Newly Grads on
Life After Corona.
Taking on the Coming
Entertainment
Industry with Positivity

Not a single industry has gone unaffected by the spread of Covid-19. The entertainment industry in particular, has suffered a serious blow.

Amongst the companies fighting to survive the pandemic, Avex has taken countless active measures to lead the industry in response, such as releasing concert videos of their artists to viewers for free, creating Pikotaro’s PPAP -2020-, and establishing generous support and relief programs for creators. We sat down with six fresh graduates with impeccable timing who happened to join Avex last spring, to see what they think about their new employer.

Swiftly adapting to
the times.
The successes and
hurdles of
content creation
during Corona

Avex switched over to a work-from-home environment early on in hopes of containing the spread of Covid-19. That of course included the newly hired employees who joined the company in April. Even the intern programs where held remotely, focusing mainly on group work.

Let’s find out what these six fresh faces had to say about their new working environment during these challenging times.

Kitagawa “I was really impressed by the hash tag ‘#avex_no_asobiba.’ I was surprised at how fast they were able to provide a place for the general public to create and share content.”

Kikugawa “The new PPAP -2020- that taught people how to properly wash their hands appeared on regular TV and there were tons of posts on social platforms of children washing their hands to the song. It was even played over the announcements at large shopping malls for customers who ventured out during the pandemic. I heard the response was huge.”

Despite the short amount of time they have been at the company, these newly grads have already developed seasoned employee-like viewpoints.

Ishibashi “It was so great that they were able to respond with the live broadcast projects with such speed. But live broadcasts are something you want to watch, not because you can’t go to the concerts anymore, but because it’s interesting as it is. You want it to be backward-compatible, not just a replacement. I joined the production department, so I’m always thinking of what we could make that would be better than a concert. I want to create strong content that people will want to watch exactly because it is live streaming.”

Shichijo “It’s a genuinely exciting situation we’re in now, where major artists are performing without anyone in the crowds and participating in something new that they would never have done if it weren’t for the Corona virus. Things have really shifted. Though I must say, after witnessing an audience-less concert myself, there are great things about it, but there are many things that need improvement as well. So I think it would be great if we differentiate the two and have the value of real live concerts increase thanks to the very existence of concert streaming without audiences.”

The recent metamorphosis
in how we
consume entertainment.
How the
“first corona generation”
describes the merit
of online

With that said, each of the newly grads’ lives, both private and work, has been greatly affected by the pandemic.

How, and to what severity has the sudden change made things harder?

Ishibashi “There is a lot less outside stimuli. Like going to the club and finding new music, or hearing a new cool band for the first time at a music festival. The information I get from going out and discovering things has decreased.”

Ho “I work online and I get my entertainment from the internet too, so in that respect there hasn’t been much disruption. I don’t feel like I’m enjoying it as entertainment as much as I used to though.”

Kitagawa “Up until now I would listen to music while I commuted for an hour to school or to work, but now I find it harder to make time to include new music into my lifestyle.”

Kikugawa “It has reminded me about the important relationship between travel and music. I’m definitely aware of the decrease in audio content and information I get from listening to music and the radio. But a lot of content has shifted over to the internet and we’re seeing a gradual increase in the quality of it all. I see the value between living your normal life at home and the “premium” feeling of intently tuning into online entertainment is going to continue to get bigger and eventually create a new norm.”

Shichijo “Indeed, entertainment might not be as essential or necessary when compared to clothing, food and shelter. But I think that in the modern world we live in now, entertainment helps busy, hardworking people get by, and you wouldn’t be wrong to say that there are even people out there who pour their whole life into following pop idols or anime. I really like sports and I use to watch sports games on the weekends. It was a part of my weekly rhythm. But now I don’t really look forward to the weekends. I don’t feel that life is as rich as it used to be.”

On the other hand, it was interesting to see how accepting all of them were towards the benefits of online. One could say they are the “first corona generation.” They are un-proportionately positive about it.

Tokunaga “While I was doing my job training I had an online discussion with Alumni from my school who were already working here, and after I was placed in my department I held an online recruitment event as recruitment staff. We used to have to travel to different regions of the country to attend recruiting events if we wanted to talk to students outside of Tokyo, but now since everything has shifted online and the physical distance between us is no longer important, we’ve been able to meet and talk to many more regional students. And through talking with them, I’ve learned that a lot of them are watching more online concerts at home instead of having to travel to Tokyo like before.”

Kikugawa “Fans were chosen at lottery drawings after online concerts of Sandaime J Soul Brothers from EXILE TRIBE and TVXQ (Tohoshinki). Their names were shown on the screen and they were able to talk with the artists, which was a totally new attempt that would have never been possible at concerts up until now. That’s one of the benefits of doing things online.”

Ho “With online concerts you don’t need a venue, and there is no seating capacity. Artists like Marshmello and Travis Scott have performed on Fortnite, and Lady GaGa has done collaborations with artists all over the world. I was placed in the overseas project department so I would love to try out some similar projects as well.”

