This is a repost from something I originally shared on Monochrome Heaven because they don’t deserve me, and it’s interesting vk culture information.
The Changes in VK’s History & Like an Edison
Interview with Ai Hinishi (H) and Matsumoto (chief manager of Likea Tokyo, M).
H: Firstly, for our readers who may not be familiar with the genre, I’ve summarized the history and bands in an incredibly simplified manner… But during which period did VK see the greatest sales?
M: You’re giving me a tough one right off the bat, huh…
M: I started working at this store in the early 2000s, but the VK scene in the late 90s during the Big Four days was incredible, so I would say it was then.
H: That has to be it. At the time there were programs such as “BreakOut!” that only showcased VK bands on broadcast television. To your memory, whose song sold the most CDs in this store?
M: Gotta be Nightmare’s major debut song, “-Believe-“. I remember it sold about 10,000 copies at this store alone.
H: Mea! That’s certainly amazing to sell that much at one store! Nightmare is one of the representative bands of the neo-visual kei era.
M: “-Believe-” had multiple jacket types, so maybe there were lots of people who wanted to collect them all.
H: I see. Has there been a change in visual kei bands and their fans between then and now?
M: The band names are different now.
H: Band names? When I was a bangya in the 90s it was an accepted theory that there were too many bands who started with ra-ri-ru-re-ro: “LUNA SEA”, “La’cryma”, “Lareine”, “Lastier”. Is it different now?
M: It is. Take a look at this shelf. Now we trend towards sa-shi-su-se-so bands. “SuG”, “Sid”, “Sibile Bashir”, “Sutaaku.”, “Thirteen (Saatiin)” and so on.
H: Whoa! It’s true, the sa-shi-su-se-so section is huge. I wasn’t aware that there were trends in bands names depending on the era as well.
H: On what criteria do you define VK when handling releases at Likea? Do you have discussions debating if a band is VK or not?
M: We have fairly clear criteria for that. We decide based on:
-The band calling themselves VK
-The live houses they’re active at being purveyors of VK (Takadanobaba AREA, Ikebukuro CYBER and the like)
-If bangya/gyao seem to accept them or not
-If the record company sells them as VK
So I think it’s easy to understand.
H: When you mention criteria like the livehouses they’re active at, I agree! I see!
How Likea Has Survived 20 Years as a VK Specialty Shop
H: Did Likea start as a VK specialty shop?
M: No, we originally were a shop that primarily dealt in UK Rock under the name UK Edison. So, while very rarely, sometime we’ll have guests in their 50s visiting and asking if this was a UK rock store.
H: You used to not be a VK shop…! If an older man who liked UK Rock came here now he’d certainly be shocked if it was like this.
H: Our current era is one where CDs and music struggle to get sales, right? Honestly, how are the sales here at Likea, which specializes in the niche market of VK? Are they not in decline?
M: Right. Likea’s style seems to be counter to the current flow of the music business… Our sales aren’t dropping off suddenly, we’re maintaining relatively stable sales.
H: Longstanding ‘all-genre’ CD stores are shrinking or vanishing, so why is Likea doing well despite only carrying VK…?
M: Since you were a bangya I think you know, but there are VK specialty shops now than ever before, and this isn’t limited to our stores. I think that’s your answer in a way.
H: Certainly… there’s more VK stores than when I was young like Little Hearts and Jishuban Club… Is the secret to success being a specialty shop in itself? Tell me more!
M: If all we did was stock CDs, our stores wouldn’t be making sales either. At Likea there’s been a tradition of purchasing CDs along with experiences where fans can come into contact with the bands of their choice and interact with them.
H: I see! The contact in so-called in-store events not generally held at large record shops, store unique CD bonuses, handshake meets and more is the key to the continued success of specialty shops, right?
Only at the Store! Behind the Scenes of In-store Events
H: This might be a doltish question, but for in-stores, do you rent the store for a given amount for one hour? If so, does that mean it’s possible for anyone to hold an event if they wanted to?
