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bmsgNikkei had a BMSG special issue released in print last year that is slowly being released online as a series.
Nikkei x BMSG series: Revolutionaries changing Japan through entertainment (BMSG エンタメで日本を変える革命児たち)
The first installment of the series talked about BMSG FES '24. The second provides an overview of the history of BMSG.
For 3rd to the 5th installments, it was a special talk between the BMSG Artists:
3rd installment - SKY-HI, REIKO, NAOYA, KANON special talk
4th installment - Novel Core, edhiii boi, JUNON, RUI special talk
5th installment - Aile The Shota, SOTA, SEITO, TAIKI special talk
In the 8th to 11th installments, Nikkei Entertainment spoke to people outside of BMSG, but worked closely with their artists or SKY-HI.
For the 12th installment, Nikkei spoke to the Chief Manager of BE:FIRST, Matsuo Taisei, and one of the trainers for BMSG Trainees, Money.
Note: Money is part of Blue Flap Quartet (BFQ). BFQ are backdancers for SKY-HI.
I've summarized what Macchan and Money had to say, enjoy!
Background and Profile
- Formerly in an IT company running fan clubs prior to joining BMSG in March, 2022 on a trial basis. By September, 2022 he was officially an employee.
- His birthday is right after Junon’s, on May 24.
- He is around the same age as the boys, 97 or 98er
Preface: Other than producing star artists, boss has also said he wants to produce star managers, Matsuo Taisei (affectionately known as Macchan by the beef boys and the fans) was one manager boss mentioned.
When Macchan’s friends first heard that he is working as a manager for BMSG, they asked if he’s going to “carry suitcases for the artists” and “Are you going to follow and listen to whatever the artists tell you” – the stereotypical image of a “manager” so to speak.
Ever since boss brought up Macchan, Macchan has been interviewed by various media organizations, and for all of them he has mentioned that there is no hierarchy between him and the beef members, and he does not handle, help or answer them regarding private matters. He brings this up again in the Nikkei interview. Another interesting point brought up is that managers that work overseas often have a “flat” relationship with their artists and that’s a similar relationship he has with BE:FIRST.
As the chief manager, Macchan also reminds the other managers on his team that if requests [from the boys] come up which are beyond their job scope, he tells them not to accept them immediately, and to consult with him first.
He also tells the boys that just like they are pro artists, their field managers and him are pro managers, and tries to suppress his desire to help and treat them as equals.
Rather than trying to “manage” beef, Macchan feels his job is to support and provide what beef needs to become “who they want to be” or for their goals to come true. He will have a hearing / consultation with beef on what they want to achieve. For example, for members that want to improve their English, he’ll find native speakers to provide them English lessons, and find a teacher who can provide them cultural and literacy classes before going overseas.
As the chief manager, Macchan is a key person who can see beef from: the members, the company, the fans (BESTY), and the general public. Another example Macchan gives is if the boys want to show off a new song at a live, he needs to consider if BMSG is able to manifest that for them and whether the stage crew can make that happen as well. And of course, whether BESTYs would be happy too. When discussing this with the members, he wouldn’t use phrases like, “because the members said this” or “the company thinks this”, he would instead say, “Here’s my thoughts on it, what do you think?”
A characteristic of BMSG staff
Not “company and me”, but “company = me”. Macchan says there is a lot of things boss wants to do, so the company / organization needs to become stronger in order to support and achieve boss’s visions, as a BMSG staff, they all feel a sense of danger and anxiety, “I need to do this, otherwise the company can’t grow”
4 Values of BMSG
KA - Kakumeiteki [Revolutionary]
MA - Majime [Serious]
SOU - Souzouryoku [imaginative]
ZE - Seichouyoku [A Thirst for Growth]
Although Macchan has been the one interviewed and in the spotlight, he mentions that other managers and people on his team has saved him a lot as well 🙏
- At time of interview, total staff that looked after the Trainees were 4 people (based on the interview with Yuumi from Shigoto Reach, this has not changed in 2025)
- At time of interview, the staff were splitting the work through trial and error among the four of them.
