Music venue Three tries to up its numbers
Tokyo's independent live music scene has always been somewhat dysfunctional. Complaints from performers about the prevalence of the ubiquitous pay-to-play ticket quota system — in which bands need to guarantee a minimum number of customers — have gone way past outrage and into the realm ...
Unexpected places step in to fill the role of live house venues in Japan's north
When I made the decision to embark on a largely bicycle-based tour of every prefecture in Japan to investigate music scenes outside the industry mother-brain of Tokyo, I made a point of not having any expectations. Once on the road, however, the theme that quickly ...
Keep up the hunger to find new music
Have you heard or had this conversation recently? "Hey, long time no see! How are you? Are there any cool new bands where you are?" (Pained expression) "Not really, no." Exchanges like this are going on between touring musicians and local indie scene faces all over Japan, ...
Live houses need to rethink their product if they want to attract customers
In these times of declining music sales it has become a truism that the live arena is where bands and artists can make their money. Certainly that seems to have factored into the decision by U2 and Apple to give the Irish band's new ...
