A Study of the Relationship between Idols and Fans Leading to the Positive Influence on the Management of a Talent Agency

The Case Study of Johnny & Associates

Abstract

Japanese entertainment industry has been dominated by “idol"s who are manufactured extraordinary stars/starlets. Generally, an idol has a quite a few his/her enthusiasts and the talent agency revenue depends on their consumption. Meanwhile, excessive enthusiasts sometimes cause an incident, thus the agency must manage the reasonable relationship between fans and idols. Therefore, in this paper, we will discuss an ideal means of communication and relationship between idols and fans from the viewpoint of the management of a talent agency based on the case of Johnny & Associates Inc., which is the most influential talent agency in Japanese entertainment industry, with the theories of relationship marketing.