Tetora

In personal experience, I can't tell difference between a real 320 and lossless, but I can most of the time differentiate between 320 and AAC, and AAC and lossless.

from personal experience, about 20% of itunes purchase just sound like a 64kbps recording, and the other 20% sounds like a 320. The rest 60%, the usual AAC,

sounds slightly worse than a good 320, but imo this difference is not negligible, I'd rather get a good 320. Mind you there are plenty of 320's out there that sound like 64kbps, but for this sake of conversation, i'm only talking about legit 320's

Yeah, it depends on the song.

One example for me would be Girugamesh's MONSTER album, I downloaded an mp3 before my cd arrived, and it was hard to enjoy at higher volumes, or during a dense track with sharp highs and crunchy guitar like ANOTHER WAY, at first I was worried that the album wasnt recorded, mastered etc that well, but when I listened to a flac rip and then ripped my own it sounded a lot better.

But then there is stuff like some DIV releases where the range fits well into 256, 320 etc...

In the end there is always a trade-off when buying digital in one form or another, some greater than others.

We dont have perfect solutions, and neither do record labels atm, but atm I think the bitrate issue represents a minority in the debate, as I do not know that many people that actually know or care about audio quality. Physical sales goods in Japan are still driven by the actual physical existence, presentation and value of psychological fulfillment it brings to a customer. Digital sales are not as popular and our opinions on bitrate are not visibly presented to labels or digital service providers in any case.

I dont think people on one end know or see the value in the opinions against the statements made by NB, and I also think people on the other end are writing off what they said, and I personally think that as the creators themselves they should always be able to voice their opinions and feelings about how their product is being used, even if people dont agree. I would rather they speak up and keep the issue on the table rather than us all pretending that whenever you even search an album or single name downloads dont pop up.

Not even close to on-topic, can you please either post that in another forum or PM each other pics of your boyfriends instead?

Thank you.

I always had problems, and found the video playback had issues such as reduced quality, random artefacts, low frame rates, inability to handle excessive loads, etc...

I also had issues with subtitles, and found the audio was low quality in many cases.

Then it had trouble with Matroska video types, as well as codecs interfering with other codecs, and vobsub not running smoothly with my custom made subs.

That's just me though.

I used MPC btw with some codec pack, either CCCP or the other popular one.

It's 2014, people with mental disorders or issues aren't 'freaks'.

That sucks so bad in so many ways, but I want to stay positive and hope 茜 comes back.

He was a really unique entity, and a void will be left in his absence.

They made lots of awesome music, I hope to hear them again someday.

Cool, nice to meet you.

What are some bands you like?

I feel like the conspiracy theories are gonna start rolling in, but I am guessing he is able to play a lighter schedule part time with session bands and friends, rather than being a full time musician drumming all day everyday.

If anything it shows he actually loves VK and playing, rather than giving it up completely which would be disappointing.

Just my opinion.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26626396

 

Japan really needs to catch up with the rest of the world when it comes to music. 

Digital music is what's in nowadays. And there will always be pirates. That won't go away.

Not sure if I agree with this yet.

Market fluctuations always happen, and Japan is a country with over 90 percent of its music bought physically. Their digital files have not shown considerable.growth, so why should they push the move to a digital platform that is lower quality, against their cultural and artisanal values, and go from selling different versions of a physical good at larger profit margins, for one version of a much cheaper digital version which also erodes their brick and mortar economy.

As for piracy, it is different from a Japanese persepective as outsiders are basically telling them they have to face piracy when piracy is very sparce in their territory. Most of the files I see being grabbed are Japanese products being uploaded by foreigners anyway.

I think it is a complex issue and attaching foreign values or blueprints to it is not the best way to go, especially when Japan's music industry is still a giant, and supports an unbelievable amount of acts in any case.

They are pushing it with the versions now, but like usual I will pick up the two versions with unique songs.

Nice to see they seem to have healthy one-man's going. I want to see them.

Can't they get a temporary drummer for the shows? His injuries seem serious.

Probably way too soon to learn the songs and know how to play with them. If the drumming is off the whole show is ruined.