- Dance trainers Trainees take lessons with: Ryusei harada, KANU (Money says the Trainees often get excited depending which dance trainer they get, because they might’ve seen them on insta / TikTok and he says this helps amp up their motivation to do well)
- And of course, when Sota is available he will give the Trainees a lesson. It gives the Trainees a goal to aim towards, especially since Sota is a senpai to them in the company and motivates them.
- With RuiTaiNon, sometimes Money or staff will give them specific advice before a live performance, other times they let RuiTaiNon freely decide on what they want to do
- Training Camps for the Trainees are held during summer holidays. Compared to when they take lessons at the office, the Trainees are living and staying in dorms together and training is more intense during this time. In the case of RuiTaiNon, their summer holiday in 2024 was their 10-day trip to LA to watch beef open for ATEEZ while also taking lessons at big dance studios in LA.
- Every 2-3 months, Trainees perform their assignment songs to boss and the Trainees’ Base staff. Boss and the staff decide on the songs they can choose from, and boss gives the Trainees direct feedback on their performance
- RuiTaiNon’s assignment song for April, 2024 was Hikousen by Miura Daichi. After seeing RuiTaiNon perform the song, boss was really impressed and wanted the fruits of their work posted for the rest of the world to see. So staff put together a video to be posted afterwards
- As for boss’s own relationship with the Trainees, Money says it’s a good balance between nervousness and distance. Money says boss is quite straightforward with the Trainees so it’s not uncommon to see a Trainee approaching boss to ask him a question
- A huge premise of the Trainee program is that the Trainees enjoy the process. It builds the foundation they need for everything else they do
- Lessons / classes Trainees have: vocal and dance training; acting lessons; English lessons; summer homework support and seminars such as: etiquette, drug use prevention, gender studies, financial literacy.
- Money and Trainee’s Base staff never compare one Trainee with another. The staff strive to treat each Trainee with love. Although they may say some strict or harsh things, it is all to help them grow and improve.
Hope you enjoyed!
Please note I translate these for free and I'm not a professional, so they may not be 100% accurate.
Retranslations or sharing of the summaries is fine! For retranslations, please notify me beforehand and credit once posted!
Translations do take time to complete, so if you like my translations you can consider tipping me on Ko-Fi!
Nikkei x BMSG series: Revolutionaries changing Japan through entertainment (BMSG エンタメで日本を変える革命児たち)
The first installment of the series talked about BMSG FES '24. The second provides an overview of the history of BMSG.
For 3rd to the 5th installments, it was a special talk between the BMSG Artists:
3rd installment - SKY-HI, REIKO, NAOYA, KANON special talk
4th installment - Novel Core, edhiii boi, JUNON, RUI special talk
5th installment - Aile The Shota, SOTA, SEITO, TAIKI special talk
In the 8th to 11th installments, Nikkei Entertainment spoke to people outside of BMSG, but worked closely with their artists or SKY-HI.
For the 12th installment, Nikkei spoke to the Chief Manager of BE:FIRST, Matsuo Taisei, and one of the trainers for BMSG Trainees, Money.
Note: Money is part of Blue Flap Quartet (BFQ). BFQ are backdancers for SKY-HI.
I've summarized what Macchan and Money had to say, enjoy!
Matsuo Taisei
Background and Profile
- Formerly in an IT company running fan clubs prior to joining BMSG in March, 2022 on a trial basis. By September, 2022 he was officially an employee.
- His birthday is right after Junon’s, on May 24.
- He is around the same age as the boys, 97 or 98er
Preface: Other than producing star artists, boss has also said he wants to produce star managers, Matsuo Taisei (affectionately known as Macchan by the beef boys and the fans) was one manager boss mentioned.
When Macchan’s friends first heard that he is working as a manager for BMSG, they asked if he’s going to “carry suitcases for the artists” and “Are you going to follow and listen to whatever the artists tell you” – the stereotypical image of a “manager” so to speak.
Ever since boss brought up Macchan, Macchan has been interviewed by various media organizations, and for all of them he has mentioned that there is no hierarchy between him and the beef members, and he does not handle, help or answer them regarding private matters. He brings this up again in the Nikkei interview. Another interesting point brought up is that managers that work overseas often have a “flat” relationship with their artists and that’s a similar relationship he has with BE:FIRST.
