best way to support j-rock artists?

[shiyouka 1]

Hello, I'm somewhat new here, I've been lurking for years, but I wanted to ask a few quick questions:

 

Does anyone know the best way to support an existing jrock band? Do they receive money from itunes purchases or spotify streams or does it just go to their recording company? I've been told the most direct way is to buy their merch straight from their website (but I'd have to use some kind of middle-man/third party japanese shopping service, right?).

 

What about bands that don't quite exist anymore? I see a lot of past Guniw Tools albums on iTunes I don't mind buying, to my knowledge they disbanded for nearly 15 years and recently got back together. Would they get royalties of their old songs or would the money all go to the label??? I really liked the sample clips of their new stuff on youtube, it sounds interesting but I don't think there's any other way to buy their new singles other than from Full's god awful official website?

 

I apologize if the following question is against the site ToS or if there's anything against piracy on this forum, I haven't read it yet, so mods feel free to edit it out if it's inappropriate!

 

Are there any websites that have mp3s of vintage or early obscure or short-lived vkei bands? I've seen some on youtube and have ripped them but I'm not sure if someone has a library of higher resolution mp3s files out there I can get my hands on...

 

Thanks!

Edited November 29, 2017 by shiyouka

[BrenGun 2261]

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.

[jaymee 405]

I think you pretty much answered it yourself! Supporting the artists by buying their merch directly off their site or (in the case of music) any music sites they link to for purchase would probably be the ones giving them the most royalties. Like you said, it may have to be through a third party if they don't ship overseas and/or you're not confident enough in your Japanese to order by yourself.

 

If that isn't an option, may I recommend ordering from a VK/j-rock CD supplier? Even if it's a secondhand purchase of something out of print that the band may not benefit from themselves, the monetary profit these stores make help support and keep the scene alive within Japan, providing talk/event opportunities, promotional opportunities, and more.

 

I don't think there's any kind one answer fits all regarding whether artists receive royalties for old releases, short-lived bands, etc. and how much... I would assume most of them do since that seems pretty standard, but how much would depend on their contracts with whatever label it was released under. However, it is pretty safe to say that if it was released on a band's own personal/independent label, they would still receive a good chunk of profit from any music sales or new music pressings.

 

If there's something you're particularly looking for, you can always request it on the upload request thread. In that regard, the forum seems to take the "try before you buy" or "might as well upload it if it's out of print so more fans can enjoy it" approach to uploading VK/j-rock music, so I don't think you have to really worry about getting reported over piracy.

 

I'm not sure of another website database of mp3 like that myself... Maybe another poster can help.

 

Edited November 30, 2017 by jaymee

[doombox 4421]

6 hours ago, shiyouka said:

What about bands that don't quite exist anymore? I see a lot of past Guniw Tools albums on iTunes I don't mind buying, to my knowledge they disbanded for nearly 15 years and recently got back together. Would they get royalties of their old songs or would the money all go to the label??? I really liked the sample clips of their new stuff on youtube, it sounds interesting but I don't think there's any other way to buy their new singles other than from Full's god awful official website?

If their label still owns the rights to their songs then yes, it would go to the label. Usually a contract runs out at some point though (but I'm not an expert in Japanese recording contracts tbh) and after that the song royalties would go straight to the artist themselves. But like mentioned above, if you can buy it direct from his website that would benefit them the most.

[LIDL 692]

IMHo the only way to support these indies bandomen is being their sugar momma/daddy. 

 

All money they got from shows, CD sales, merch sales are mostly go into their label pocket because they give them funds for recording and those cool costumes. 

 

[Dudemanguy 122]

Bands on major labels usually get a salary, so buying CDs from them helps keep the labels afloat and helps keep bands employed. The absolute best way is definitely going to shows and buying merch, but obviously that's not terribly feasible. But besides that, your best bet is probably just buying CDs and merch (new of course). It might not go directly to them, but in theory it helps keep the label afloat which in turn helps the band out.

[evenor 1655]

Find their secret yahoo auctions!/mbok account and buy all their tereko/cheki/bootlegs/2nd hand cds.

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

It may be a small contribution, but watching their music videos on official channels rather than xoxVisualHeadRushBRxox's reuploads so they can at least get some ad revenue to offset production costs. 

