Since there are so many vk bands and nobody probably has time to give all of them your attention, I was wondering how many bands you follow closely and how many you follow lously or just know of their existens etc.
And how about getting releases?
I find it quite hard to decide which nrw album, single or live DVD to get. Do you have “rules”? Like you have some bands you try to get everything and some you only get singles you liked a lot or just full albums.
Welllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll… since i came back to follow vk world on last year. let me see 
I always prioritize my Plastic tree / Ryutaro above everything else.
Then I manage to follow literally all the current bands and their releases, because I always give a chance to new bands and old bands that I’ve heard once before.
About getting the releases… Well, I buy a lot of digital and physical CDs (around 20kgs ±200 CDs a month). I tend to buy everything possible at a good price, singles and albums for me need to be complete even if they have the same content but different covers. That’s the thing about collecting, you have all the versions regardless of the content.
It’s always been a hobby to collect CDs of the bands I like. I intend to open my own CD retail store in the future.
I don’t follow any one band too closely, currently. I used to check out bandmen’s Ameblo in the past (in conjunction with news sites), but I try to keep my usage of Twitter/“X” to a minimum. I’m lucky enough to still have working access to an alt-client for the damned site, since I like to keep my “digital footprint” to a minimum.
This is what motivated to reply to this post, because my answer to this has changed A LOT over the past few years. It still throws me off thinking about it, but just about all the active bands I listen to are on Apple Music. “New Music Mix” gives me a steady stream of new releases to look into, so I haven’t actually “bought” a new CD release in a couple years. I pay less than $7 USD a month for most of what I listen to (also lossless), since the exchange rate is stellar right now on my end.
On other spending, I’ve shifted focus post-pandemic entirely on to the second-hand market for older bands, live-limited, fc-limited, etc.
The hardest-to-get CDs/DVDs is where I’ll typically start for any band, since that makes me more comfortable with the idea of collecting the rest of their discography. However, if you’re talking about a band with 50+ A, B, C, D -type releases, an anthology or best-of would suffice if they’re not already on streaming services. If that’s not even an option, I just don’t bother at all.
Hm. A few years ago I was more active in the fandom, and collected cds, dvds and some mags for bands I followed closely. Mejibray, Morrigan, DIV, Pentagon, 少年記, Matenrou Opera, Acid Black Cherry, GazettE, Dir en grey for example.
These days it’s different, now I just work on completing some collections, such as ABC. And usually always tries to buy new releases from GazettE. So now it’s more Mercari I check now and then.
I also think it’s “easier” to follow band releases today, compared to then, since there’s a lot more that’s digitally available (Spotify and so on).
For me, if a release looks to be worth it, I’ll buy.
Usually that means if it’s a vinyl or Blu-Ray release from a band I care decently about. I’ve bought releases from Plastic Tree, Buck-Tick, MUCC, Deadman, Dir en Grey, and Rosenfeld this year via overseas, and from The Gallo, Kane to juusei and Leetspeak monsters while in Japan due to 5/6 shot incentives.
Second hand, I’m a lot more open depending on if I can get a good deal.
Rare、limited、discontinued
If I’m honest I’m one of those jaded losers who’s basically only into oldschool bands at this point. :(( Like I lowkey wanna get into the scene again BUT idk where to start and I have no one to help guide me through it
Dir en grey and lynch. are the only bands that I actively follow. I follow both groups on twitter and/or instagram to keep an eye out for new releases.
But since I try to come here at least once a week (even if I don’t log in) I see a lot of group names mentioned and recognize/remember most of them, even if I don’t really follow them. If I see a group mentioned enough times I’ll look into their music.
(Edit to add that I pay extra attention to groups I used to listen to when I was younger)
Embarrassingly enough I’m not too fond of live DVDs, so I usually just go for the basic album. Maybe a limited edition if I feel like splurging or if there’s pre-order stuff I want.
I’m not looking to get a “perfect” collection so I prioritize full albums. If they release a really good single I might look into getting that too. Usually from cdjapan because I find it the easiest option. I’d love to get patches or other merch occasionally, however that seems too difficult or expensive.
I’ve also just spent the last year or two trying to declutter my shoebox-esque apartment and need to limit the amount of physical things I buy.