As the chief manager, Macchan also reminds the other managers on his team that if requests [from the boys] come up which are beyond their job scope, he tells them not to accept them immediately, and to consult with him first.
He also tells the boys that just like they are pro artists, their field managers and him are pro managers, and tries to suppress his desire to help and treat them as equals.
Rather than trying to “manage” beef, Macchan feels his job is to support and provide what beef needs to become “who they want to be” or for their goals to come true. He will have a hearing / consultation with beef on what they want to achieve. For example, for members that want to improve their English, he’ll find native speakers to provide them English lessons, and find a teacher who can provide them cultural and literacy classes before going overseas.
As the chief manager, Macchan is a key person who can see beef from: the members, the company, the fans (BESTY), and the general public. Another example Macchan gives is if the boys want to show off a new song at a live, he needs to consider if BMSG is able to manifest that for them and whether the stage crew can make that happen as well. And of course, whether BESTYs would be happy too. When discussing this with the members, he wouldn’t use phrases like, “because the members said this” or “the company thinks this”, he would instead say, “Here’s my thoughts on it, what do you think?”
A characteristic of BMSG staff
Not “company and me”, but “company = me”. Macchan says there is a lot of things boss wants to do, so the company / organization needs to become stronger in order to support and achieve boss’s visions, as a BMSG staff, they all feel a sense of danger and anxiety, “I need to do this, otherwise the company can’t grow”
4 Values of BMSG
KA - Kakumeiteki [Revolutionary]
MA - Majime [Serious]
SOU - Souzouryoku [imaginative]
ZE - Seichouyoku [A Thirst for Growth]
Although Macchan has been the one interviewed and in the spotlight, he mentions that other managers and people on his team has saved him a lot as well 🙏
Money and the BMSG Trainee program
- At time of interview, total staff that looked after the Trainees were 4 people (based on the interview with Yuumi from Shigoto Reach, this has not changed in 2025)
- At time of interview, the staff were splitting the work through trial and error among the four of them.
- Dance trainers Trainees take lessons with: Ryusei harada, KANU (Money says the Trainees often get excited depending which dance trainer they get, because they might’ve seen them on insta / TikTok and he says this helps amp up their motivation to do well)
- And of course, when Sota is available he will give the Trainees a lesson. It gives the Trainees a goal to aim towards, especially since Sota is a senpai to them in the company and motivates them.
- With RuiTaiNon, sometimes Money or staff will give them specific advice before a live performance, other times they let RuiTaiNon freely decide on what they want to do
- Training Camps for the Trainees are held during summer holidays. Compared to when they take lessons at the office, the Trainees are living and staying in dorms together and training is more intense during this time. In the case of RuiTaiNon, their summer holiday in 2024 was their 10-day trip to LA to watch beef open for ATEEZ while also taking lessons at big dance studios in LA.
- Every 2-3 months, Trainees perform their assignment songs to boss and the Trainees’ Base staff. Boss and the staff decide on the songs they can choose from, and boss gives the Trainees direct feedback on their performance
- RuiTaiNon’s assignment song for April, 2024 was Hikousen by Miura Daichi. After seeing RuiTaiNon perform the song, boss was really impressed and wanted the fruits of their work posted for the rest of the world to see. So staff put together a video to be posted afterwards
- As for boss’s own relationship with the Trainees, Money says it’s a good balance between nervousness and distance. Money says boss is quite straightforward with the Trainees so it’s not uncommon to see a Trainee approaching boss to ask him a question
- A huge premise of the Trainee program is that the Trainees enjoy the process. It builds the foundation they need for everything else they do
- Lessons / classes Trainees have: vocal and dance training; acting lessons; English lessons; summer homework support and seminars such as: etiquette, drug use prevention, gender studies, financial literacy.
- Money and Trainee’s Base staff never compare one Trainee with another. The staff strive to treat each Trainee with love. Although they may say some strict or harsh things, it is all to help them grow and improve.
Hope you enjoyed!
Please note I translate these for free and I'm not a professional, so they may not be 100% accurate.
Retranslations or sharing of the summaries is fine! For retranslations, please notify me beforehand and credit once posted!
Translations do take time to complete, so if you like my translations you can consider tipping me on Ko-Fi!
