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Interview with an ex-Visual Kei record executive
INTRO
Back in 2008, I interviewed Mr. SATOH-SAN (not his real name), who worked for a fairly well-known Visual Kei record label in the ‘90s.
Visual Kei is a sort of glam-gothic-rock thing where the band might look like a space vampire who is also a gay Kabuki French countess.
That makes it sound better than it is.
Personally, the main thing I like about this genre is the same thing I like about punk: the FANS: 15 year old girls from good families, with designer handbags, who beat the shit out of each other during the show, to prove to their dreamboat that they’re the ‘best’ fan.
But as rad as those girls are, they are victims of the fantasy, the image that these bands project. Luckily, we have Mr. SATOH, who is going to tell us about the grim reality. That’s right: I am trying to bum out visual fans. If you’ve come here from a link on a message-board, assume your crying posture now.
During this interview, you’ll hear a lot about the Yakuza. But don’t get it twisted: the Visual Kei industry is NOT more mobbed-up than any other part of the entertainment industry in Japan. That’s fine. Precisely BECAUSE the Visual Kei mobsters are so typical, visual is a good way to learn about the dark side of Japanese entertainment IN GENERAL.
Before we start the interview, I will let Mr. SATOH explain the background information that you need to know:
BRIEF HISTORY OF VISUAL
Around 1983 (says Satoh), Japanese hard-rock bands from big cities began to incorporate the then-new forms of new-wave, gothic, L.A. hair metal, and punk. They combined these foreign influences with SHOJO MANGA which was big in Japan at that time.
(this article is long enough without getting into a detailed explanation of shojo manga – for now, let’s just say that “shojo” means “comics for tween girls” and features a bunch of androgynous, long-haired pretty-boys in frock coats, who stare deeply into each others’ eyes while roses bloom in the background)
The manga influence was mainly in the stage fashion and homoerotic stage antics(kissing, groping), and was done, of course, to appeal to girls and their pocketbooks. It was a classic case of “combining different old things in a new way”.
It was a small scene in the beginning: only in certain cities in Japan. The artists were all highly motivated and had a DIY attitude – some even started their own labels (X Japan’s Yoshiki started DADA records, which later became Extasy). Eventually, the scene grew big enough to catch the attention of record labels, who made it a nationwide phenomenon – but the trade-off was that the bands had to play by the rules of the labels.
The eras of “popularity” and “good music” barely overlapped.
The best bands were in ’93-’99. The boom (meaning, bands on daytime chat shows and mainstream magazines) was in ‘97-’99. Visual didn’t catch on overseas until 2000’s, after it was already pretty much over in Japan.
Themes of the lyrics: sweet romance / dark suicidal (everything teenagers might like…).
"Fan-service" is common (band members kissing each other or touching each other) = this comes from shojo manga. The feeling of not being physically threatened by these ’sexual-but-not-for-me’ characters (men dressing in a feminine way) attracts young teenage girls.
MOB ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY 101
TIP ONE: CONNECTIONS
Connections are even more important than money! (or, perhaps, they ARE money?)
Jhonny’s Jimusho (the biggest boy-band factory in Japan) is the most famous example of the importance of connections: if you have Johnny’s boy-bands on your TV show, you can’t have any other boy bands. If you have a non-Johnny’s band on your show, Johnny’s boycotts your show forever (and not just your show, but whatever other media organs your parent company has).
He’s the king of that, but these sorts of mafia-ish arrangements are the norm for the whole entertainment industry. The connections between powerful mobsters and powerful entertainment moguls is why band A will only appear on channel 1, but never on channel 2. And it’s the connections that make it a ‘mob.’ operation. That is to say, to a high-level Yak, long-term connections are even more important than short term financial gain.
So who cares if the bands in TV or radio are even remotely what the fans want to hear?
TIP TWO: CONTROL OF EVERY STEP OF THE PROCESS
This idea of "total control" is presented to bands in the more friendly tone of, “We are your one-stop fame shop, you don’t have to go anywhere else.”
Your band needs clothes, so so our clothing brand will supply them for you. They need press, and we own a cable TV show or radio program. Better yet, we’ve developed a monopoly relationship with a large publishing company (see Tip #1!) so that all our various bands appear exclusively in their various magazines.
For example, “CURE” magazine is the organ of “free will” records – the only surviving relic from the era when every record company could afford to have their own magazine. How it stays in business in these lean times is a mystery.
Instruments – all big bands are sponsored by ESP guitars (or Fernandes) , which makes the bands unique, custom instruments. This web of connections between various showbiz companies, secretly owned by the same record label, allows them to hire musicians that know nothing about the industry OR about music. And this makes the musicians easier to control – the Japanese musicians come so cheaply that all record industries (Visual, pop, rock, rap, whatever) can get away with making the most crappy records possible – sort of a “throw a bunch of shit at the wall and see what sticks” approach.
TIP THREE- you can never have enough SHELL COMPANIES
To avoid appearing like a monopoly, you got to split your big label into 10 tiny labels – each small label will have its own “world” – its own design, musical sound, attitude, etc, which will pander to fans much better than a big, general label. The fans will be more immersed and dedicated to a label that they think is “just for them”. Also, by having all the small labels in different cities (usually run by a member of a prominent band from that city), you can ensure logistical support all over the country – For example, in each city there is a small label which will help ALL bands from the parent label with publicity, tours, and getting CDs in stores, when those bands come through that city.
