STU48’s new promotion system draws criticism for money-making through pay-to-play races．．． The top two trainees in terms of fan spending are promoted from trainees in what is “the ugliest contest in history．”
“The ugliest contest in history” STU48’s new promotion system, “pay-to-play race” money-making system is shocking 《The ugliest contest in history has ended》 From October 25th to 31st, an event was held for the trainees of the idol group “STU48” to be “promoted” to regular members. The event held in the broadcast program was a “pay-to-play race.” Fans pay via the app to join the trainee members, and the top two trainees with the highest total amount will be promoted to full members of STU48. Immediately after this was announced, social media went into chaos. “I’m shocked that promotions are decided by paying.” “1000 otakus must have left because of the charges.” It ended up being a loss for the management.’
Some trainees declined to participate in the paid race, and some people expressed the opinion that ‘What’s the point in promoting only two trainees out of the five third-term trainees?’ STU48 was formed in 2017 as a sister group of AKB48. Debuted in 2018. The idea was revolutionary, with the ship traveling around the major ports of the seven Setouchi prefectures – Hiroshima, Okayama, Yamaguchi, Ehime, Kagawa, Tokushima, and Hyogo – serving as a theater, with singing and dancing being performed on the stage on board. Initially, Rino Sashihara served as the theater manager, and Nana Okada, who was a popular member of AKB48 at the time, also served as a member. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the ship’s theater was closed. They were the only 48 group that did not have a permanent stage in the area. Questions raised about the “money-making” system: “The Ship Theatre was also in cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It cost a huge amount of money. However, due to the effects of COVID-19, we are no longer able to maintain the ship. The ship itself isn’t all good news either. The ports where they embarked and disembarked were unpopular because they were far from the city centers of each area, and some of the members apparently got seasick.” (Event company source) In the idol industry, popularity changes quickly. New groups are being born one after another and are active. Although the 48 groups were all the rage at one time and remain well-known to this day, it is not easy to maintain that popularity. Fans who support stu48 seem to have doubts about the system, which seems to be a money-making scheme that exploits the psychology of fans through app charges. “In the end, it feels like they’re just saying that even if you complain, you’ll still pay for it.” “It’s disrespectful to both the trainees and the regular members.” Don’t you have any respect for the members?》 “Fans must have lost trust in the haphazard management that was hastily decided in order to encourage paying.” On November 1st, the trainees who came in 1st and 2nd were announced on the official website, and the paid event came to a close. Has the new system introduced by an idol group fighting for survival turned out to be a rough start?
I don’t know about nowadays, but back in the day they were competing for money for all sorts of things, so it’s not really a big deal. I remember them doing things like modeling and appearing in magazines.
If you have the ability to raise that kind of money, wouldn’t it be better to be a sugar daddy and put the money in your own pocket rather than becoming an idol in the countryside? lol
An otaku in my company was saying at a drinking party that the top three characters in a smartphone game who spend the most money are given a voice actor, so he spent all his bonus on his favorite character. We were all drinking together and everyone was shocked.
Comments