stansfield

Although, on the entertainment side, there is the recent, semi-recent case of CM Punk and another wrestler that were fired from WWE and it was revealed they had a 1 year no compete clause that prevented them from joining another wrestling or MMA promotion for that period. Both wrestlers had the money and took WWE to court and won, and CM Punk is currently training for his first fight in the UFC.

Yes, Vince McMahon is famous for this kind of stuff. That's why everybody hates him. Plus, wrestling fans are not known for their discriminating taste and intellect. So maybe that's why not all of them have left the WWE yet (though most have).

Though I'm curious what artists you'd say H!P has held back with a no compete clause.


Maybe Gocchin when she moved to AVEX, but that's about the only example I can think of

It's difficult to know, because the Japanese entertainment media is too obsessed with exposing idols' personal lives to bother doing their jobs and investigating how the business works behind the scenes. (maybe because fans don't really care how the talent they watch is treated behind the scenes, which is sad).

^ Even in America, "no compete" clauses are put into effect.

I can't think of a single example of an American singer or actor being held to a no compete clause in the past 30 years.

It's done for small market radio hosts, occasionally. But that's about it (at least that's the only examples I heard about, please, correct me if I'm wrong).

It can provide a sort of protection for smaller companies from being raided of their talent by bigger, more powerful companies by making it difficult for the bigger company to use the talent until a specified amount of time, or give the smaller company a cut of profits made by the talent in exchange for a lesser wait time before they can use the talent.
It also gives the agency that a talent is leaving time to exhaust all opportunities for profit for that talent until said time specified...

I understand what the purpose of them is. Doesn't make it any less evil, especially when those contracts are signed by people who barely turned 18. H!P should make their profits while their talent is under contract with them, not afterwards.
 

But I can't recall anything that would've hinted at Koharu's career being hampered by any "no compete" clause after her graduation.

Koharu was a minor when she signed with H!P, so they probably couldn't hold her to a no compete clause. I imagine there are strict rules governing the signing of minors, and exploitative practices like a no compete clause are not allowed. Doesn't change the fact that H!P uses them against other talent.

Here are my predictions through the coming year:
 
1.  Morning Musume, C-ute, Angerme, Juice=Juice, Country Girls, etc will do things and stuff.
 
2.  Berryz Kobo will not be doing things and stuff.

Wow. Are you some kind of clairvoyant?

I don't think that part is really a big deal (you can't be a H!P idol forever).  Its just that Koharu put down MM (instead of being thankful and humble) to the point of making Sayu cry, it left a bad taste for a lot of people (hence the hate).  Her showing up for Berryz Koubou's last concert can get rid of that bad taste though, since she is showing she cares (more or less) this time around right?

She's not there because she cares about H!P or MM, she's there because she's friends with some of the members from Berryz Kobou.

And why should she care? The reason why she left H!P is because she didn't like it. And while we're at it, why should she, or any other former idol, like H!P. Let's look at what H!P does for a second: they hire young idols for a minimal salary, they work with them for a few years, and then they either get rid of them because they're not popular enough, or, if they are popular, they refuse to pay them properly so they end up leaving. Not only that, but they have all kinds of non-compete clauses that make it difficult for them to continue their careers when they do leave.

 

If that's how my employer behaved, I wouldn't like them either. I'm sure most idols view their agencies as a necessary evil rather than great organizations to be thankful for. I'm sure most idols would prefer if Japanese entertainment was organized more like it is in other countries, where successful entertainers can become independent and work WITH publishers and agencies, rather than for them. Koharu just happened to express some of those feelings publicly.

For my tone perception, Miki has/had the best voice at MM.

Maybe from MM, but in H!P Matsuura is definitely better. Even in MM (I'm talking about older gens), there are a few singers who are at least as good.

She's definitely the sexiest in H!P history though...by a long shot.