Here is a similar issue addressed by Shounen Jump regarding the manga industry.

 

This letter actually vastly changed the online manga distribution system, including the prompt removal of the biggest scanlation providers / network. Of course, this did not majorly affect Shounen Jump, but has affected the availability of smaller magazines and series to this day,

 

http://www.animevice.com/news/shonen-jump-asks-fans-to-stop-scanning-its-manga/4254/

 

In the newest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump, the Weekly Shonen Jump editorial department has finally addressed the issue of scanlations by writing a heartfelt letter begging fans to stop scanning their work. Here is a translation thanks to cmertb

To all our readers -

There are now many people unjustly posting copies of manga on the internet. These unjust copies are inconsistent with mangakas' feelings. They are also distorting the authors' intentions of "I want the work to be read this way". The actions of posting these unjust copies on the net, into which the mangakas have poured their hearts, are not only hurting mangakas in real life but are also against the law, even if done in a light-hearted manner. Every time we discover such "unjust copies", we talk to the mangaka and consider every possible countermeasure. But the number of inconsiderate people is great, and at present we cannot deal with all of them. We have a request for all our readers. The unjust internet copies are deeply hurting the manga culture, mangakas' rights, and even mangakas' souls. Please understand once again that all of that is against the law. Also, the mangakas and Shueisha will severely deal with any unjust copies found on the internet. We ask that our readers please continue to support us.

~Weekly Shonen Jump editorial department

To much surprise, this letter actually had an impact on the scanlation scene in the west. The website, Raw Paradise has already removed their website, forwarding any visitor to Shueisha’s main page. Though this was probably not done because they felt bad for what they did, but because they were frightened by Shonen Jump’s message, since raw paradise’s scans are heavily watermarked.

I also believe this message was directed toward the Japanese fans rather than our scanlation scene, since it is with these fans that they make the most money. This is a big development in the scanalation world, but not the cure some fans have been waiting for. No matter what the industry does, scanlations will always exist. Regardless, Shonen Jump did the right thing by just asking fans to help them out rather than jumping down our throats with threats and lawyers.

Interesting posts so far.

 

I would also like to share this older story, I don`t agree with the sentiment completely, but it is still an interesting read for those who haven`t seen it:

 

http://www.japanator.com/visual-kei-fans-are-killing-visual-kei-bands-9146.phtml

 

In the latest volley of gloom and doom in the war against music sharing, Nathan Reavan of HearJapan has issued a scathing statement on his site. In it he details an experiment he worked out with the brand new visual-kei band (the Japanese version of goth/glam rock) Xodiack.

In order to build a following and raise awareness of the band with little initial cost, HearJapan and Xodiack released the band's first single for free on the site. All fans had to do was sign up on the site and they could instantly grab the song. Naturally, some of those fans then re-uploaded it to their own file sharing site of choice. While HearJapan recorded around 500 direct downloads, there were probably thousands more through other sites. All across the web, people were professing their love for the band, saying that they couldn't wait to hear more. Xodiack quickly worked to put together a complete single with three songs and a ton of huge photos.

No one bought it.

OK, a few people bought it, but sales almost immediately stopped as the full single, once again, appeared on file sharing sites. Interestingly, the fans had the same reaction, they all loved it. They loved the band and couldn't talk about them enough. Obviously, none of them had bought the release. None of them had actually supported the band in any real way. XodiacK had spent thousands of dollars recording the music and shooting the photos in an effort to reach out to the world outside of Japan, and the fans just gobbled it all up, giving nothing in return.

Reavan points out that this issue isn't about any money lost by his site, but that lost by the band:

"Did I take a loss in getting all the band information translated accurate, on man hours encoding, tagging, promoting, and numerous phone calls with the band to make sure everything was accurate and just the way the band wanted it? Yes. But my loss is insubstantial to the loss incurred on the band themselves. Would you want to continue doing something if you put all your energy, time and money into something and everyone told you you’re great and awesome but in the end you just get pissed on"

Reavan is targeting vis-kei fans specifically because many of the non-vis acts he works with are doing just fine. It's only the one genre of music that is taking the hit.

