Aya

umeboshi (dried plum)

Exactly, I agree with everything you said. Translations are helpful, not hurtful. Legally the bands can't come out and say it's okay to translate... but I've always felt there's an unspoken sentiment like "we won't say anything one way or the other" ... until one of them said it Not even PSC went this far in their "please don't share copyright material" plea. When it comes to B-T, I've always felt they're not interested in the public relations aspects (interviews, photoshoots, etc etc)... they prefer to immerse themselves in creating and playing the music. However, management and labels require them to do the public relations stuff

Speaking just for myself, I think it's a big deal because translations (that aren't plagiarized) don't hurt anyone. People who read translations aren't interested in the magazines for the interview, they can't read it. If they're going to purchase a magazine, scans probably will stop them - and translation won't. Same thing with translated song lyrics, they aren't going to stop someone from buying a CD or DVD, uploaded music/video probably will. Most Japanese fans can't read the translations, so that's not going to stop them from purchasing the magazines or CDs/DVDs. So, while sharing translations is copyright infringement in the same way that scans, audio and video sharing is copyright infringement.... I don't think the same harm is present in translations. I know an artist would never say "Yes, please translate our stuff".... but for an artist to ask fans to STOP translating these... that's rather difficult. Ironically, in a similiar vein is [Gazette] Aoi's recent comment on uploaders and illegal downloaders. While I don't agree with his choice of words, I can understand his sentiment behind them. I don't completely agree with Aoi and I won't stop uploading/downloading.... but I do not hold the things he said against him because what we do (sharing media) is such a double-edged sword However, the things Kamijo said? I find it more difficult to understand his sentiment behind them.

Umm... perhaps the laws are different in every country, but from what I know: direct translation without permission but citing the original source = copyright infringement, not plagiarism but still illegal direct translation without permission and passing it off as your own = copyright infringement AND plagiarism, double illegal direct translation with permission but passing it off as your own = plagiarism, illegal direct translation with permission and proper credits = a-okay I understand all the points you've made, but we're talking about two difference situations here. I agree that plagiarism is wrong in all instances and shouldn't be tolerated. But I'm talking about translations that only involve copyright infringement. I don't condone mainstream websites with professional translators who'd post such interviews. Places like musicjapanplus or SAKU ... they have access to the bands and can get their own interviews. What I'm talking about is unofficial fan translations shared directly into the fandom via tumblr, livejournal and such. 99% of these translators do not translate the interviews and pass them off as their own. So technically this is NOT plagiarism, it's just copyright infringement because they didn't get the permission of the copyright holder to translate and share the interview. The 1% of unofficial fan translator that DO steal an interview and call it their own, yes... that's plagiarism and a whole other situation. But the other 99% of the time? These interviews are helping spread the word and understanding about the band and their music. The people who read these interviews wouldn't be able to understand it otherwise. In addition, translations would NOT be available otherwise. Luckily official translations are becoming more widely available (at least in English) - but it's still far, FAR limited in the overall world of translations. That's all I'm trying to say.

Exactly... 98% of the time they're not going to translate it themselves and 99.99999% of the time they're not going to translate it into every language needed. He didn't stress song lyrics as much as interviews, but he DID include them in the off-limits stuff. So, yep, it seems like he doesn't want his fans to understand what his songs are about. I didn't know that about their streat teams, that could be an issue. Plus, I've heard that Kamijo feels very strongly about upholding copyright, so that might play into it too. It does sound like Kamijo can rival PSC...

Exactly! It's too extreme. All translation are the same to me, so I don't understand any of it. Aside from the fact that it's "illegal" - I don't understand why it's such a bad thing.

if an artist you like requested that illegal translations be stopped? I hope this topic is okay. I thought it'd be interesting to hear what other international fans have to say on this subject. I'm not a fan of Versailles, so I just found out that Kamijo did exactly this - he wants his fans to stop translating copyrighted works, including interviews and song lyrics. The only things he wants translated are free materials such as promotional news and blog + twitter posts. http://kamijo.syncl.jp/?p=diary&di=916562 Wow! Yes, while it's technically illegal to translate copyright material, I never imagined an artist would come out and stay to stop translating these things. To me, this is a stab in the back for international fans. He says he's doing it out of concern for his fans - he doesn't want them getting in trouble with the copyright holders... but to me, it sounds more like the move of a copyright nazi (at best) or a xenophobic (at worse). Even though copyright is extremely strict in Japan, I don't see them going after translators if they're just translating media and not actually sharing the scans, music or videos. Then again... I remember hearing that Japanese fans who tweeted song lyrics got in trouble for doing that. So... who knows. There is such a small line between copyright and trying to cut off your fans from enjoying what you create. Personally, I will always feel that non-profit fan translations are harmless and much more beneficial for musicians. It will only hurt them to ask their international fans to stop translating copyright material.

raimei (thunder)

tsukiyo (moonlit night)

Seems like a lot of smaller stores are coming and going very quickly. Not a good sign. Tumblr does seem to be #1 for sharing pictures... but it seems like everyone has moved onto it LoL Good luck with finding a translator... my Japanese is still too simple for full translations.

