Gofundme for Visual bands?!

[emmny 4139]

Hello...this is edgelord EMMNY herself...reporting to you live from some MESS

the main question is whether you think that it'd be possible to effectively crowdfund an indies band and or organize gofundme projects for their fav bands. the context behind this is a (now cancelled) fundraiser set up for doguramagura in which the organizer would be approaching people to donate to their alleged upcoming studio expenses as they'd require 1000 dollars (if im not mistaken) before the 25th or else (for what, i don't know).

the issue here is that there's no way any donor would know exactly where the money would be going, especially considering this is a band with a lead vocalist/porn star so mentally unstable he makes akane look like a saint (sound off in the comments with receipts ladies cuz its messy). this band's awful reputation aside, i can't see any of this as ethical considering the nature of the indies scene. ignoring how poorly this was done/planned, i think this could actually work in direct co-operation with the band where they'd outline their expenses and ask for financial help from foreigner fans. they could even offer perks for helping, like cheki or handwritten notes or even ensuring an exclusive press of a CD for crowdfunders (assuming the band is entirely self produced). 1k for studio expenses seems off but like, if a trash indiefag band got $45 bucks in one day, then i dont see why more popular and reputable indie bands can't benefit.

i want to know if you'd think crowdmitsu i mean crowd funding your fav's studio/live/etc expenses is a good idea. sound off in the comments, i found this really interesting!!

 

(drama aside with spoilers, not relevant to situation)

Spoiler

for u bitches that want the TEA

so this chick (a grown adult) would be dming people, some minors, asking them to donate and or spread word about this lil fundraiser. this is messy imo bc of the youth thing, they wouldn't have any idea of what actually goes on in vk so im sure they'd love to beg mommy and daddy for a 20 dollar bill to donate to their fav kira kira crossdressing sad japanese dudes. adults are fair game and can do whatever in the name of jrawk but this was contentious. the odds that they'd use such a paltry sum (donate even just a dollar!!) on anything other than fucking around is low if you know any bandmen im sure you'd know this is the case. i told 'em to stop sharing this stupid shit because nowhere was it outlined anywhere that the money would go specifically to their studio funds, and giving this money to this band who is more known for trolling the fuck out of tanuki instead of releasing music and you know...touring...and other things legit bands do wouldn't be that good of an idea to support. drama ensued,  i was "dragged" for telling this kid to stop encouraging people to donate to this shitshow of a project. then some monkey lookin videogame hoe (i know they on here so reveal yoself ) tried to fight cuz i told him that everyone thought this was fucking stupid, and that people who actually know how vk work and japanese people (I WONDER WHY THIS DOESNT WORK IN JAPAN HMMM MAYBE BECAUSE THEY KNOW ITS A SHAM AND GIRLS DO THIS ON THEIR OWN ACCORD, CUZ LIKE, MITSU YOU KNOW) do objectively know more than gaijin kids who enjoy vk...but apparently that's a contentious argument

 

Edited February 13, 2017 by emmny

[platy 3018]

First  of all, if they're 15 years old that makes anything they have to say irrelevant in my view.  You're too hormonal and job-less to be thinking straight and understand what you're doing.

 

As for me, I would definitely back up a band via crowdfunding , IF we're given a clear and official outline of the expenses. This way foreign fans can help their favorite musicians stay afloat, disbandment in vk could reach an all time low?!  Since there's such a big overseas crowd, it surprises me that this hasn't been thought of yet. (not really, is crowdfunding even big in JP?)

 

Also love the idea of little extras that come with crowdfunding, now that I think about it, a patreon website for bands wouldn't be a bad idea either. 

[Komorebi 2193]

1 hour ago, Platy said:

As for me, I would definitely back up a band via crowdfunding , IF we're given a clear and official outline of the expenses

Same here.

 

Also, thanks for the tea XD

 

This is actually a GREAT idea. I wonder if any japanese band would be on board for this.

[Tokage 5930]

I'm totally for bands going the crowdfunding route in order to finance their album recording sessions, but ONLY in the case that there is at least a 95% guarantee they'll actually come through and deliver the goods. It's not like the model is necessarily destined for failure, there have been many bands who actually managed to release albums largely in part thanks to crowdfunding.  Of course, as in all cases, some genuinely unforseen circumstances could always raise their ugly heads at some point and just massively screw things over because that's just how life works (think the whole Chi Cheng from Deftones thing for example, though that's not connected to crowdfunding), but the chances of something like that happening are relatively low, and in such instances it'd at least be understandable that the product gets fucked up in some way. However, if the band's just gonna blow all their amassed cash on.. I dunno, pachinko or smokes or some goofy shit instead of actually coming through w/ new work then they can straight up go & fuck themselves.

 

... I feel like this entire post of mine  kind of reeks of 'approaching things from an excessively western perspective,' though. The whole crowdfunding through gofundme/kickstarter thing isn't really 'alive' over in Japan, is it? Or am I just misinformed?

