Volunteers

I finally caught on to the group's history. The group was first established by Honoka and all of the members have one thing in common, their passion for idol groups in general. In order to reach their dream, they decided to compete on Love Live, but after hearing the stories of multiple idol groups failing because of their own lack of management, they decided to get a producer/manager, in other words, me.

They also established their own agency solely for managing their activities.

Oh, and their group name, µ's, pronounced Muse, is based on the Greek goddesses of the same name. I do think it's very fitting, since the Muses represent arts and are actually 9 in number.

I also learned quite a lot about Love Live. At first, I thought it was an ordinary competition like many others, but there's actually a core difference that sets Love Live apart. The voting system is not based on juries, but instead based on fans. Which means that fan-favorite idols almost always wins. Even the best talents are useless if you don't have fans. This might be the reason why Love Live is open to everyone who wanted to join and participate.

So, what should we do to gain engagement from fans?

"Well, I think I saw a poster for volunteers..."

It might be a strange way to engage with people, but doing some odd jobs here and there might bring us exposure, especially in the era of social media.

"Kuh, an idol should not pick up garbage from the riverbank..." Nico complained while picking up a used can of cola using a garbage pick.

"Why not? It's a good thing for the environment. And we also get some of the other members aware of our group. I say it's a win-win." Nozomi countered her while putting in plastic bags inside of a giant trash bag. "But shouldn't we do more... idoly things? Like singing? Dancing?"

"Come on, don't complain. Some of the other volunteers are highschoolers you know? This might be a chance to show that the idol group µ's is a down-to-earth and relatable idol group. That in itself is a charm, don't you think? Besides, I heard we get some prizes if we get the most trash collected." I said, putting Nozomi's trash bag on top of a trailer.

"Well then, bring it on!" Nico suddenly flared up and her excitement grew after hearing the word 'prize'.

In the end, we actually got the grand prize. A bunch of organic food ingredients, to which Nico happily took some of it.