Forum - View topic

NEWS: More Exposure for Anime Music Wanted

Won't shows like that just chalk it up to the campaign than, and not the CD's quality?

I was under the impression that many bands in anime OPs and EDs were the mainstream. I'm thinking bands like Porno Graffiti, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, and Orange Range.

I was under the impression that many bands in anime OPs and EDs were the mainstream. I'm thinking bands like Porno Graffiti, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, and Orange Range.

Okay, let me give you and example how this music thing works in Japan.

Japanese music artists are tied mainly to the music labels. Music labels go out and find what is the best way to promote their singles in order make money. They have several ways to do this:

A. Tie that song as an image song for a commercial
B. Make it an OP/ED/IM theme to a show (it could be any show, from anime, to drama, to variety shows)
C. other

Let's start off with A first. Suppose some company wants to make an ad for their new product lineup - let's say some car company introducing a new sedan. They go to an ad agency to get some famous talent to introduce the car (or, pay several million dollars to some washed out Hollywood actor). Ad agencies then decide on a theme, and they choose a newly upcoming release single from several music labels that best fits the theme. The ad agency calls the music label, tells them that your so-and-so artist's upcoming single was selected as the image song for this commercial. Music labels then promote the upcoming release as "the music as seen as on this car company's commercial." If the ad agency was right in choosing the song, everyone will make millions - the car company because their ad becomes famous for it's catchy song, the ad agency because royalties comes in from both sides, and the music label because its artist's singles are selling like hotcakes.

Now let's say B. I won't go into detail what it used to be like over two decades ago (that'll be another lengthy explanation), but nowadays TV stations have high control over which songs get selected for OP and ED themes for their shows. Let's say that a big-budget drama was made, but the TV station is kind of worried if it'll get the ratings they've invested heavily on. Their decision is then select a big name artist to do the OP (and or ED) song for that drama so people will become hooked "as that new drama with that big-name artist doing the OP song." A correlation is also true if an already established big-hit show selects a new OP theme as people will remember them as "those upstart music artist had the honor of being selected as the new OP theme for that big hit variety show."

HOWEVER (big however at that), is that this does not hold true for most anime shows. While true that there are major artists doing anime songs for anime, they are rather restricted to major-hit anime that people know about. Shows like "NARUTO," "ONE PIECE," "Inu-Yasha," "Detective Conan," "Hagane no Renkinjutsushi" will get major artists because - both the TV station knows that these are major hit animes that people (children) watch and are rating grabbers (hence they are on really good time slots), and music labels know that promoting their artist with such famous shows makes good money (popular shows such as these usually release dozens of related CDs in which their artist's song is used several times in several anime albums).

But for the general "mature" audience, no one really cares who did the OP song for a certain anime or not. One good example is this certain conversation I've overheard on a train ride during commuting several months ago:

High School Girl A: "Hey, you listen to that new single by L'Arc?"
High School Girl B: "You mean 'READY STEADY GO' right?"
High School Girl A: "Yeah, that music is awesome"
High School Girl B: "Hey, look it says here that it was used as the OP theme to an anime called 'Hagane no Renkinjutsushi' "
High School Girl A: " 'haga'-what? Never heard of it"
High School Girl B: "hmm, it's kinda odd how L'Arc is doing a kids show"

Conversation explained: no one gives a rats ass about who sings what song in a certain anime unless you are a kid, or an anime nut. But of course, "Hagane no Renkinjutsushi" is a pretty popular anime show and L'Arc did get high rankings on the Oricon charts when they released "READY STEADY GO," - but it gets lesser attention than L'Arc doing an OP theme to a popular drama. Would I've gone up to them and explain what the show "Hagane no Renkinjutsushi" was about? Hell no. Will I tell them if I see them again on the train that Asian Kung-Fu Generation is doing the new OP theme to that show? Once again, fudge no.

On the other hand, are those ubiquitous shows that are shown late at night which TV stations could care less. They know no one is going to watch them late at night except for otakus, and they could care less who they use for the OP and ED songs for those shows. These shows tend to have more leaning towards anime related songs sponsored by anime-related music labels such as Lantis and Geneon Music. Let's face it, while most otakus know Ishida Yoko, Kanno Yoko, Yonekura Chihiro, and KOTOKO, no one in the mainstream Japanese populace knows or has ever heard of them. They are (and I say this bluntly which I don't want to say but I will say it), second-rate artists that cater to a minority group and cannot even compare to big name artists under a more "established" music label.

Is it an "honor" to do an OP and ED theme to an anime? If it is a major hit, somehwat yes - but it pales in comparison to being selected to being the OP theme to a major big-budget film/TV drama which is more "universally" acceptable.

Or, it can also be taken in the worst case - you used to be a big hit artist, but you are now washed up that you can only do anime songs....namely, T.M. Revolution singing OP songs for GundamSEED and Aikawa Nanase doing Samurai7. They were big hits back in the days, but hardly ever come up in charts anymore (even if they do, they do so only for a day or so). The music labels know they are washed-up, so they brush these artists to the cheapest bidder - anime shows. For GundamSEED, it is widely known that the only reason T.M.Revolution got the selection was because the director himself was (stress the point was) a huge fan of T.M.R.

The reality is: the image that all you have of anime in Japan, throw them away. It's all an illusion.

That's stupid. If they want anime songs to be respected, maybe the songs should be good first. And I can think of a handful of anime theme songs by actual mainstream J-pop artists *coughanythingbyRieFucough* that deserve more of a push than Negima.

I don'rt really think Negima is the beachhead to work with for this, I mean, for those who don't know, each version is the SAME SONG, slightly remixed and performed by a different collection of VAs from the show. It's catchy, I have version 2 or 3 myself, but I really can't imagine that each successive version deserves to rock the sales charts.