Web 3.0 will drastically change the idol industry

In the Showa era, idol singers played the leading role; in the Heisei era, group idols emerged; and in the 2025 era, anyone can become an idol. As the times change, idols, the pride of Japanese entertainment, continue to evolve.

What will happen to the industry in the future, which has even given birth to a genre called Web 3.0 idols?

What is the ‘pyramid structure’ of the idol industry?

Nakagawa: Today, I would like to talk about the current state of the idol industry, and I would also like to talk about the future of idols using Web 3.0-related technologies such as NFT and tokens.

Narita: I am rather familiar with the idol industry, but I don't know much about Web 3.0 and so on, so I would be happy if Mr Nakagawa could teach me. There aren't that many idols yet, but there are idols who are doing promotions involving NFT.

Nakagawa: Zubari: What is the state of the idol industry these days?

Narita: I think the idol industry can be roughly divided into three categories: a handful of major groups, such as the 46 groups (Nogizaka46, Sakurazaka46 and Hyuugaizaka46), underground idols and the middle between the two.

The middle tier and above are sometimes referred to as aboveground groups or semi-underground idols, in contrast to underground idols. The activities and business models of each of these groups are quite different, so even though they are all in the same idol business, there is a big gap between them.