
How do bands make money…? What on earth do band members live on…? It’s got to be merchandise!! Wha!? CDs don’t sell!! Subscriptions don’t make any money! Ticket sales almost vanish into the venue rental fees! For band members, the biggest source of income is merchandise! Not music! Band members are living by selling T-shirts!! It’s tough being a T-shirt seller…!! Ugh.
“Suheigorari was a band name…?”
I know it’s blunt, but let’s buy some merchandise for the band!
People who buy T-shirts are also buying CDs…
T-shirts keep increasing.
They’re just selling expensive cheap T-shirts with the live title logos on them every time.
Please give me one size L…
I am a T-shirt salesman, not a musician.
It seems that a comedian from Yoshimoto, whom I don’t know at all, released a song and it became somewhat of a hit.
It seems that the income from that is so amazing that they’ve jokingly thought about quitting comedy to become a singer!
Are musicians really that broke? Is that true?
They say CDs aren’t selling, but conversely, it means we don’t have to hold physical inventory like we used to.
I think I heard that a one-hit wonder like Moody, who deflects from right to left, earned millions from a cellphone ringtone or something like that.
They’re trying to appeal that they have no money, but it seems like mid-level and above musicians are making a lot from streaming… I wonder what’s really true.
>>8
The musicians you know are less than 0.1% of the wealthy elite.
It’s normal to have a part-time job even if you’ve made your major debut.
>>11
I remember thinking that it was pretty unexciting when I heard that the attention-seeker was working part-time at a nearby karaoke.
Even if I sing the opening of Attack on Titan, I can’t eat.
It’s not a band, but Kojipro has also mainly been a T-shirt shop for a while.
The T-shirt shop was about to be crushed by its stock of T-shirts during the COVID pandemic…
I thought, “Do you really want that band T-shirt that much?”
I wonder if there are people who think it’s okay to buy things that are used daily…
Just making a major debut is already quite an achievement, but to become even more successful from there is just a select few.
Is it like being a manga artist?
>>18
There are doujin authors who only look at the top of the top and say, “You can make 10 million yen by releasing books twice a year!” but 99% of authors barely break even with printing costs… and if things go poorly, they end up in the red.
There isn’t much of a dream in DL doujin either.
>>32
DL doujin doesn’t grow unless the author themselves actively promotes it closely on social media, you know…
The top layer is one thing, but the mid-level and below seem tough.
>>18
It’s a normally interesting topic, so why did you start a thread with this text?
>>21
Is there any reason other than being an idiot who can’t even come up with a thread title?
Isn’t the subscription not making any money?
>>22
There aren’t many people who would think to listen to songs from bands struggling with CD sales and the cost of packaging on a subscription service.
Please also order the collaboration drinks being served at the box’s drink corner.
If drinks are often served at that live venue, it becomes easier to book that place again next time.
A band that even I know the name of is saying on the radio that they’ve surpassed 4,000 CDs sold! And I thought, is that all…?
>>26
Right now, the number of downloads is more important than sales of physical media…
In the first place, there are more and more people who don’t have a CD playback environment in modern times.
I guess I’ll buy a T-shirt as a form of offering… that’s how it goes.
Once streaming became mainstream, band members switched to driving a HiAce around the country and earning money through live performances and merchandise, rather than relying on subscriptions.
Well, the fact that I’m making a living off of it means I’m already in a good place.
I heard that former Number Girl member Ahito is now a truck driver in Fukuoka, and it made me feel a bit sad.
Seeing a former band member talk about their days touring in the countryside, saying it was the worst yet sounding really happy, gives off a real sense of youth.
Nowadays, I really only buy music media in digital form, not physical.
Well, I think it would be fine if it sells electronically…
It’s no longer an era where we pay to listen to music.
Even places like BUMP are saying it.
Live performances don’t make money and can even result in losses! I’m doing it because I love it, and even if we fill a dome and sell tickets, it doesn’t break even; we only just manage to cover costs if merchandise sells well, if at all.