 

also overexcited gaijin teens trying to collect peanuts for their literally who? destined-to-disband-next-week-and-be-instantly-replaced favs is at once endearing and completely dumb

[suji 8317]

1 hour ago, Platy said:

Also love the idea of little extras that come with crowdfunding, now that I think about it, a patreon website for bands wouldn't be a bad idea either. 

 

Fucking this ♥♥♥

 

I always want to support my faves more than just buying their shit thru their official shops and other music shops - I can't afford to go to their lives for obvious reasons, so I'd really be happy to donate and receive rewards if they got into the crowdfunding train~

 

but for a fan who's been a jrawk fan for about a week and wants ppl to support her indiefag faves by setting up something like this - not gonna happen :///

Edited February 14, 2017 by midi:nette

[JukaForever 758]

I thought Japanese people don't think too highly of receiving donations.

[Takadanobabaalien 3607]

20 minutes ago, JukaForever said:

I thought Japanese people don't think too highly of receiving donations.

 

yeah, in japanese culture begging in general is frowned upon. if you ever walk pass shinjuku station you'll see tons of homeless japanese men, in any other country they would beg for money but no, not in japan. 

 

this is not limited to recieving help from people, but also from social services. there's cases when a family member is handicapped and the entire family pays all his/her living costs so they don't bother the society. it's kinda fucked up, so that's probably one of the reasons fundraising wouldn't work within vk. they probably never even see it as an option. some bands do obv. recieve money from tsunagari/mitsu (but that's supposed to be a secret!).

 

some quotes:

Quote

 

 

I went to the shinjuku area and saw a ton of homeless. No one asked for money and would just go about their way. I gave a 500 yen coin to a guy eating chicken scraps from the trash so why do the homeless not beg?

 

 

Many people in Japan are homeless precisely because they don't want to 'bother' other people for help. (including social services in place to help them)

Avoiding inconveniencing other people is a big part of Japanese culture. Another example is that it's quite normal not to discuss problems or issues you have even with close family for fear of making the person you are talking to feel burdened.

 

Wiki quote: Although homelessness in Japan is common, such people rarely beg.
 

 

 

During my 2 years in Tokyo I have only been asked of something from a homeless person once (and I lived in the Shibuya/Shinjuku/Setagaya disctricts). To this day I still regret ignoring her. It was between 3-5 during the night, walking home from partying with my ex-gf. We had bought a pizza from one of the stores in Shibuya and took it with us. When we walked past her she just said "ichi mai wo kudasai" (Give me a slice please) in a very sad voice. At that time I was drunk, and used to ignore the people who hand out tissues to everyone in Shibuya (everyone who's been to tokyo knows what im talking about). This incident was at Hachiko exit so normally I just ignored her, only realizing later that I should've given her something... 

Edited February 14, 2017 by Takadanobabaalien

[qotka 433]

3 hours ago, emmny said:

crowdmitsu

This could become the hottest thing in 2017. Or maybe not. Either way shitfest report is much appreciated!

-----

 

Not VK, but I've recently had the privilege to witness crowdfunding done right by Japanese post rock/math rock band te' for their China/Taiwan tour DVD. They invited all funders and the general public (funders got to enter first) to a free gig at Shibuya's Kinoto in addition to the rewards people got by donating. It surprised me how well it worked (they got 102% of the sum!). So yeah, in Doguramagura's case it's a world of... difference, but I'm glad to see it can be done.

Edited February 14, 2017 by qotka

[Chi 2624]

1 hour ago, Tokage said:

... I feel like this entire post of mine  kind of reeks of 'approaching things from an excessively western perspective,' though. The whole crowdfunding through gofundme/kickstarter thing isn't really 'alive' over in Japan, is it? Or am I just misinformed?

 

i see it done more often with games.

 

also if you have catgirls it totally works (tho im sure there were a lot of western supporters for this one as well :P) 

 

crowdfunding can totally work and alice nine proved it but the difference between them and this western gya's faves is that they actually are committed to their music....i aint giving money to some band that hasnt even proven themselves to their 5 stans yet smh

 

 

[Biopanda 2675]

There was a VK band that did crowdfunding once before... Lacroix Despheres. That project was a TOTAL flop though. It was a split campaign between some Japanese crowdfunding site and Indiegogo for the rest of the world. The Indiegogo campaign flopped hard with a whopping 33 donors (I was one ) while the Japanese one hit their funding goal. This was supposed to go towards the recording of their third full album with a scheduled release date of June 2015 which came and went with nary a word from the band. I've pretty much given up on it ever coming out since the band won't even do much more than an update once a year like "hey guys album hit some difficulties maybe it'll be done some day!".

