Him going major is something I didn’t think about! However, not sure how enforceable getting his part of the discography removed from streaming platforms would be. And I’m not sure it will go over well with fans either. That’s why I’m so puzzled as to what he could get after all this time.
I think their fans are the type that will cancel devil-oof on spot and shift into jiluka/seiya’s next fulltime project fandom on a whim if this doesn’t get resolved in some reasonable way soon tbh
I don’t see a good number of their fans staying too long in general, given how fast their frontman dropped the looks on a label that is perfectly fine with handling full-on VK artists.
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For sure for sure. And I guess, beyond knowing details about Japanese copyright law, we would also need to know exactly what the publishing rights on the songs are
I think in MOST cases in the Western scene, artists who leave or are kicked out of a band still retain some of their publishing rights and benefits for anything that they were originally credited and given residuals for, e.g. I would be INCREDIBLY surprised if Jason Newsted wasn’t still getting royalty payments for purchases of any of the Metallica records he played on, or if Ben Moody wasn’t getting any royalties for all the songs he wrote and co-wrote for the first Evanescence record. Just because they aren’t in the bands anymore doesn’t mean they lost the copyright to their material, UNLESS either a: the contracts had the BAND (or more likely Amy, in the Evanescence example) retain all rights, regardless of who is/isn’t currently in the band, or b: the contracts stated that members relinquish these rights if they leave the band
Which, I wouldn’t be TOO surprised by either of those possibilities, since bands are often made into actual organizations/legal entities in and of themselves, separate and apart from the individual members of said band
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Hot take, 99.9% of all new japanese (VK)rock bands are trash. Like really bad.
You could say the same about new american rock bands, but still somehow the trash factor feels higher among the japanese for some reason.
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maybe bc the influence of foreign trash, specially metal
I Don’t know man, most of the new VK bands were mostly inspired by 3rd generation VK (2000-2009) do you consider third generation trash?
Well its always has been since the beginning.
Besides, the ones who are influenced by modern metal schlock are still few and far between compared to the ones who repeated the same cliche over 2-3 decades ago.
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I dont think kpop is always as negative as you make it.
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Couldn’t agree more.
I dont like Kanetto Juusei. I dont like the fact that their songs follow the stroryline of a serial rpist and women auser. I dont get why they have such a big fanbase and their music isn’t that good either.
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There is so much good kpop, and new good stuff comes all the time. Saying that it all just sucks is toxic and stupid imo, the korean popular music is def better than the american, for example. Actually i always have some kpop songs in the rotation for my most listened songs at the moment. For me its pretty crazy how much good stuff comes from there compared to for example Japan. Movies, tv series, music. Me and my gf are more or less only watching korean dramas recently lol. I dont consider myself biased either they just produce so much good stuff. Its undeniable at this point.
For rock its all japan though if we are talking asian countries. There is no korean band writing songs such as Houmonsha X 
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Not to rain on your parade, but your statements absolutely are biased. It’s all a matter of opinion. You can’t really say anything is undeniable because everything is open to criticism and there are many reasons someone can like or dislike something. Saying korean popular music is better than xyz is a one dimensional way of thinking and opinions on it will depend on who you talk to.
Me personally, I think the production value of Korea’s entertainment industry has gotten way better, but I find the content to be of lesser quality, unappealing, and sometimes distasteful. I prefer the purity and sincerity of the older age of K-media. It wasn’t as glammed up and beautiful, but I resonated a lot more with it whether it be characters and scenarios from a drama or songs by a particular artist.
In general though, I actually prefer media from any other country over Korea’s. Could just be because I am Korean so I grew up with it my whole life, but I’ve found that there’s a lack of experimentation and pushing boundaries. And especially so in the pop industry. You won’t find artists like Bjork, Sophie, or, hell, Grimes in the Korean mainstream. But experimentation being a good thing is dependant entirely on if you like that in the first place. We probably like pop music for different reasons, but none of those reasons are better or worse than one another.
Not to slam on you, but I’ve seen you making a lot of comments lately calling out others for making “negative” comments. But in fact, you’re doing the same exact thing. You may not be using negative words like “bad” or “sucks”, but you’re comparing your interests with other interests and talking about it like it’s superior. It’s actually the same kind of toxic conversation that you’ve been criticising.
Again, not trying to burn you. But I want to encourage you to explain more on why you feel something is good or bad. What is it exactly you like? The singing talent of a group? The compositions? The way a melody is written? These kinds of details generate better discussion. Throw us an example of a good band or two and tell us why you think they’re good. But don’t just tell people that they’re spreading bad vibes when they’re having perfectly civil discussions if you’re not going to add anything to the actual discourse.
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Yeah I see what you mean. I agree, like I said there isn’t sukekiyo in Korea but the general quality of pop music is high imo, much catchy stuff is released. There is some pretty interesting super indie stuff from Korea tho, and bjork’s stuff was never considered to be mainstream music.
Regarding movies and tvseries korea might be number one on the planet right now when it comes to quality and creativity. The whole west is drowning in “the message” and Japan isn’t producing much good either recently. 90s or early 2000s tho, damn Japan was hot and killed it with mainstream music, dramas and movies.
Btw I am half Japanese while I grew up in EU, I have lived half my life in Japan. So I dare to say that I know japanese stuff pretty well.
Interesting to discuss with you! Peace and cheers!
