Discovered this game a week ago and I'm loving the direction it's going.
Couldn't find any info on the mature content planned, so the only thing I could say is, no trafficking please. I saw it mentioned as a request somewhere, but I'd really prefer if it's not in the game. Aside from that I do have some ideas that've come as I learn and play.
- Band members with production skills (lyricist, composer, instrumentalist, etc.). Some bands really come into their own when down their career they start flexing some creative control and write/compose their own music. I think band created songs could have positive/negative effect on their fans, even some possible inter-band camaraderie/conflict as creative personalities clash. This could be more of a mid to late game thing, or you can slowly have them develop their skills over time. A successful band member who composed a song could start to want to have a solo career.
- Solo careers. Maybe if a member decides to graduate from the band, they could choose to have you manage their solos career if the relationship is high enough and their happy with how you managed them. This could branch into hiring a publicist to manage their social media, AMAs, etc. and the skill level of the publicist. This could lead to events such as book deals, a documentary, themed concert, managed/engineered relationships, etc.
- Boy Bands. I know this has been requested previously, but I think it could be cool if the opportunities existed for relationships between them (causing conflict or support inter/intra band), scandals depending on who's involved and what happens.
- Album Themes. Maybe a band has been being hit by bad reviews, scandals, or even their morale is low, they can decide to release a "rally" album. It could have power songs saying they're "better than all of the hate", etc. Could have negative/positive outcomes on their fans, could possibly remove a scandal mark, a boost or drop in popularity, etc. Themes could also be based around times of the year (Christmas album, Valentine's Day album, etc.).
- Renting Production Space. I think it was requested, but I'd really prefer to not have to own my own recording and dance studios to cut a single. Being able to contract out to a Recording or Dance Studio would help out in the early game. They could have a higher one-time cost per song for production as you're hiring the space and engineer together. Quality could improve as you work more together, as the engineer becomes more familiar with your band. You could also run the risk of maybe a relationship possibly happening which could positively or negatively affect the production time, production quality, or the band's opinions of their member. Some Recording Studios actually gain reputation if they helped to produce a huge single our album. This could then lead to either a discount as the studio sees the benefits of partnering with the band as they rise in success, or they could raise their rates as they feel they actually made the song/album successes. If you want to get crazy, studios could also have rankings based on equipment, recording space, and engineer. Same thing with a Dance Studio as the Recording Studio.
- Upgradeable Room Sizes or Room Levels. Instead of starting with a fully decked out recording space, maybe you could start with a small room with cheaper gear and acoustic treatment. This could also lead to the quality of the engineer they could hire. Want the best engineer, they need the bast gear and space. But it would also allow for expanding recording space to accommodate several engineers, more band members at a time, maybe different song types, faster production time if more of the band members can record at once, etc.
- Album Art Design. This is more of a nice-to-do than a need-to-do. I once played a game a long time ago, where you were a movie producer and you could design the DVD cover art by drag-and-drop art assets, add text, set background colors, etc.. Maybe something like that could be done with Album art.
- Band Web Site. At some point the bands could need websites for their promotional and fan related advancement. Perhaps each band member could be required to write a post on the site, albums/songs could be purchased from the site instead of a third-party distributor. This could also lead to building you own distribution platform to sell music from not just your own recording label, but other bands, Indies, etc. Then you're not just worrying about managing the bands promotions but also your own platforms promotion.
- Relationship/Dating. I know this is planned but I haven't been able to find out where any details had been specified yet, so I figured I'd toss some ideas out here. Currently the idea of me (as the manager) dating a band member seems odd. I'm not sure if it's a common thing or not. What may help is to know how old my character is, so maybe adding the ability to set/see their age. This could then tie into possible scandals or positive publicity if it gets out or depending on the age difference with the idol, and the factions in the game finding out and their reaction to it. Other factors on the relationship and its impact on the agency could be the Idol's temperament (she could be attracted to the manager, or feel it's inappropriate. This could then determines if she hides the relationship or talks openly. Which could then require the manager to ask her to handle it in a certain way to maintain popularity. She may only want to have a relationship to further her career, or she may feel that she needs to leave the band but wants to keep dating. Could eventually progress towards marriage with its own problems with publicity and within the agency), the reputation of the main character in the community, who initiated the relationship, etc. I'd also like to see options of dating venues, depending on the desired level/amount of exposure desired. Depending on how things progress, if her career is accelerating she may desire to not their relationship be public, or depending the the manager's reputation it could be the reverse. I just want there to be some involvement in the relationship on the Idol's part, as this is something that could/would drastically impact their career.
Just some thoughts I had so far. Great game, and I look forward to see it progress.