buying merchandise is the best way to support a band. Still if the band is under a label you don't know how much they receive themselves. But it's the no.1 money income. And they get most money from selling "cheki" (10 cheki cost them only about 700~800yen)
However, even if the money goes to the label, I think you still need to support the artist. How more a label get, how more they support their artists.
And for disbanded bands, it's hard to tell how much they get from the royalties, it really depends on the contract they signed.
Also for visual bands it's very important that they sell their CD's and merchandise good, if they wanna stay alive. with or without a label. If the selling won't go well enough, a band also disbands (often).
Just check the DL part of this forum to check if you find anything you look for. Otherwise you always can request what you are looking for and maybe someone is willing to share the love with you.
So, just support the artist you like.
It's never a waste of money.
shiyouka reacted to BrenGun in best way to support j-rock artists?