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I love the Korean indie scene right now. It has more of the diversity that I’m looking from in Korean music and there are quite a lot of burgeoning artists. At the moment Onthedal and Adoy are probably my favorites for incredibly chill yet sonically rich music. That’s fair, I think mainstream was the incorrect word to use here. Perhaps popularity or fame? She was moving a million CDs by her second album so I just meant people knew her name even if they might not have listened to her.
I mean, that all comes down to personal taste. I’m not into kdramas but have watched a handful myself over the years and caught glimpses when my sister watches one. It’s rare that I feel like I’ve seen something truly unique. I can’t argue that the production value of Korean media is top notch, but when it comes to stories and scenarios, I honestly feel like not much has changed since the 90’s. The execution has no doubt evolved though.
I’m more into horror films or classics. I find the cinematography a lot more engaging, the scenarios more interesting, and in many cases feel like I’m left thinking deeply about aspects of my life that are usually left unchallenged. And a lot of these movies are just from the past 3-5 years (Mid Sommar, The Lighthouse, The Medium). I’ve tried watching Korean horror movies, and they just don’t hit the same. Train to Busan got a lot of praise so I gave it watch and I couldn’t understand it. The only one I still think about to this day is A Tale of Two Sisters. I love that movie.
We’re both probably looking at very different things when determining what’s creative or high quality. But I know there are tons of people who agree with you because a lot of people I know watch a lot of kdramas.
What do you mean by “the message”? Do you mean like, woke messaging?
I’ll defer to you on that haha. I only know anime and music from that era but nothing else. I agree though, Japan’s output in the 90’s/2000’s was killer. In general though, I feel like everything was just exciting in that era. A lot of bands hitting their peak, a lot of new movements starting or getting exposure, there was a lot of good and sometimes hidden stuff to discover.
Likewise!
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thats great, i am looking forward for some recommendations @ghost if u dont mind (:
I don’t know if it’s “unpopular opinion” but Japanese get a lot classical and British metal influence and mirror sounds there and their other sounds from American pop culture.
Visual kei may be beuatyful but when comes guitar works they ignore how Sweden is main focus in rock,heavy and metal music .
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Your opinion touches on the intersection of art, culture, and the expectations of the audience, and it’s an interesting perspective. Visual Kei and Japanese music, in general, have often been appreciated by fans around the world for their uniqueness and the sense of breaking from conventions.
Many artists, including those in the VK scene, may grapple with the tension between maintaining their artistic integrity and meeting the expectations of their audience. Some artists might choose to be provocative and push boundaries, while others may prefer to cater to the preferences of their fanbase.
As you mentioned with anime, the globalization of Japanese music can lead to commercialization and a more mainstream appeal. This can result in a dilution of the unique qualities that initially attracted fans to the genre.
What’s considered offensive or controversial can vary greatly depending on cultural context. What might be seen as transgressive in one culture may be considered normal in another. It’s important to appreciate that cultural differences exist and allow room for artistic expression.
In many creative communities, there’s a strong belief in the importance of artists having the freedom to express themselves, even if their work challenges societal norms. However, this doesn’t absolve artists of accountability for hate speech or harmful content.
Just as VK fans have diverse political beliefs, the global audience is not a monolith. Different fans appreciate VK for different reasons, and some may indeed prefer the more subversive and challenging aspects of the genre.
The tension between art, culture, and audience expectations is a complex and evolving issue. It’s essential to engage in constructive dialogue and allow for diverse opinions and preferences within the VK and Japanese music communities.
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Those VK idol band would’ve been sell more if they sound more like Passcode or Ladybaby. Seriously, it’s not even hard to do, just add a screaming dude like Revival of the Era (remember that one?) but with one extra clean vocalist, a rapper, and called it a day.
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my unpopular japanese music position is that kyo doesn’t sound much like mike patton
As one of those who bought X Japan albums back at release and for example went to see DeG at wacken (yeah what a thing to boast about right… 
), I would say that the whole genre/scene will more or less die off completely once the few active big bands retire. I know that new vk/jrock bands still pop up from time to time and some seem promising, but 9.5 out of 10 end their activites after only a few months at best, after like 2 weeks at worst… and all they are left with are debts.
More than in the US or say european countries, the way the japanese society works kills of any last hope. Its almost impossible to be new today and make money off music, but its extra hard in Japan… Back then (early 90s, early to mid 2000s) were kind of the wild west for the VK and jrock scene, and it worked for so many bands, but not anymore.
Recent somewhat succesful acts like Deviloof only go for being “brooOOtal”, trying to appeal to foreign audiences, kind of feels like the final nail in the coffin tbh. Like an once famous actor who needs money and starts doing por…
I would also like to say that jpop has never been worse than it is now, and it will never get back to how good it once was. The same can be said about japanese movies, dramas and entertainment in general.
And this might some of you go nuts but kpop is so much better overall, also better than american mainstream music. Their movies and dramas are also better than american, overall. Not that this is som anti japan pro korean comment its just my take on it with a neutral stance, and this comes from once being the biggest weaboo ever.
What do you guys think?
Of course there is still good Japanese music and shines of light here and there, obviously, Matenro Opera’s last album was amazing, The Back Horn has always been consistent, Takui Nakajima’s last album was solid, Glay is still good, even “meme” bands like Kishidan release good stuff recently. Check out the song “Senpai” on Youtube, fun stuff!
pretty sure this has been said multiple times since eons ago, lets see what jappens in the future
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