[TRANS] Arashi's last concert 25 Nov 2020

[karened]

Originally posted on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/arashickarened/status/1331434018261274626?s=20

This is a difficult article to translate, and I hope it is all rumour only, despite making business sense.

[T/N: Subsequent to this, on 26 Nov, Jun announced on Spotify live that the concert will be available worldwide!!! Nonetheless I'll keep this translation just for record.]  

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Is Arashi's last concert limited to FC-members? Johnny's see a large spike in sales from "rush FC joiners"!

Nearing hiatus, Arashi's FC number is rapidly increasing!?   Arashi, who is going on hiatus in about a month's time, will be holding a live concert online in New Year's Eve. As it is held online, there will not be a fight for the tickets. 

However, it is heading towards the direction of necessitating FC membership to buy tickets. With the added perspective of "I want to see through to the end", the new FC joiners are increasing explosively to the very end. This can be said to be a rare occurrence. 

Arashi's last appearance before hiatus was supposed to be on NHK's Kouhaku, but fans were exhilarated when  they were surprised with plans for a live concert. Unlike the prerecorded streaming of Arafes 2020 on 3 Nov, this will be broadcasted live.

Although the performance venue is not publicly announced, we can expect that fans who managed to find out will rush to the venue. 

Industry insiders said, "JE is also dead serious about not having fans gather near the venue, understanding that they may want to be near the members to the very last moment."

At this stage, they have only disclosed the date, and not the venue or the start time. In the meanwhile, I have caught some information I was interested in. 

At this stage, it has been announced that a FC-limited ticket purchasing system is under review. For Arafes 2020, the first part was limited to FC while the second part was open to everyone to purchase the tickets.

"To begin with, the greatest "privilege" of joining the JE FC was the priority application for concert tickets. "What's the point of joining the FC if that 'privilege' cannot be used in this last year before hiatus!?" 

It may seem like a betrayal to the fans. For this reason, it seems that the discussion is heading towards limiting it for FC this time." (Industry executive) 

Many non-FC members also bought the Arafes tickets. Of course, that was because they like Arashi and are interested in their concert. If this becomes the last concert, there will probably be many people considering to enter the FC for it. 

"There're probably many who want to watch the last concert even if they do not [T/N: like Arashi] to the extent of wanting to join the FC. The details of the concert will probably be announced at a timing that works even if you apply for the FC only now." (Industry exec) 

Although it's not officially disclosed, it is said that Arashi's FC numbers about 3 mil. Of course, that is the largest number amongst Japan's many talents.  "Including the rebroadcast, Arasfes was said to have been watched by close to 10 mil people.

With that number in view, if the New Year's Eve last concert is limited to FC, it wouldn't be strange to see the FC number double." (Industry insider)

If the FC number is 3 mil, doubling it would be 6 mil. The FC membership fee is JPY5,000. 3 mil new FC joiners will bring in additional JPY15 bil of membership fees. Adding on the ticket sales, it will create a huge "last concert" effect. 

It has been announced that Arashi's FC will continue after Arashi enters hiatus next year. As the benefits of priority application for concert tickets and TV program shooting will cease to exist from next year, the FC number may decrease.

But it seems that a momentum is building up for a significant increase to the very end.