[MidnightRoseOfVersailles 7]

Even though I don't use them often (they usually don't have what I want) I wonder how much CDJapan, or even sites like it, give back to the artist, if at all. 

 

Other than that, everyone else pretty much already answered lol. 

[Dudemanguy 122]

CDJapan is a just a retailer. So they would just take a typical cut that any store would take and then it goes to the distributor/label and all that business. I'm sure whatever the percentage is varies a bit from store to store, but it probably wouldn't be much different than any other shop (physical or not). It's safe to assume that a band with an official webshop would get a much higher cut from sales, but then again they could still have a lot of middlemen if the band is notable enough to require extra people to handle shipping.

[r... 720]

in order:

 

1- buying official merchandise

2- going to the concerts as much as possible]

3- buying CDs

4- listening stuff legally on streaming plataforms OR something similar

5- spreading the word. if you can't help your favorite artists using the first 4 options, then try recommending them to as much friends as possible. the more people know and get into them, the more people might be able to help support their craft. and that includes sharing .mp3s/videos, etc..

[JukaForever 758]

Or just give them money

[jaymee 405]

14 hours ago, evenor said:

Find their secret yahoo auctions!/mbok account and buy all their tereko/cheki/bootlegs/2nd hand cds.

Unfortunately (Or fortunately?) not everyone is Kisaki lol

[jaymee 405]

12 hours ago, MidnightRoseOfVersailles said:

Even though I don't use them often (they usually don't have what I want) I wonder how much CDJapan, or even sites like it, give back to the artist, if at all. 

 

Other than that, everyone else pretty much already answered lol. 

 

CD Japan is just a general music retailer so probably not much, but ordering from or shopping at VK specialty shops like Brand X, Like an Edison, Jishuban Club, Pure Sound, etc. does a lot to support the scene since these stores host signings, handshake events, talk events, and other opportunities for fans to interact with bands outside of concert and fan club events.

 

And I guess to some extent, buying from Closet Child... Not because Closet Child sponsors or hosts events themselves, it keeps them in business, and they are one of the most iconic stores of the VK/goth fashion scene.

[MidnightRoseOfVersailles 7]

11 minutes ago, jaymee said:

 

CD Japan is just a general music retailer so probably not much, but ordering from or shopping at VK specialty shops like Brand X, Like an Edison, Jishuban Club, Pure Sound, etc. does a lot to support the scene since these stores host signings, handshake events, talk events, and other opportunities for fans to interact with bands outside of concert and fan club events.

 

And I guess to some extent, buying from Closet Child... Not because Closet Child sponsors or hosts events themselves, it keeps them in business, and they are one of the most iconic stores of the VK/goth fashion scene.

Yeah, I mostly buy from those shops anyways lol. I was just curious if CDJapan helped at all.

[jaymee 405]

18 minutes ago, MidnightRoseOfVersailles said:

Yeah, I mostly buy from those shops anyways lol. I was just curious if CDJapan helped at all.

 

I think it really did more in the past, when they were just about the only retailer selling and shipping official VK CDs (YesAsia was always a hot mess of official releases that may or may not be in stock/out of print and bootlegs mixed together) overseas and people wanted them to continue doing that... There are other options besides CD Japan now, but with the sales decline of physical forms of music, I'm sure supporting them helps ensure they'll be around for overseas fans in the future. So I guess if you look at it as contributing to the overseas scene, then yeah sure. Otherwise I've never known CD Japan to have special ties to artists or contribute to their royalties personally, except for the few times they've exclusively offered artist goods to the overseas market, like with the Moi-Meme-Moitie pieces they had listed yeaaaars ago.

Edited November 30, 2017 by jaymee

[MidnightRoseOfVersailles 7]

8 minutes ago, jaymee said:

 

I think it really did more in the past, when they were just about the only retailer selling and shipping official VK CDs (YesAsia was always a hot mess of official releases that may or may not be in stock/out of print and bootlegs mixed together) overseas and people wanted them to continue doing that... There are other options besides CD Japan now, but with the sales decline of physical forms of music, I'm sure supporting them helps ensure they'll be around for overseas fans in the future. So I guess if you look at it as contributing to the overseas scene, than yeah sure. Otherwise I've never known CD Japan to have special ties to artists, except for the few times they've been exclusively offering artist goods to the overseas market, like the Moi-Meme-Moitie pieces they had listed yeaaaars ago.