>>35
It seems that former Johnny’s artists are extremely popular and it’s hard to get concert tickets, but if they’re selling that well, I wonder if they’ve raised the prices quite a bit?
>>41
Johnny’s is the largest company making profits from merchandise, isn’t it?
I wonder if the playbacks on YouTube are generating ad revenue.
Well, it would be nice if it could be used in commercials or programs to stabilize the rights fees.
Oken said it during the live performance.
We live off the sales of merchandise, so please tweet something like “Wow, the Muscular Adventures towels are amazing! They will sell out quickly!”
Music has a tremendous influence, yet we have entered an era where music itself does not generate money.
I’m not hitting women and tying them up…
Aren’t there a lot of people who focus primarily on subscriptions?
People who have been in bands for a long time will probably struggle with the transition because their target audience is different, but those who are targeting only the internet from the start are likely making a living from that.
>>42
It seems that musicians from previous years often experience a significant drop in sales, so many of them are withdrawing from subscriptions.
They are originally customers who buy CDs, so it’s unavoidable…
>>42
Subscription services are about the number of members rather than just the money coming in, as companies get involved based on that data.
I have no idea how much money musicians make from music subscriptions.
>>44
I think it’s 0.01 yen per play with a subscription.
I heard it’s almost a charity project, unlike direct purchases.
>>115
As expected, even Spotify won’t go that far!
>>118
If it’s just a subscription company, that’s one thing, but if it goes through a label, that’s actually how much gets taken out.
What a Ceylon tea!
If it’s released on an album, I want to listen to it on the album, but once you buy an album for 3000 yen, that’s the end of it economically, right?
I wonder how they’re doing, with a retail price of only 3000 yen per piece.
Hyperpop is a completely internet-centric genre, and I think it’s a tough world for bands that perform in traditional venues.
Maybe the route is completely different.
Manga artists can earn a decent income even without a published volume, as they can reliably receive manuscript fees, so if they can manage without an assistant, they can make a fair amount… but it won’t mean much if their serialization doesn’t continue…
I’m not sure about the contract details, but I wonder if I won’t get paid by the agency?
Don’t young people in their teens and early twenties these days not buy CDs?
It’s tough to do it weekly, but I occasionally hear of people doing it without assistance on a monthly basis.
Isn’t it something that people often do by creating a thread with a template?
What do you dislike?
>>59
“The frank discussion about the income situation of band members isn’t necessarily a ‘justifiable opinion’ or anything like that.”
>>60
Isn’t it reasonable to tell someone who says they can’t make money purely from music to create T-shirts that can make money?
>>64
Just because you make a T-shirt doesn’t mean it will sell, so that’s not really a valid argument either.
>>67
It’s not a matter of selling just because you make a T-shirt; that’s a low level of thinking.
>>57
You’re really being creative, aren’t you?
The background is very sparse.
If you’re going to start a thread about a valid argument, then you should bring up some valid points, right?
Well, it seems like you’re not very good at Japanese without a thread, so I’ll let it slide this time.
I heard that CDs are now treated as merchandise.
It feels like merchandise that includes downloadable songs.
>>65
It’s quicker to listen to it from a subscription service than to go through the hassle of putting in a CD and playing it…
I just dislike this kind of thing, so I’m criticizing it.
I’ve never chased after a band, so I don’t know… Are they selling T-shirts or something?
Making T-shirts seems to cost much more than producing sound sources, and the risk of unsold inventory seems scary…
Well, if it’s established, then the economy must be functioning because of that.
>>71
If you don’t put the T-shirt away with care, it will be in terrible condition.
I can sell it again at the next live performance…
As long as there is a place to keep it for up to a year, it won’t be much of a problem even if it remains longer.
Even if you buy a CD, you’ll just import it as an mp3 and end up listening with wireless earphones or headphones.
There’s a strange kid who suddenly makes weird accusations, and I can only think that they feel like they won just because there aren’t many people around.
