher earners in H!P along with Sayumi.

And 200k a year is a decent amount of money that's like 4k a week. You can't really compare idols to famous actors and stuff in terms of what they make.

[Rice-chan]

^
considering that with 4k a week you could already buy a fairly luxerious house in Beverly Hills and still have enough money to buy anything else I think that's a very fair amount of money.

[ItsudemoAibon]

I'd be willing to bet Aichan makes more than $200K..............my guess is that Sayu makes about $400K...............Aibon, in her heyday, made like close to a half-mil a year.

Tokyo is the most expensive city in the world to live in. Sayu is the breadwinner for her family's Tokyo expenses, I would presume. I think Aichan has had her own apartment ("mansion") for years.

What I would be more curious about is how much of their money do the underage idols get to keep as "allowance." I see idols being concerned about how much things cost and whether they can afford certain things (yet always seem to have money for clothes and makeup, nails, hair, spas..........all the accoutrements of maintaining a celebrity image). Even Airi has talked about using a coupon at McDonald's!

[pcysrok]

I remember an interview from 2008 ish where maimi said her parents give her allowance? I'm prepared to bet a lot of the underage idols dont see a lot of their money until they're of age (: when their parents cant hold it from them anymore.

[WhiteForte]

Funny thing, lovemusic just posted something related to this:

Up Front Group : Balance sheet [B/S] - Statement of financial (2011)

[Kuraudo17]

^
considering that with 4k a week you could already buy a fairly luxerious house in Beverly Hills and still have enough money to buy anything else I think that's a very fair amount of money.

With what little we can tell from Chisato's house (or room, rather), the money they get don't seem enough to buy houses better than most people.

[Kuraudo17]

I'd be willing to bet Aichan makes more than $200K..............my guess is that Sayu makes about $400K...............Aibon, in her heyday, made like close to a half-mil a year.

Tokyo is the most expensive city in the world to live in. Sayu is the breadwinner for her family's Tokyo expenses, I would presume. I think Aichan has had her own apartment ("mansion") for years.

What I would be more curious about is how much of their money do the underage idols get to keep as "allowance." I see idols being concerned about how much things cost and whether they can afford certain things (yet always seem to have money for clothes and makeup, nails, hair, spas..........all the accoutrements of maintaining a celebrity image). Even Airi has talked about using a coupon at McDonald's!

I think AIri does that because she wants to show everyone that someone from a rich family can also be economical. Sometimes I wonder if it was her decision, or the staff's.

[Kuraudo17]

Funny thing, lovemusic just posted something related to this:

Up Front Group : Balance sheet [B/S] - Statement of financial (2011)

Translation, please?

[michi.K.O]

Well, Fuku-chan mentioned on a couple of occasions that her mom only gives her 1000 yen (which is a very tight budget, some Japanese wota even joked about Fuku-chan getting less new year money than her dog, Kurara) but I think that 1000 yen is for her to spend freely on things she wants and not her needs. Like, if that money isn't enough for her to buy two of the photobooks that she really wants, she'll have to play nice and ask for extra money from her parents.

Nono mentioned on Utaban April 26th, 2009(post-Momusu and W) that when she's younger, she has no idea how to use the bank book so her mother handles then and her mom will buy the things that she wants for her. I'm guessing that's how it is for most(if not all) under age idols.

And IIRC, Aibon was the one supporting her family ever since she joined Momusu. But I vaguely remember this so don't hold it against me.

[choco cake]

the more merch they sell will the member get more money ?

[kantutanTayo14]

Remember, what they portray about not enough yens or thriftiness is to the cameras/publishers

Who knows, Aichan/Sayu/Airi may have hidden collections of vintage Cristals or even air-flown Italian swim trunks models to Japan for make them happy

[myrmidon]

Typically idols working under contract receive a base salary. By most accounts, it's not a whole lot of money. But they may earn additional income from royalties, endorsements, and other activities.

When the members of the Kpop group KARA had their contract dispute with DSP Entertainment last year, part of their complaint was over how much they received from their activities in Japan, and it shed some light on how the money gets divided up. According to DSP, in the Japanese music industry artists typically receive a 1% share of CD sales (that's 1% divided among all members, not 1% for each person). So artists generally don't make much money off of music sales, unless they're selling a ton of CDs (which obviously H!P groups do not these days). In the case of KARA, despite selling quite a few CDs when they debuted in Japan, each of the five members only received about $3000 USD as their share from CD sales. But each member also made well over $200,000 from their Japanese activities, primarily from their share of lucrative celebrity endorsements.

When Morning Musume was at it's peak I'm sure the members (especially popular ones like Abe Natsumi and Maki Goto) were making a substantial amount of money from their CM appearances. But now? How many high profile commercials have you seen featuring H!P artists lately? I remember Buono doing those Pizza-La CMs, and there was that Nissin ramen commercial featuring Morning Musume a year or so ago.