Unforunately, this would be very difficult. For some reason, rock fans (and especially visual kei fans) are prone to lurkerdom. I know someone who posts both visual kei & johnny's stuff... she said that when she'd compare the downloads of one of the more popular visual kei bands with one of the less popular johnny's, that their downloads would be similiar. However, the Johnny's post would have A LOT more thanks than the visual kei post. As for an idea/suggestion... I do have one. Although it's based on my own experience and feelings. Personally, I'd be much more likely to check out a download thread if I was familiar with the band. In my opinion, one of the best ways to get people interested is through news with video/audio streaming previews. I'd wager that Trombe's updates combined with shared youtube previews/full versions is what really fuels VK's popularity in the international community. I know you include youtube previews in your download posts. However, personally, I usually skip over download threads of bands that I'm not familiar with. Ironically, ZeluvA was a rare exception. The band name caught my attention, so I clicked the link to see what they were about. Even without that VK picture, if there had been a preview of those songs in the thread, I would have checked it out and decided I wanted to download it. That would have been my reaction. I don't know how others would have reacted. However, I have to add... I don't like the song they used for their PV release (Destination). If that had been used, I probably wouldn't have downloaded it. Which would have been a shame because Falling Star & Ghost Dance are much better (IMO).

流れ星 is Falling Star ゴースト・ダンス is Ghost Dance They just changed the English into Japanese equivalents.

Oooh, can you get Type A and still get the extra stuff? Or is it exclusively with Type B? I first heard of SAKU from their youtube channel, but I didn't realize it was the same people until you sent their link. For smaller artists like HERO, I think it's possible for most VK organizations to negotiate and get special favors for the bands. I've been on LiveJournal (LJ) since I first got into Japanese music (over 5 years now), but it seems like a lot of people have abandoned it for tumblr and twitter. However, I'm still only on LJ. I have a twitter, but I don't use it except to follow some musicians. As for tumblr, I just can't get into it ... perhaps someday. Although, recently there's been 3 or 4 tumblrs that I've found that seem like something I should follow. So, perhaps that someday is close.

Glad to hear this, I'm looking forward to it.

small city, to much hussle & bussle in a big city. sunlight or moonlight?

Oh my, another bandman to go missing. I hope he's okay.

saimatsu (year end)

continued from viewtopic.php?f=19&t=17521&start=15 Which album/version are you planning to get? I've also purchased "to you..." Type B. The DVD quality seems similiar. There's also the VOB version of 25 Oku Byou no Tsukaikata that someone shared. Although I have NOT seen any HD versions of these vids to actually compare. Ooh, I realized Saku wouldn't have the same offer right now... but I thought they'd be a good place to check out for the future. Or, at least another place to consider purchasing from. But... seems like they're not actually a store? I don't see where you can purchase things. So they don't normally sell CDs? Yep, I did a google search to see if I could find more information about the potential DVD, but the only place to mention it was a concert review by BARKS. They didn't say much, pretty much the same thing as SARSHI. I hope they'll officially announce it soon - that way we know there WILL be a DVD lol I've noticed the HERO international fandom is small. Actually, seems like a lot of international fandoms are small - or atleast quiet nowadays. I follow quite a few bands and only the larger ones really have an active international community.

Wow... so jrockdrama tumblr was right. Of course they'll get some things right... the signs were there. I'm not a fan of any of the label's bands, but I hope things turns out for the best with them. It's a shame Kisaki's troubles are going to affect so many people that put their faith in him.

No, I'm afraid I don't know. Actually, I'm not familiar with any of their prior sales. Do you know how much TOXIC sold in its first week?

Sorry. I've moved that comment.

They should be out mid-next week. For now it can only be gauged by Oricon's daily sales ranking. However, I've only looked twice. A couple days ago it was third with around 9900 copies sold. I just looked again and it's in 4th place. Only 1st-3rd includes sale numbers. Third place has 3589, so it's less than that.

Does that include their download numbers? Because more than half the posts in the Downloads section do not get a lot of replies. Doesn't always mean it's being largely overlooked. Sorry, but I don't agree. An experiment and trolling prank are two very different things. You had a hypthosis and created a flawed experiment (I've already stated the reasons I feel it was flawed). Thus, your results are inconclusive. And a prank doesn't prove anything either. And while you didn't call it a demo, you strongly implied it (a CD-R copy with music that your friend wasn't sure if the band planned to release). And, as I mentioned, I *DID* look into them. But their website is largely under construction. The news and discography sections actually says that: 準備中 ("in preparation/under construction"). So that doesn't necessarily mean there would be information about it yet. However, they DID have recent live shows. So that followed with what you said: "she got this release/CD-R from one of their live performances." My point... there's nothing out there to suggest this was a fake because there isn't a lot of information about the real ZeluvA yet. Wasn't that the point of Biopanda finding a really obscure VK band? So that the legitimacy wouldn't be easily brought into question? Now THIS is one of the most sensible things I've seen said about this situation. And I agree with you here, completely.

itsuwa (anecdote)