Language is always a tough thing but look at Rammstein? they did pretty dang good! because the music, the gimmick, the entire package was 10/10 great. I imagine if hide w/spread beaver did the tour with Marilyn Manson they would have had similar success in that era of Rammstein, Powerman 5000, and Rob Zombie killing it. But vkei’s target audience is not those people overseas either so, tis a tricky thing!
Recognition and budgeting for any band is always the biggest problem, regardless of genre or location.
To be fair Yohio had his release under UNIVERSAL due to his dad’s connection with them right? but that led to nothing getting bigger. Most major label contracts now are just you going into debt for the first release and if you do not make the money back you have to pay it back, so like I know a girl from the countryside here in Japan who “went major!” no one bought that hoe’s release so she effectively just went into a sparkly version of debt haha. That is why bands like Kiryu who are technically on an indie label but make more than major bands, or on the lower level of things: I am self produced label, distribution etc. and I made more money last year than my friend on indie label and more than even a guy who was major from the 90s, so we need to erase the old outdated view of Major labels for sure.
lots of the foreign vkei bands focus alot on sns and not on making money it seems too, you can have 2000 followers but if only 10 actually buy the releases what is the point? better to build a quality piece of art and have 500 followers but have 100 of them buy every release because they believe in the quality.
More so than this these bands do not even garner the regular experience of playing at bars, music venues, etc. and often have stuck to just playing anime cons, weeb type events etc. where the audience was already baked in. I cannot stress how important it is to go out there and play places where no one knows vkei, no one gives a sh*t about Japan and then try and win them over even if it is only 4 people in the venue. This is why I tell so many of these bands to not sing in Japanese, sing in native language, find a similar genre that has same roots to challenge and build up experience in i.e.: Goth, Industrial, Metal, Glam rock etc. then take that experience and skillset and if you get big enough you can transition to Japan gigs in the actual vkei scene someday.
again it is that imitation trap, lots of these guys want to imitate the vkei scene in their home countries but they cannot, some are happy just with having a small echochamber weeb fanbase or anime con nerds instead of innovating. The best guys out there now taking that vkei influence and adding it into their original sound is Flood District, maybe some of ya’ll are thinking “ok the sound is there but the looks? naw” but gurlll they are building that experience up and can one day translate that experience and success into straight up vkei over here if they wanted to! whereas some edgelord weeb obsessed with trying to be The Gazette or Mejibray is gonna be stuck in his room or at anime cons with no future but a lil chip on their shoulder.