[Komorebi 2193]

3 hours ago, Tokage said:

also overexcited gaijin teens trying to collect peanuts for their literally who? destined-to-disband-next-week-and-be-instantly-replaced favs is at once endearing and completely dumb

Couldn't have said it better lol

 

2 hours ago, Takadanobabaalien said:

2 hours ago, JukaForever said:

I thought Japanese people don't think too highly of receiving donations.

 

yeah, in japanese culture begging in general is frowned upon. if you ever walk pass shinjuku station you'll see tons of homeless japanese men, in any other country they would beg for money but no, not in japan. 

Yet Mitsu are a thing.

[fitear1590 2414]

58 minutes ago, Biopanda said:

There was a VK band that did crowdfunding once before... Lacroix Despheres. That project was a TOTAL flop though. It was a split campaign between some Japanese crowdfunding site and Indiegogo for the rest of the world. The Indiegogo campaign flopped hard with a whopping 33 donors (I was one ) while the Japanese one hit their funding goal. This was supposed to go towards the recording of their third full album with a scheduled release date of June 2015 which came and went with nary a word from the band. I've pretty much given up on it ever coming out since the band won't even do much more than an update once a year like "hey guys album hit some difficulties maybe it'll be done some day!".

Oop, I guess I was one of the 33 donors too, haha. Yeah... still waiting on that third album. The lack of communication has been very disappointing.

In general though, I actually don't mind the crowdfunding format. I've gotten some cool bonus items (signed CDs, limited merch, etc.). The Lacroix one is the only one I supported that didn't work out.

 

3 hours ago, Tokage said:

The whole crowdfunding through gofundme/kickstarter thing isn't really 'alive' over in Japan, is it? Or am I just misinformed?

That's the impression I get too. Besides Lacroix (2015), I'm only familiar with möscow çlub (2013), as far as Japanese bands doing crowdfunding.

Edited February 14, 2017 by fitear1590

[doombox 4421]

Wow, that's a hot mess.

 

I've participated in indiegogo campaigns for domestic indie bands I like and it's gone pretty well. One release did take like 6 months longer than planned but they made good on everything in the end. And I know there are bands that have patreon too and do all kinds of cool stuff for perks like putting supporters in their music videos or releasing monthly songs only the patreon supporters get to stream. It can be done well, but people need to use common sense and I wouldn't support any artist that doesn't have open communication about and during the entire project. For any band to do that outside of their domestic market is pretty difficult. And in no way should a fan be doing in the band's stead, that's just asking for trouble. 

[violetchain 912]

I can't think of very many projects that tried to include overseas fans or that used Western sites like Gofundme or Kickstarter, but I have definitely seen more rock and punk bands turning to Japanese crowdfunding sites for special projects recently.

 

https://camp-fire.jp/category/music/most_funded

https://eggs.mu/support_project/

http://www.j-wave.co.jp/jcm/project.php

 

I was actually shocked that a band like Yellow Studs managed to pull one off a few years ago, but they've been doing weekly streams with their fans for years, so I guess they built up enough trust to make it work.

 

I know RHEDORIC tried to do one just for overseas fans not that long ago, and it was a complete failure. Honestly, after looking at what they were offering as perks, I'm not surprised they didn't get any money. Even if I was a diehard fan I wouldn't be willing to pay $50~100 for some buttons and photos or whatever.

[inartistic 1151]

Didn't A9 also flop at crowdfunding?

 

Anyway, it's weird to start a fundraiser for someone who didn't ask for it, and I can't imagine that $600 goes a super long way toward keeping a band afloat. But good for the girl taking charge and trying to make a difference, I guess. 

[nekkichi 6043]

^ they met their campaign expectations actually;

I'm not sure how much $ was poured in by their label tho, giving that they ditched everything they've been so ~boldly standing for~ exposing tha corrupt visual kei industry sales tactics.

[Lereku 717]

3 hours ago, inartistic said:

Didn't A9 also flop at crowdfunding?

A9 succeeded their crowdfunding campaigns they requested 5,000,000yen and they collected 11,685,998 yen

[mahoujin 395]

I don't think there's anything wrong with the concept of crowdfunding for a visual kei band. At best, and in a more official way, it could actually be a pretty good idea. I'd be down to throw in money for something more specific and official, especially for a band who I want to support but already bought all of their available merch. I've donated money towards one of those giant ass flower arrangements for a band before. It might seem wasteful, but I already had all their merch and it was a nice thing to do, so I did it.  

 

If crowd mitsu is the worst case scenario here, it's not like that would really be a "new low" for visual kei anyway. 

 

Now in the case of Doguramagura, the problem is that the money was probably gonna be given directly to Alto on good faith that he'd do something good for the band or at least good for himself. However, he's self destructive as fuck. I get that their fans want them to do well, but that boy needs some serious personal help before there's any hope for his band. 

[Furik 832]

Quick. Someone start a GoFundMe for Rentrer please. 

[Hakari 282]

7 hours ago, Furik said:

Quick. Someone start a GoFundMe for Rentrer please. 

 

Idea of the day goes to....