Yeah, I know. I was just trying to clarify for 2greenlimes a bit, because Momoko and Sashihara aren't producers the way I would think of Akimoto and Tsunku (and Tsunku isn't even a producer the same way that Akimoto is). No one would be happier to see idols, and woman in general, get to take more control than me.
Plus, I think Momoko's producer thing is just going to be a gimmick, because they needed a way to keep her in H!P for a few more years that didn't involve having her go solo.
Oh, I also forgot I wanted to respond to robotgirl, so if you see this:
The Kenshuusei in H!P only come into the office for lessons once a week, and I think the girls that live far away from Tokyo even less so. So for some I think maybe they did get a taste of it and decided it wasn't for them, but I think for a lot of them, if they don't see a debut in their future, it gets to the point where they need to start thinking about if they want to do this or they want to go to school. I don't know how it is in Japan, but I assume that if you don't go to university straight out of high school, it probably gets a lot more difficult to do once you're older.
Not jpop, but there's been a lot of controversy over kpop idols getting into really prestigious universities, even though their career already grants them access to all the opportunities that a degree from these places would give them (most major in acting and things like that, and recently there was a BIG kerfluffle because an Apink member got into a university that has an entrance exam that there's no way she passed by just being tutored on set) and because most don't have time to attend regularly in the first place, which I'm sure is the same for jpop idols too. And it's really hard to balance being an idol and going to school, which is why you see a lot of university girls graduating to concentrate on that. Fukuda Kanon has mentioned in her blog that her grades at school are really bad. But her major is sociology, so I get the impression that because she still seems really intent on being an idol that she's only in university maybe because her family expects it of her or something like that.
Arama Japan also had an article that was an interview with a foreign girl who was part of an indies idol group, so she met a lot of other idols who were in smaller groups and she said for a lot of them, being an idol is a lot like a side hobby, and many have other jobs on the side and stuff. The girls from Kago's girl group were working part time jobs in addition to promoting with her. This might be a bit less relevant, since pretty much every Kenshuusei is still in school (someone correct me if there's any who aren't), but I'm sure that ties into it as well once they get older. I can't imagine any girl who has debuted within H!P having time to hold down a job, although maybe they're paid well enough, or come from well off enough families, that they don't need to do that.
I'm not sure if any of this makes any sense, and I feel like I've gone off course and am just rambling lol