Thanks for the info ^^ I've never actually looked into it myself and just always assumed that CDJapan was an easy way to support a band without having to go through the trouble of translating pages, and what not. Kinda glad I hardly use them now lol

[lichtlune 915]

On 11/29/2017 at 2:01 PM, JukaForever said:

Or just give them money

Do bands usually post donation links and things like that? You might be joking but I actually wouldn't be terribly opposed to the idea. If that was the difference to having my favorite bands stick around and staying afloat or not. But of course bands would probably still disband for some other reason or another. 

[BrenGun 2261]

On 3-12-2017 at 4:38 AM, lichtlune said:

Do bands usually post donation links and things like that? You might be joking but I actually wouldn't be terribly opposed to the idea. If that was the difference to having my favorite bands stick around and staying afloat or not. But of course bands would probably still disband for some other reason or another. 

nope but if you go to their lives. you can give them an envelope with money  

[jaymee 405]

2 hours ago, BrenGun said:

nope but if you go to their lives. you can give them an envelope with money  

@lichtluneWhat Bren cheekily failed to mention is that doing so will probably give whatever member you address it to the wrong idea about why you're supporting them  Unless you do it anon/to the whole band with no contact info included.

 

Tho seriously if you did it, anything less than a couple of man of new bills in a money envelope would be pretty laughable. Either way they'd probably just get smashed on it and that'd be the end of it. Might as well blow a few man on buppan, and recoup some of the money reselling to the community

Edited December 4, 2017 by jaymee

[hiroki 5521]

like what jaymee said, in 99% of the cases giving the band a few man as a one-off thing won't be decisive in whether your band survives or disbands (unless it's a sizable amount and you do it regularly...) also, for fear of gya-drama, most fans refrain from giving money directly to the band, but personally (and i stress this) i feel it's fine under certain situations. it depends a lot on how you do it, the temperament of the members (some bandmen will be offended), stuff like that. it's also probably ill-advised to attempt it with bigger bands. 

 

it's been a while since i've done it, but when i did i'd write a note to the effect of 'have a great uchiage!' and i don't breathe a word about it to anyone. only once did i have the cash discreetly returned to me (at the next live), upon which i promptly spent the equivalent amount on chekis lolol. we both had a good laugh about that. having said that, most gyas would just blow an obscene amount on chekis if they wish to 'donate' to the band.

Edited December 4, 2017 by hiroki

[BrenGun 2261]

yes true, I failed to say a bit more.

 

 

but buying stuff from a band with a label, your money will be gone to the label. So you better can give money to a bandmember you trust.

 

anyway I saw often fans giving just an extra bill to a band. 

and those fans often get something in return.

 

 

but just don't trow money to much. it doesn't mean a band will stay together. sincr extra money doesn't always goes directly in the band only pocket.

 

 

  as myself I would never give money directly to a band. because I don't trust that they spent it on  the band only, while a label spent it on the label.

if I like a label i like to support the label over the band. 

[shiyouka 1]

thanks for your replies everyone!

 

I do generally try to listen to songs on spotify if they're available there. I'm not sure how much money actually goes to them but as long as every song replay generates a few cents for the label/artist, I guess that counts. I'm also guessing most major artists probably draw a salary from their label so if 20% more people suddenly bought their music its not like they'd earn that extra 20%. It looks like jrock bands aren't too great at adding their new releases to their spotify accounts. I wish Dir en Grey would just put Arche on spotify/Apple Music already... I did buy some of Full's stuff from his band camp account (nookicky and shillfee stuff), I really want to get the latest guniw tools CDs on his site but can't be bothered to personally place an order with his home made label ;____;

 

I'm also aware Japan has its own music streaming services and spotify / apple music is still a pretty new thing in that market. It'll probably take some time for people to warm up to it more or maybe it'll completely flop, who knows.

 

And, yeah, when I get a bit more disposable income some band swag like t-shirts and stuff would be really awesome. Does anyone here have any experience with this? Do their sites offer international shipping or would you need to use a guest shopping service since they only accept a japanese credit card? I'm sorry, I'm a total noob

[CELESTIAL CIEL 985]

On 29.11.2017 at 6:34 PM, evenor said:

Find their secret yahoo auctions!/mbok account and buy all their tereko/cheki/bootlegs/2nd hand cds.

I know bandman who sells his clothes...