You can read the entire post here. It really leaves little room for vis-kei "fans" to wiggle. Also, check out my own opinion on the matter below.

I'd say that 65% of "the people" out there only listen to music because they think they have to. They don't care about it in the least, aside from using it to make themselves look cool, hip, trendy or in the know. For most, music is just transitory wallpaper, something meant to be used and then thrown away once a new trendy style is released. This is certainly nothing new, and not even an inherently bad thing. Much of the music industry is just that, an industry churning out product, keeping people employed and fed.

The real problem is when you combine shallow fans with the ephemeral state of file sharing. Visual-kei is ripe for plunder because a vast majority of the fans only care about what the band members look like and wouldn't know a skilled musician if she sat on their face and bounced. To these people, music really is nothing. It's just this thing attached to a pretty face. A face that will make mom and dad shake their heads in confusion. For many of these kids, the bands are just a tool used to carve out their own special sense of self. The mere possession of the band's album is a sign of rebellion and oh-so-worldly-wise views. Of course rebellion through music is also far from a new idea, but it's still total crap.

So BS fans allow BS music to perpetuate, making it even easier to justify getting it for free, because it's worthless anyway. The bands out there who do put their blood and soul into creating their band have little chance of breaking into and surviving in such an acidic environment. Believe it or not, that glamorous, dreamy front-man with the hawt hair style and smokey voice is probably working 10 hour days as a corporate peon to help get the band new boots for the next live gig. These guys are not exotic vampires living in vast mansions in the French coutryside. They are just some dudes trying to live their dreams, and chances are that their very own fans are bleeding them dry.

What I'm trying to say is this:

File sharing isn't killing the music industry. Shallow fans are.

So what is a real music lover to do? Easy. Buy music, tell your friends to buy music and support the bands with real talent (whatever you think that means.) I'm not saying you have to pay for every last song you download, but I am saying that you need to put your money where your mouth is. If you think a band is great, and you really mean it, then you need to buy their material. If you don't, you're a worthless blight who needs to shut the fuck up and get the fuck out.

Hello,

 

This has been going on for a little while now, but many people are discussing in various places so I decided to make a thread.

 

Masa via Twitter:

 

of course, i understand some fans are in a place that actually can not buy the CD. For those, you can get the songs from iTunes.

 

i kno some ppl are doing it for advertising but if you wanna share the band, then share the stuff(lMV, teaser etc.) on official youtube Ch.

 

we put so much energy and times on just one music. its not only for us, but for you guys as well.

 

i gotta say this again. our music is not free. you killing the art, killing the band, and killing our future.

 

 

Nocturnal Bloodlust has also issued warnings on Youtube, and filed violations on users, stating that they will sue all culprits, etc...

 

I would like to share some quotes from Otaking, Co-Creator of Gainax and Evangelion, amongst other works:

 

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2012-04-21/gainax-co-founder-okada-shares-thoughts-on-illegal-copying

 

Okada replied at length, starting by saying, "Honestly, if that's all it takes to make you happy, then that's fine," but encouraging fans to buy when they have the financial means to. He then moved to the case of individuals who claim they never plan to stop distributing illegally, saying that such a person is only interested in the personal, practical value something can bring to them, comparing this case to someone who claims he never wants to date a girl, but does want to grope women in the train as long as he is not caught.

Moving to the creator's point of view, Okada said that he believes that people who will pay money for a good product will always appear, and that creators would be best served by keep a realistic outlook on the market with this fact in mind, stating that it is better to keep people who can't afford to pay for products amused than to let them remain bored.

Admitting that he realizes that such an outlook "looks down upon" such individuals, he also suggested that paying fans consider themselves "a rank above" those who don't pay. Okada then advocated that rather than becoming upset at people who illegally copy, paying fans should feel sympathy and understanding towards them, and consider them "pets, not parasites," with each one of their purchases supporting the opinions of thousands.

 

 

There is also another quote I remember from the Gurren Lagann era, where one Gainax employee stated:

We don`t pay much mind to people wanting to illegally download our product, we focus more on making a product so good that fans will want to buy it.