M: Generally we don’t rent by the hour. Also while there’s an in-store, it’s a bother to those who’ve come just to buy CDs. It’s important to balance the pros and cons.
H: I see. But in-stores make the dream to get close to an artist come true… I remember being 18 and lining up for a “Raphael” handshake meet at Likea… I believe there’s many types of in-store, are they planned by the store?
M: Sometimes, but more often they’re planned by the artist and their management.
H: I see! In the case of Likea, the “Shimamura Outfit Contest” event by “Belle” caught some attention, right? Are there any other bands who are great at planning, or who always do something interesting?
M: Without a doubt, that’s “Ensoku”.
M: The two especially impressive Ensoku in-stores held here in the past are:
-The “kisu” through saran wrap meet
-The kabe-don photomeet
H: Hm? They both seem nice but typical, I don’t really see what’s so interesting…
M: That’s the best part. For the “kisu through saran wrap” meet, participants went into the booth one at a time, and there would be an inevitable girly shriek from inside, which the people lined up would hear as well.
H: Well, if it were me, getting a kiss from an artist I like would mess me up, even through saran wrap.
M: No, what was really happening in the booth is they’d press a “kisu” (smelt-whiting) fish to the participant’s cheek. It was a literal kisu through saran wrap… I think you heard more cries of anguish than joy.
H: So then the kabe-don photomeet…
M: This was also done in booths, but you’d take photos with the artist as they were hitting the wall so it went DON!
H: So it was something like that…
M: How do they come up with that? I’m always impressed with Ensoku.
H: I bet. I want to try going. In-store event and bonuses differ by shop, so I figured they were fully planned by the stores, but artists also devise different events and bonuses for each shop… amazing…
The Normalization of In-store Events and the Future of Like an Edison
H: There are events where you take photos with the members as well, but are they different from how they used to be?
M: It used to be that you couldn’t take photos with cellphones and you had to use a digital camera. Because it’s VK, a beautiful photograph was important. In the days where they could only take low quality pictures, cellphone cameras weren’t allowed. How nostalgic…
H: Beauty certainly was important. I was definitely told only digital cameras were allowed back in the day… Changes because of cellphone capabilities… those were the days.
H: When did in-stores start to take off?
M: There’s been more since the 2010s. Before, the more successful the band, the fewer in-stores, but thankfully now there’s many bands who continue to do them even if they sell to the point where they can play one-mans in big halls, so I feel like in-stores have become a must.
H: It’s nice to be close to the artist, but as someone who supported artists as untouchable beings back in the day, I have mixed feelings about it.
M: There might be that aspect too. Now artists reply on Twitter and such so I feel like there’s more fans who treat artists as friends.
H: Due to the growth of SNS, the distance between bands and their fans is much smaller than it used to be. And on top of that, there are more in-stores. This is the current situation around VK. What do you think about future developments?
M: Of course I’ll continue to support bands who actively work on in-stores and bonuses, as I have up until now. But there are bands who can’t do in-stores for whatever reason, and simply produce good music.
H: Right!
M: I want to bring those artists to light and expose them to bangya and gyao. I’d like to keep creating more of those kinds of opportunities in the future.
H: Speaking in concrete terms, how do you plan to do that?
M: For example, we’re sponsoring an event called “Likea the Live” in various places.
M: For Likea, we’re very focused on the artist lineup even for these kinds of live events. Livening up the VK scene is connected to the future of the store, so I want to undertake more and more varied plans.
H: Making it 20 years while specializing in VK is a result of love for this scene, plans that delight fans, and constant investment in the future, isn’t it… These secrets to success might be wise not just in VK but in the field of entertainment as a whole.
At the end is Matsumoto’s best of VK list:
X JAPAN – “BLUE BLOOD”
Pierrot – “Pandora no Hako”
Laputa – “Kakera”
Dir en grey – “GAUZE”
MASCHERA – “iNTERFACE”
PENICILLIN – “VIBE∞”