Recently, Daichi Miura said he wasn’t selling tickets, so he asked people to buy them! But in the end, they sold out; it was really crazy how they weren’t selling before that…
>>75
I googled it, and it’s real…
Isn’t Daichi Miura a pretty top-tier singer, even if he’s not absolutely at the very top?
So it comes to asking to buy a ticket… how tough.
To be frank, I think that originally, art and music are more like supplementary elements to the main content.
Movies and games.
Events generally cannot be sustained without selling merchandise and food and drinks.
It must be really tough that CDs aren’t selling.
There are probably more people now who don’t have an environment where they can listen to CDs.
Isn’t it that the cultural value of music and art has dramatically decreased?
>>80
Conversely, it is also possible that the previous levels were too high.
>>80
I think it’s in a saturated state because there are many people making it.
Band fans tend to become T-shirt collectors.
Also, a rubber band collector.
Was it Oaken who said selling Cheki is good?
>>84
Selling experiences is powerful…
Even if the song doesn’t make it big, everyone listens for free or through a subscription, so it seems tough to profit from it.
Even martial arts events sell T-shirts.
The reason why unknown paintings and music do not sell has been the same since the time of Vermeer and others.
In terms of the number of people monetizing through art and music, there are definitely more in modern times.
I heard that subscriptions are profitable again.
>>90
The people who were selling CDs probably made more profit from higher-priced CDs, and even if they started a subscription service, it doesn’t seem to appeal much to the age group that is used to subscriptions… I wonder.
>>90
It’s 1 yen per play (before the cut), so there are no dreams to be had.
Now is the era where everyone is a creator.
You can present it to the world on the internet.
Now that we can’t expect sales using TV.
I think we are in a world where if you don’t have a high ability to monetize as an individual, you won’t survive.
If that’s the case, wasn’t NFT a blessing for artists? Why did they destroy it?
>>95
Too many scammers flocked before it permeated.
>>95
Because fraud has become rampant and the image has worsened.
With AI, even a song with silly lyrics like “Yajuu Senpai” can make it onto the charts, so songs that go viral are no longer a big deal.
Musicians who want to succeed should give up on competing based on the quality of their music and just make a living through their character and selling T-shirts.
>>97
Even when I make my own, it seems like only songs that are like cheap sweets are popular.
I don’t really need a shirt that looks like it’s just a cheap one from Shimamura with a tour logo on it for 300 yen.
>>99
But if I don’t buy it, I don’t know what will happen, so I have this strange fan mentality that I have to support it.
Wasn’t there news that American hip-hop musicians earn billions of yen a year from subscriptions?
>>102
First of all, there’s the premise that the population in English-speaking countries is extremely large.
Songs in Japanese that can only be understood in Japan are tough.
>>102
If it’s a subscription that I manage, that might be possible.
I believe it’s absolutely impossible just to rely on major subscription services.
I heard that the soccer cheerleading team is selling their own uniforms independently.
I thought, “Isn’t that just causing trouble at the venue?”
It is inappropriate to raise YAJU&U as a general example of “AI music.”
That is the result of a complex intertwining of the history of “inmu” (a type of Japanese internet culture) and various conditions, so to say, “From now on, AI music will be trendy!” seems too simplistic.
>>105
It’s unfortunate, but it’s not an example that went viral knowing everyone is delusional.
A child I didn’t know danced, and it went viral.
Venue exclusive T-shirt 3000 yen.
Well, it’s a donation…
Just because others are doing well doesn’t mean…
It’s like a relative saying, “You have a computer, so since ours broke, can you fix it?”
But when you appear on TV, your recognition probably increases to about ten times what it was when you were doing things online.
A subscription can’t generate profits beyond what’s left after deducting the subscription company’s share from the fee multiplied by the number of subscribers.
If you’re a pro, you’ll be further outpaced by the label and management from there.
If you make a good song that appeals to the masses, won’t it sell?
>>110
It’s a recession, so I wonder if a hardcore rock band boom will come.
They’re charging like thousands of yen for just one shirt!
It’s a design that can be worn casually, and it lasts longer than I expected, so I’m getting my money’s worth.