My suspicion is that H!P artists aren't making anywhere close to that kind of money anymore.

[ItsudemoAibon]

^

Yes, it's fitting to point out that the way things were once is not how they are now. The philosophy of UFA/H!P has had to change with the times, so it seems. Wihle H!P girls aren't doing the slew of TV commercials they used to do, they now do other things to generate the company money. It would seem that they do much more modelling work for magazines nowadays. Plus, a few of them have quite a bustling career at TV talentos. And my guess is that product sales in PBs and photocards is much more than it used to be.

Yes, Airi probably does must make a show out of using a coupon but, to me, it illustrates the frugality of many Japanese. This may set her apart from past idols whom, I've heard, flew thru their money like penny candy.

This is why I suspect that the culture at H!P has changed...........I'm sure a certain amount of coaching in money management goes along with being an idol, wouldn't even be surprised if parents (who sign the contracts for their underage daughters) are brought into the conversation and, therefore, the parents manage the idol's income and dole it out in allowances.

And I hate to say this but I'd be willing to bet the Aibon scandals made them rethink they way they do things and how they treat their idols..............with a bit more control over their behavior and image.

But, face it, what do idols need when they go to work? Their food is provided for them no matter where they go, it seems, yet we do hear about the girls going out to eat if they have a break or some free time.

And as young girls, I'm sure they love to shop for clothes but having good-looking clothes is part-and-parcel to being an idol. How could you be an idol for a premier agency living in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world and not have a hip wardrobe?

Sayu says her mother gives her 10000 yen/day, which is roughly $80 in American money (which seems to constantly fall against the yen), so she has a lot of leeway for discretionary spending. I can't really see her burning thru that money everyday so she probably has a nice nest egg of spending money on top of the amount of her salary that gets banked. My guess, anyway.

[NightOfFire’21]

About UFA financial status:

Upfront's Financial statement balance sheet for 2011

http://cute-strategy.../blog-post.html

Main points of the blog entry (please note that I am not a financial/business expert, all of the analyses are the original author's, and I'm just translating as best I can):

Up Front publishes only a balance sheet because it is not listed on the stock exchange, but based on this single balance sheet:
1.  The company reduced its capital stock by 16 million yen. This is usually done to cancel loss/deficit, but this can't be Up Front's reason because its current assets are close to 9 billion yen. The author thinks that the company brought its capital stock down to below 100 million yen to reduce taxes, especially corporate tax.

2.  Net profit is 510 million yen, probably from real estate investment profits, subcontracting, consulting, etc.

3.  The company has a sound financial structure with extremely low debt.  Its debt is 900 million yen, but assets are close to 30 billion yen.  So, unless it has subsidiary companies upon which it pushed debt so it looks good, or has subsidiary companies that are in deficit because of business failures, for the time being, Up Front  is unlikely to go bankrupt.  Also, its earned surplus is close to 28 billion yen, so it seems to have plenty of money reserved.

4.  So, to what use did it put this 28 billion yen surplus? Answer: fixed assets.  Their assets are divided into 1 part current assets (cash) and 2 parts fixed assets (real estate).  By itself, this looks healthy.

Basically, UFG seems to be in good shape.

[Moondoggie]

I remember an interview from 2008 ish where maimi said her parents give her allowance? I'm prepared to bet a lot of the underage idols dont see a lot of their money until they're of age (: when their parents cant hold it from them anymore.

That;s right. From what i've read and heard they can do business for themselves when they are 18 so before that their money is put into an account that is managed by somebody else i assume in most cases it's the parents though we saw with Aibon's parents how this can cause problems since they have free access to that account and often they use it to help support their family so they allow them to use that money too. Though in most cases one can assume it works just fine and they only use money they need instead of wildly spending their Daughters earnings. I believe the agency talks to the parents about how much money they will need to use and agree an allowance.

It's all pretty sensible can you imagine 12 year olds like Tsuji and Kago back in the day let loose with all the money they were earning?

After they turn 18 it seems they manage their own finances and talk contracts themselves.

[Moondoggie]

Remember, what they portray about not enough yens or thriftiness is to the cameras/publishers

Who knows, Aichan/Sayu/Airi may have hidden collections of vintage Cristals or even air-flown Italian swim trunks models to Japan for make them happy

I'm sure most of them own some expensive things. The whole playing up not having enough money is simply playing up for the Wota so they can imagine they could pay for dinner and support them financially which appeals to Japanese men.

[Dantea]

^

Aichan did show on her blog once that she owns a thing of Creme de la Mer, which is like $200 for 4 oz or something like that

[Dran]

Hmm. There was a reference on 2ch that in 2006, the average MM member salary was $233,176, based on their published tax returns.

Apparently, anyway. I found a reference to the reference, as it were. But no link to the source yet.

http://www.musume-ce...roject-Earnings