Slooking around the back rooms of the Internet, Igor’s finding there are people are talking about Japanese alternative/independent bands overseas. And so they damned well should! Japan’s underground players have cut their teeth in one of the toughest markets for non-mainstream creativity and have developed sounds and skills to reach deep into the audience psyche.
Mass culture
Japan’s great for the megahit or the mass-appeal gizmo. Mass marketing and an audience capable of generating nation-wide buzz means that a big consumer item (be it gizmos, music, or whatever) can go stellar. There’s only one problem with this kind of market – lowest common denominator. You may get a whole bevy of derivative products targeting certain segments, but things that fall outside the mass-appeal items have a very hard time.
J-Pop is limited
This is very true in the music scene, where generic J-Pop can sell a million thanks to a slick “product,” clever marketing and strong distribution. It’s similar to pop “products” marketed in other countries throughout the world. However, I doubt J-Pop would ever develop the global appeal that you would score with pop products carefully crafted in the US and UK. J-Pop’s great for the local audience, but the gap between local and global is too far.
Introducing the underground
Enter Japan’s underground. These guys lay their creative talents on the line for the audience. There is very little in the way of financial backing for these acts so they have to support themselves with what they can build up with their own blood, sweat and tears. And Japan is a high-cost place for this kind of venture. Living costs are high, space rental is high, tech support costs are high, etc. On top of that, the alternative audience is relatively limited. This may be a function of the strong hold of the mass-market production and distribution.
School of hard knocks
The live deals are also very demanding with the bands being personally responsible for pulling punters. You’re local band doing a pub gig back home might expect a fixed payment for performing (even with lack luster results), but many deals (not all, but many) in Japan are based on the band’s ability to draw customers by itself – essentially taking a part share of the risk in a multi-act event. A new band with a low profile may find itself paying for the privilege of playing! Over time the band develops a following and can make money with it’s draw power, but it’s not easy!
Underground survivors are stronger
It’s a hard grind for the artists, but those who survive have a strong independently-crafted product with a self-developed appeal that goes beyond Japan’s shores. These hard-working artistes of the soul reach beyond the generic sounds to produce something special.
Forays into the world
Developing a strong product requires a market ready to receive that product. And there are bands out their striking out into the global scene in various ways. Whether it’s touring old and new worlds, getting samples on international download sites, producing multi-lingual sites, offering international distribution, they’re taking Japan’s underground overseas.
J-Goth Global Buzz
So this is where Igor’s latest little theme comes in. Igor’s lucky enough to be able to go to the local events and skeet himself CDs and other goodies any damned time he wants – woohoo! But it seems there is a whole new excitement building with bands getting out there. I’ll be snarking these little developments in the weeks to come and posting them up here for everyone’s reference and enjoyment.
If you catch something that Igor should get his snout into, just contact us or you can sign-up and submit news yourself – hey, I don’t even spellcheck my posts, so you got a good chance of getting your news online with minimal interference from me!