Big names make money through exclusive streaming and such.
Apple is about 1 yen.
Spotify is about 0.3 yen.
>>119
Bling-bang-bang-born on Spotify has around 420 million streams, and if that number is true, the revenue would be 126 million yen.
If you take out the label’s share from that and split it between the two of us, wouldn’t each person end up with less than 10 million?
I don’t have any dreams.
>>134
It feels like it might be reasonable, but…
I’m dumb, so I don’t understand, but can’t hackers use a botnet to earn infinitely with subscriptions?
Band T-shirts are mostly made of thin fabric, but is that because it’s cheaper?
>>122
Additionally, thinner ones are easier to prepare in quantity.
>>122
That’s because it’s made in places with such materials.
If it’s a proper one, there are also T-shirts like Suehiro-gari.
I’m really struggling with whether to buy an old album that I can listen to as much as I want on a subscription service, rather than jumping into a new release impulsively.
In reality, there are plenty of people who think about such fraud, and they are often dealt with.
https://support.tunecore.co.jp/hc/ja/articles/17083283514265
I don’t need the CD; I’ll listen to it if it’s uploaded on YouTube.
If there isn’t any, I won’t ask and I’ll give up.
Tote bags are cheaper and more practical for everyday use than clothing.
Should I buy both?
Yeah
First of all, the reality is that the fans really aren’t that particular about T-shirts, so they tend to go for cheaper options.
There are groups that are particular about it.
Isn’t there a way to prevent live shirts from getting ruined right after washing?
>>130
The band members think that if it breaks, they can just buy it again.
I think you should buy it every time, even if it doesn’t go bad.
I have many T-shirts that I don’t wear, so please turn them into towels.
You can never have too many towels.
>>131
A towel that understands is really convenient.
I used to think band T-shirts were just silly fan items, but it turns out they were quite serious after all…
I sincerely reflect on the fact that I was looking at it with white eyes.
>>135
Since the pandemic, online streaming has increased, but physical merchandise isn’t selling, and we can’t raise the price of streaming tickets, so it’s pretty tight (in some cases, we’re even in the red).
So when you can support, please do so without overdoing it…
It’s like K-POP, which stopped being listened to by Koreans because too much focus was put on overseas markets since it wasn’t profitable in the domestic market.
Certainly, the ticket cost only 10,000 yen, but the cost for buying merchandise is around 20,000 yen…!
I think selling player name towels to spread in the spectator seats for sports is a good business.
When it comes to Spotify alone, artists like Ado and YOASOBI, which you hear on TV every day, have monthly listeners in the millions.
It’s not uncommon for a singer who can be heard in anime but hasn’t hit the mainstream to have tens of thousands of monthly listeners.
In terms of income, it’s about the tip of my little finger.
Are the pen lights and glow sticks of 100 yen store quality also for the sake of making money?
>>142
Well, but it has the tour logo on it…
>>144
A difficult one to use in another live performance!
>>149
It’s the one written out carefully, even including the year!
>>142
That’s right.
Dishonest places can quickly turn an item that costs 3000 yen just by sticking homemade stickers from a 100 yen shop and wrapping it up.
>>142
On the contrary, what other purpose would there be to sell something like that besides making money?
The emergence of subscriptions has seriously ended the business of selling music itself, so now CDs can only make money by selling handshake tickets or different versions of packaging to get otaku to buy in large quantities.
If you really intend to make money from music, the probably only way is to create an easy-to-sing song that goes viral and gets sung a lot in karaoke.
It’s abnormal to be able to make a living from your hobbies.
>>147
This itself isn’t really that much of a big deal.
Did Giant Baba, who only signed for people who bought shirts at the venue, perhaps have a tendency to be stingy?
>>148
Isn’t he a good person?
I’m giving autographs to the people who bought it.
It means that there’s nothing that you can solely rely on to make a living.
Music isn’t something that is completed only by the singer; there are composers, lyricists, promoters, advertising personnel, and many others involved… so when you see that the retail price of a CD is 3000 yen, it’s a bit surprising.