Drawing a bright future with
flexible ideas.
Taking on adversity
with passion

The newly grads have been working hard in their respective departments since entering Avex last spring. “It means a lot that they are willing to listen to and implement ideas of employees who have only been in the company for a month,” says Kitagawa regarding her superiors. Indeed, Avex has been more than open and welcome to their honest opinions.

Shichijo “I work in the new project department. We are working on a project, an entertainment crowdfunding service that supports new creators and artists that we plan to roll out in September. We had been planning to do so even before Corona happened, so we’re actually trying to speed things up at the moment. And we’ve also been thinking of things other than support. For instance how to sell quality things during a time like this. I think crowdfunding would be a great tool to efficiently sell tickets to concerts, by giving seats added-value for fans to purchase since seating capacity has been cut in half due to Covid-19 prevention measures and each seat is now worth more. I feel that Japan has a very fair seating system, compared to overseas, which stems from our view of customers as being God. We don’t have a developed and diverse VIP system, or culture, like they do abroad. I think if we utilize crowdfunding and improve this aspect, and bring in fans who can afford to spend more, we would be able to make a business out of it and even increase the value that artists already have.”

Kikugawa “I joined the alliance department where we use our hit-making knowhow for PR and help improve the products and services of other companies. After having to deal with Covid-19 we have been coming up with much more new online promotions, on top of the “real life” ones up until now. One in particular that I’ve been brewing over personally is that now that we must open a space of 2 meters in between people at our concerts that we live stream, why not use that space for some type of promotion. Since we can’t do things the conventional way, I’m thinking of how to turn it around and use that to our advantage.”

Kitagawa “My department takes care of live streaming sales and I’m in charge of music subscription services. Up until now people used streaming services mostly while commuting but things are changing. Those people might be listening to music, say, in bed now, and we might have to compete with YouTube. Our next hurdle might be finding a way to get people to choose listening to music over watching videos. For instance, other companies have artists that are putting out tunes that are one minute long. The whole concept of songs being four or five minutes may change. “

Ho “I work with overseas artists in our label department. Of course since we can’t go to other countries, we can’t take needed photos, and I’m constantly thinking of how we’re supposed to advance the promotion of our artists there. We might even have to take photos online.”

Figuring out how to advance projects online that would normally be offline is growing crucial. These young minds, however, are flexible when it comes to taking on new challenges. Plus, they each have their own hopes and passion.

Tokunaga “Since I’m in recruiting, I talk to students a lot. Since the university lessons have shifted to online classes, I often hear that students have more leisure time at home that they use for entertainment. The great thing about entertainment is that it allows people to get a taste of the non-norm, to change things up in the everyday mundane, especially now that the pandemic has removed a lot of stimulation and change out of day to day routine. So I think there is a totally increase in need for it, much more than ever. I want to meat students, I want to feel their passion, their hopes. I’m always thinking about how to get across how great Avex is in the limited amount of time we have to talk online.”

Kikugawa “Now, thanks to this pandemic, we’ve discovered this new experience of watching concerts on our smartphones. Up until now, our image of ‘entertainment’ has been some large scale event like festivals and fireworks. But I think that almost everyone has begun to realize that entertainment is surprisingly all around you, it can be found strewn around, anywhere. In the future, I think it will no longer be that we go out to be entertained, rather, when we do go out, there is entertainment all around. A kind of community building, or city planning fused with entertainment. That’s the kind of thing I’d like to aim at.”

Shichijo “Regardless of Corona, I think each newly grad has the drive to do something that interests them, and that it’s only the method in which we do that that has changed. I think the Japanese sports industry can evolve much further, and I think it can become much more interesting and engaging, entertainment wise. I think there is much more potential for business in there. I want to come up with new ideas to improve the sports industry.

Ho “I graduated from a music university where I composed songs, and I joined Avex in hopes of creating those kinds of stories through music. I think our brains don’t just store memory, but they also allow us to recall memories through smells and music and the sort. I love the feeling, or the ability to be able to remember past memories just by listening to music, and I hope to make content that’s centered around that.”

Kitagawa “I applied to Avex hoping that I could help bring out the charm, bring the best of artists who chase after their dreams. Now it is so easy for people to broadcast on an individual level and many artists that started out on YouTube have landed major label deals. As a team member of a label myself, I want to do work that supports people like that.”

Ishibashi “I was in the orchestra in school, and there was one person in a wheelchair who came to our concert to watch us play every year and said that it was their reason to live. I came to Avex in hope of producing concerts that become someone’s drive in life. I think that the value in offline concerts is in the fact that there is always unpredicted things happening, there are talks and stories that you can only hear then and there. There is an un-recreatable aspect to them. So I thought that if we’re going to make online concerts then we might as well give them un-recreatable values too. For example each viewer can use their smartphone and personalize the video that they see to their liking. As methods continue to change, I want to continue to produce performances that become the energy and vitality in people’s lives.”

Throughout the interview, one could easily tell that even during the times we’re in, these newly grads showed no signs of anxiety or timidness. Perhaps it is because they lack preconceived ideas tied to the past that they are able to change so flexibly, and propose new and wild ideas that don’t heed to common sense.

If there were more companies that give more chances to young talented minds, then the future of the entertainment industry, which now faces a dilemma, will surely be bright. This interview taught us the vast possibilities of entertainment.