 

 

 

IMO unlike even anime, VK and other Japanese music isn`t structured in a way that permits fans to find it, get into it, or become fans without illegally downloading sometimes large amounts of music.

It is a complex situation, but removing all downloads and unauthorized videos online will only harm the industry at this point. There is more I would like to say, but I will just post the most pertinent of my current thoughts at the moment.

 

And yes, although I buy all my music, I still believe downloading is the only way Japanese music stays Internationally somewhat known atm.

 

Thanks for reading.

I hope that they recover, and that they can overcome the trauma of this incident.

I do not follow this group, but I know one from another 'team' and she is sweet, hardworking,and an overall great person. I bet these girls were the same way, and it brings an even greater sense of anger and injustice to me to be able to connect how great these girls can be as people, and what kind of injuries and trauma they sustained.

I hope the criminals in cases as these can get better rolemodels in their lives and assistance with their issues so they do not become such people, and commit such acts.

I will show as much respect as possible to this act and never talk bad about them because they deserve support after this, IMO.

They are making this way too complicated...

 

Their last single I still haven`t heard all the songs from because it was split over so many releases...

This one looks like it is going to do the same thing, and even the regular edition wont have all tracks, and you will have to buy all versions to get them.

 

Then you go and make anyone who wants to see the live have to buy two cds because you split it... IMO it is much better business to put the PV on one CD, and the live on another, that way at least the fans like me dont feel so ripped off.

 

I`m not going to buy all versions, I cant even decide which one to buy so I might not buy any if I dont like the PV. It is too complicated, too transparent, and just a pain in the @$$.

 

I like the band, but dont understand what they are doing.

 

Also, I am guessing this is still on Bandsaid? I didn`t see the info anywhere, but it seems likely. I would put them on the same set-up that Codomo Dragon got, that way you can actually follow the releases instead of getting completely lost.

If you dont like what Blackdoll is saying why not just ignore it or state your complete opinion once rather than continuosly ganging up on them and running a thread in circles for two pages.

Ok, so let me rephrase my question:

 

Where can I sign the petition to bring them to other CONTINENTS too ?

I know a couple of labels like PSC and DC take data from J-Melo.

I have no idea how many people ask for bands to come to places like North America through them, but it would be nice to organize a real petition for bands to come to different locations and see if it ever happens.

Both their last singles are up here in perfect quality.

Hey guys,

 

We live in a time where Visual Kei and other Japanese Music is more available and visible (to those already looking for it) than ever, and where the number of bands we can choose from seems absolutely enormous. Now, there still may be a shortage of bands that suit certain fans, but in general, we see huge numbers of bands in all levels of lower popularity, up to what may seem like a lower number of new `Monster`bands.

 

My Rough Scheme of Band Levels:

 

Struggling Indie

Small attendance and sales, sometimes fighting to survive as a band.

Indie

Anywhere from sustainable sales, to potentially breaking through.

I didn`t know these guys were `major`

Bands that you would easily beieve (or did believe) were Indie, but apparently aren`t.

I can see why they are major

Bands that can pack buildings. and ship units, you dont have to look for fellow fans, they are in your face.

Monsters

The bands that roll with the big boys of pretty much any other genre, they dont have to always top charts, but they get up there and fill big venures whenever.

 

Market Size and Shares?

 

To me, it seems like there are the top dogs in the Major and Monster categories, who take the biggest piece of the pie, and everyone else that may share their demographic will have to work with what is left, and there is usually many bands to fill that area of what is left.

 

I see it as only natural that fans with broad tastes within a certain field would have to settle for buying only their top favorites, or picking and choosing, then downloading the rest that they cant afford. To me, there are many many bands that I like, and dont see it as possible that all fans who adore as many acts as me would be able to satisfy their appetite through purchasing.

 

Naturally, the big bands are going to be the most visible, and the ones getting first share of attention spans and wallets.

 

Distance Between Levels, and a Glass Ceiling?

 

Some artists have this kind of distance between them and bands lower in popularity, like certain huge bands left the stratosphere, and are considered something different altogether to fans and the general public, though there are a few great bands that work with lower bands, and put them over constantly.