Even so, it’s amazing that they were making a huge profit during the peak of CDs.
I am paying for the experience of buying exclusive goods at a live event.
It’s not about the value of the goods.
In the first place, the volume zone in Japan is ages 50 to 59, so not being able to reach that demographic means that even if it seems noticeable, it’s actually not that much.
Even though the media aimed at young people under 40 is gaining popularity, in reality, half of them can’t even engage with it.
It’s a different genre, but I laughed because I made a huge profit from creating acrylic stands.
When I saw the merchandise at the Uma Musume live event, I was taken aback by the sheer variety.
>>159
Umamusume has to sell a lot because the proceeds from the merchandise go to the lending parties as well.
In America, CDs are mostly only sold at live venues, yet they still manage to make a living.
In today’s Japan, the entertainment industry that does not court uncles and aunts is declining.
In particular, the culture of promoting the amount of money poured into idol and otaku content through the term “oshi katsu” is so ruthlessly clever as a life hack that it’s laughable.
It’s similar to how games became basically free and made money through gacha, as they’re doing something like that with subscriptions and merchandise.
It is probably inevitable that it will become a business model that extracts profits from a small number of enthusiasts.
>>164
Since the fan club and handshake tickets existed even before that term came into use, the level of maliciousness is actually decreasing.
>>165
It’s not common for fans to combine together and become giants to die for idols, you know?
>>165
When I did an image search, unrelated gruesome comics kept coming up and it made me feel uncomfortable.
The CD sales strategy of AKB was rational, combining experience and fusion.
The thing where you place a lei on the actor in traditional theater.
I think it has a better premium feel than a T-shirt…
I think having a large number of members in a band is disadvantageous for making a living.
>>169
I wonder how Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra is doing…
>>169
It’s not uncommon for representatives managing money and others to have disputes over distribution and end up parting ways acrimoniously…
Why did you stop giving tips?
A lei made of thousand-yen bills.
I suddenly thought, can’t we stream Super Chats at the live venue?
I’ll read comments starting from 3000 yen like Hikaru.
>>175
I somehow feel like someone has probably already done it.
>>175
A live performance is at most about 2 hours, right?
It will end with a super chat reading.
When I see family members running a festival
I think they’re doing a great job.
Recent live events seem to have increased profit margins beyond merchandise with on-site tickets plus paid streaming, doesn’t it?
>>177
There are fans all over the world, and it’s true that they can gather so many that they can’t fit in a dome, truly the cream of the crop.
If you’re only filling a venue the size of a live house, the cost of preparing streaming equipment and staff could easily lead to a loss; if the streaming tickets are too expensive, people won’t buy them.
Isn’t it more like a talk show than a live event?
Yamada should make money at a lesbian brothel.
Because Bocchi-chan goods sell well.
Sure, here are the extracted characters: Um, since the vocalist is the most popular, if Kita-san is 100, then Ryou-san is quite popular with girls, so 80, and then Ijichi-san is 30, which makes Hitori-san around 5, I guess. Bocchi-chan is missing two slots… Hinata… I thought you were capable of working, but is that not the case?
There’s no guitar less popular than drums, right?
Is your favorite band’s CD selling better than Hamata’s?
Paid distribution seems difficult to forecast revenue, partly because it is relatively new.
The story that merchandise income is extremely helpful in any genre.
>>187
If it’s a movie, then something like a pamphlet, and if it’s a theater, then a drink or something.
Musician’s merchandise is so damn expensive…
>>188
Because the life of a musician is at stake…
The naive idea that good things will sell is the least applicable in areas like music and art.
It won’t sell unless it’s good, though.
You’re being supported, Yamada.
If you’re running Starry in Shimokita, that’s a very reasonable opinion.
Now even CDs are treated as fan goods.
One of the basics of business is to have side products with good profit margins that customers can easily pick up alongside the main product.
Like the drinks and alcohol in restaurants.
Please release the goods that I want.
>>196
Things like cable ties…?