INTRO
Back in 2008, I interviewed Mr. SATOH-SAN (not his real name), who worked for a fairly well-known Visual Kei record label in the ‘90s.
Visual Kei is a sort of glam-gothic-rock thing where the band might look like a space vampire who is also a gay Kabuki French countess.
That makes it sound better than it is.
Personally, the main thing I like about this genre is the same thing I like about punk: the FANS: 15 year old girls from good families, with designer handbags, who beat the shit out of each other during the show, to prove to their dreamboat that they’re the ‘best’ fan.
But as rad as those girls are, they are victims of the fantasy, the image that these bands project. Luckily, we have Mr. SATOH, who is going to tell us about the grim reality. That’s right: I am trying to bum out visual fans. If you’ve come here from a link on a message-board, assume your crying posture now.
During this interview, you’ll hear a lot about the Yakuza. But don’t get it twisted: the Visual Kei industry is NOT more mobbed-up than any other part of the entertainment industry in Japan. That’s fine. Precisely BECAUSE the Visual Kei mobsters are so typical, visual is a good way to learn about the dark side of Japanese entertainment IN GENERAL.
Before we start the interview, I will let Mr. SATOH explain the background information that you need to know:
BRIEF HISTORY OF VISUAL
Around 1983 (says Satoh), Japanese hard-rock bands from big cities began to incorporate the then-new forms of new-wave, gothic, L.A. hair metal, and punk. They combined these foreign influences with SHOJO MANGA which was big in Japan at that time.
(this article is long enough without getting into a detailed explanation of shojo manga – for now, let’s just say that “shojo” means “comics for tween girls” and features a bunch of androgynous, long-haired pretty-boys in frock coats, who stare deeply into each others’ eyes while roses bloom in the background)
The manga influence was mainly in the stage fashion and homoerotic stage antics(kissing, groping), and was done, of course, to appeal to girls and their pocketbooks. It was a classic case of “combining different old things in a new way”.
It was a small scene in the beginning: only in certain cities in Japan. The artists were all highly motivated and had a DIY attitude – some even started their own labels (X Japan’s Yoshiki started DADA records, which later became Extasy). Eventually, the scene grew big enough to catch the attention of record labels, who made it a nationwide phenomenon – but the trade-off was that the bands had to play by the rules of the labels.
The eras of “popularity” and “good music” barely overlapped.
The best bands were in ’93-’99. The boom (meaning, bands on daytime chat shows and mainstream magazines) was in ‘97-’99. Visual didn’t catch on overseas until 2000’s, after it was already pretty much over in Japan.
Themes of the lyrics: sweet romance / dark suicidal (everything teenagers might like…).
"Fan-service" is common (band members kissing each other or touching each other) = this comes from shojo manga. The feeling of not being physically threatened by these ’sexual-but-not-for-me’ characters (men dressing in a feminine way) attracts young teenage girls.
MOB ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY 101
TIP ONE: CONNECTIONS
Connections are even more important than money! (or, perhaps, they ARE money?)
Jhonny’s Jimusho (the biggest boy-band factory in Japan) is the most famous example of the importance of connections: if you have Johnny’s boy-bands on your TV show, you can’t have any other boy bands. If you have a non-Johnny’s band on your show, Johnny’s boycotts your show forever (and not just your show, but whatever other media organs your parent company has).
He’s the king of that, but these sorts of mafia-ish arrangements are the norm for the whole entertainment industry. The connections between powerful mobsters and powerful entertainment moguls is why band A will only appear on channel 1, but never on channel 2. And it’s the connections that make it a ‘mob.’ operation. That is to say, to a high-level Yak, long-term connections are even more important than short term financial gain.
So who cares if the bands in TV or radio are even remotely what the fans want to hear?
TIP TWO: CONTROL OF EVERY STEP OF THE PROCESS
This idea of "total control" is presented to bands in the more friendly tone of, “We are your one-stop fame shop, you don’t have to go anywhere else.”
Your band needs clothes, so so our clothing brand will supply them for you. They need press, and we own a cable TV show or radio program. Better yet, we’ve developed a monopoly relationship with a large publishing company (see Tip #1!) so that all our various bands appear exclusively in their various magazines.
For example, “CURE” magazine is the organ of “free will” records – the only surviving relic from the era when every record company could afford to have their own magazine. How it stays in business in these lean times is a mystery.
Instruments – all big bands are sponsored by ESP guitars (or Fernandes) , which makes the bands unique, custom instruments. This web of connections between various showbiz companies, secretly owned by the same record label, allows them to hire musicians that know nothing about the industry OR about music. And this makes the musicians easier to control – the Japanese musicians come so cheaply that all record industries (Visual, pop, rock, rap, whatever) can get away with making the most crappy records possible – sort of a “throw a bunch of shit at the wall and see what sticks” approach.
TIP THREE- you can never have enough SHELL COMPANIES
To avoid appearing like a monopoly, you got to split your big label into 10 tiny labels – each small label will have its own “world” – its own design, musical sound, attitude, etc, which will pander to fans much better than a big, general label. The fans will be more immersed and dedicated to a label that they think is “just for them”. Also, by having all the small labels in different cities (usually run by a member of a prominent band from that city), you can ensure logistical support all over the country – For example, in each city there is a small label which will help ALL bands from the parent label with publicity, tours, and getting CDs in stores, when those bands come through that city.
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