 

Then there seems to be a glass-ceiling that stops many bands, like there are only so many fans that some great bands can have, and some account this to a limited potential fanbase, and others think that the band should change, through either their sonic, or visual values [and I find both of these often fail, oft times I see a band try to look more mainstream for example, and they drop off].

 

So sometimes it seems like a band can only go so far based off of who they are alone.

 

Are Too Many Bands Doing the Same Thing?

 

Either visually, or sonically, does it sometimes feel as if certain acts could gain more traction or become even larger if they didn`t have so many other bands who are now comparative to them?

 

Some styles really leave an impact at first, and then other acts adopt that style, and it becomes sort of familiar, and less of an attraction. Sometimes it may even feel overdone, or give audiences that `been-there-done`that` feeling. Every genre, scene, etc... is getting older, so some may move on, or others may feel that this is a superficial issue.

 

What do you think?

Feel free to discuss any kind of Japanese music, and go in-depth with your opinions.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

Mmm, I can see why there might be some disagreement with Giru being 3 times as expensive, but at the same time, I know that Giru has been one of the top ten most requested and popular Japanese bands with fans outside of Japan, and they are sort of an ambassador of Japanese rock music that act as a gateway for people to get into Japanese music starting from more hard and VK stuff to eventually other bands. So I am optimistic that their popularity and live shows lead to more and more attendance for all sorts of Japanese acts in the future. They are one of the only bands I know that people have listened to or like even if they arent into Japanese music (another being Dir en Grey or Larc or Vamps).

Even anime and some video games can lead people into this winding road of Japanese music, so I think it is all one not-so-distant family we are a part of in the end.

Whoooooaaaaa, over 200 artists? That is so awesome.

Thanks so much for posting info like this too, I love reading it even if I am not living in Europe.

It is great that you spread the word, and I hope the attendance builds.

^ Dude you should definitely check out Steins;Gate visual novel if you haven't already, done by the same people who did Chaos;Head. I know that you can buy the English version online but also alternatively you can pirate the Japanese version online and then English patch it if that's more to your liking. Definitely one of my favorite VN's from the past few years and plus the anime is really good as well (not as good as the VN, but still decent).

Okay, I will when I beat this one.

I am confused as to what I wanna do, as I realized that clicking the heart rate thing that pops up seems to bring out murderous intent in my characters subconscious, so I dont want to be a bad guy but I dont wanna be a vanilla Whiteknight either lol.

Wassup guys.

Victoria Day here so last night I stayed up messing around and played the demo for that BlazBlue Visual Novel game 「XBlaze」 on my Playstation.

It didnt have any actual choices besides what you are interested in, that changes the games outcome, but was pretty cool.

I dont see too much info on the game, anyone know if it will have actual choices, and can you hook up with the girls? Will teddies be shown?

Anyway, I got a little itch for Visual Novels so I am going to play a little of what I have before Wrestling tonight. I think I have one of the Chaos;Head games that I never beat and some eroge, lol.

Cool.

My major is japanese. It will take me a total of 3 years, and I'm just about ending my second year. I'll take next term at a university in Japan and then write my report about something (probably something about gender).

It feels kind of weird though because I have NO IDEA what to do next XD Like, you can't get a job with just that, I'd have to do something else which I don't have the slightest idea about... One of my teachers said that writing my report about something like genders, which is a very wide topic, could help me get a major degree but I don't know if I want that, I don't even know if I'd be able to. I'm really bad at both hearing and talking japanese I didn't even think I'd make it this far.

 

Does anyone else have a degree in japanese? If so what did it lead you to?

There are a lot of translation and interpreter jobs from what I have been told.

One dude I know works in a department for my Uni where he manages relations with Japanese peers and possible affiliates, as well as organizes events with Japanese companies and special guests who can come give seminars at our school.

And one of my boys has worked a while in translation, he has done a lot of different jobs for different people, but he said he made the most translating legal documents. He was turned down the first time he applied for it because they need top notch 日本語, but a year later he got it.

I am sure there are a lot of possibilites in the future, it is sick that you are going to Japan to study, congratulations, I wish you and everyone else luck.