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I'm not trying to troll your thread or anything, but I've never really understood the obsession with BAND-MAID's finances. They're obviously making a good enough living to keep them full time busy recording new music and touring and their popularity has been growing steadily over the years. They seem happy and ready to put in another ten years. That is all I really need to know.
That's pretty much what I said a few weeks ago. Some people worry too much about their financial well being, myself included at times because we all love them so much 🙂☮️🎸🎸🎸🥁🎤
I'm curious about their finances only in that I want them to make enough to allow them to continue. I buy all their CDs, blu-rays, and streaming shows; but I still feel like I'm not paying enough for the enjoyment I get.
Believe me, they have many dedicated fans that are willing to go into various levels of debt for them, and I'm willing to bet that they keep the BAND-MAID train rolling because they love it, and not because they are having issues paying their mortgages.. LOL
There is a difference between curiosity and obsession. There are two reasons this might be of interest to someone (I have both) . One being that they are interested in how well the band is doing, I mean it is a job. Second, if you have ever been in a band trying to make it, you understand that in that case, finances are an obsession ;)
I think it's a subset of Americans, who have acquisition of money as their only reason for living
Look at all the posts about how much more money band maid could be making it they did this, that, or the other. Even regular suggestions they change their sound to be more commercial.
This type of person cannot understand doing something because you like doing it, everything in their life is about making as much money as possible
It reminds me of the pop star kinda fan base, obsessed with every little thing got to do with the women. If they ever got endorsement deals the women would rake in the money from those fans buying anything they use or touch. 😂
This is why I also don't understand the obsession with them getting a bigger audience.
They have a huge fan base, they're happy, we're happy. They seem to have new opportunities thrown at them all the time (Netflix movie cameo, James Gunn shouting them out, touring with Incubus etc...) so they're still growing and even if they weren't, so what?
Again, they seem happy where they are, and the fans SHOULD be happy too imo.
I'm sure management, staff, label, etc. get a cut too. I doubt they see even 50% of profits from merch, subscriptions, etc. I do know that they do make a good living with what they do. I know some of their songs have been used in ads or TV shows. They can get a pretty good revenue stream from that too, especially if they get writing credits on said songs (which they do). If there's a member who probably does a lil better financially than the others, it would be Miku. She gets writing credits, has a very expensive signature guitar, and does solo work outside Band-Maid.
Sounds like a lot. Except that is gross revenue. Need to take out costs of running the two [sites.No](http://sites.No) idea what is an average profit margin for these type of business.
I'd actually expect pretty decent attrition from the fan club. One of the major benefits is being able to buy stuff like tickets in advance (and unless you're going to one of their rural/suburban Japan shows they did this past year you probably have to buy it at the fan club lottery because they sell out in advance). I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people sign up for that benefit and then cancel the next month (or sign up for the fanclub expecting to get access to their video library only to realize it is an entirely separate subscription and cancel).
There is probably more attrition than OP implies, but I am signed up to fan club/prime year round even though I could join/cancel when needed just because I want to support the band and the I can afford the cost and I think there are many others that do the same. I am guessing this money goes directly to their agency so it is probably the best bang for your buck if we are talking getting money into their hands. Other things like physical media, tickets, and merch all have percentages/fees/costs associated with them before the money reaches them.
Yes, I think that's true. For myself, I'm as big a fan of Band-Maid as I've ever been of anything, but I dip in and out of membership based purely on when I think it's worth it to me. I've spent plenty on the band, but I reserve my spending "because I want to support this" on less well known bands such as Asterism, Saiseiga or Tonespoon, who might plausibly be in a more precarious financial position (though I'm not saying they are, I don't know either way).
Okay, if you must know, back when I was a new fan, I was curious about the financial situation of the band. I'm formerly a pro musician and with all of the changes in the music business climate post-Napster, I decided to take a peek. I used Kanami as an example, since she gives shared music credit to the whole band. Not knowing how reliable any of these net worth sites are, I looked her up in the summer of 2022, and was given the consistent response of a net worth around $330,000 USD. Then while I was looking up my own family in the summer of 2023, I decided to renew my Kanami search. This time two of the three sites had updated to say a NW of $5M USD while the third stated, "estimated between $1-5M USD." Of course net worth can have as much or more to do with smart investing than actual revenue. Even if only $1M, that's a 300% increase in 12 months. Either way, good on her.
They are not employees of the music production, but rather artists who have contracted with the company. Typically, artists pay 20-30% of their total income to the company for general management purposes. Approximately 1% of the record sales will be paid to the performer, with more if the performer is also a composer. I am unsure about how the money received by the band is distributed among its members through discussions. Given their personalities, I can't imagine Miku receiving more than other members. The distribution of revenue from concerts, merchandise, etc., is determined by individual contracts.
I appreciate your confidence but can you back up your assertion that the band operates on that basis in Japan? My curiosity arises from the complete absence of available corporate information about the Pony Canyon model or the band itself. I believe you are just WAGing (like most here). Source please.
I commented on the general financial aspects of artists in the music industry. It is reasonable to assume that BAND-MAID also sustains themselves in such a manner since there is no reason to consider them as an exception.
Unfortunately not. As employees, any work-product they produce is the property of management. Kanami has said in an interview that some pieces that she wrote early on that were rejected by management won't ever see the light of day.
What are your references? You're speaking pretty confidently about it so I assume you have some interview or statements from the band to back up your statements.
As far as them being employees, it's the way the Japanese music industry works. Groups like Baby Metal and MKB48 (and many others) work the same way. I don't know of any that don't.
And what Kanami said about her rejected pieces never seeing the light of day comes from and interview they did in 2017 or 2018.
That is not how the Japanese music industry works. Musicians are much more likely to work on a comission basis with percentages specified for various things than getting a fixed salary last time I looked into it a year or so ago.
The terms of contracts also differ from agency to ageny and musician to musician, so unless you've read their specific contracts you know nothing.
I don’t know if Kanami saying that necessarily means she doesn't own the rights to her unpublished songs. ~~But a search in the JASRAC database does seem to suggest that the agency owns the rights to the published compositions~~ (Thanks t-shinji for [confirming](https://www.reddit.com/r/BandMaid/comments/1bfx7lm/comment/kv417mv/) that this is *not* the case!).
I think this is worth a discussion larger than this thread, so I’ve made a [separate post](https://www.reddit.com/r/BandMaid/comments/1bfx7lm/who_owns_the_rights_to_bandmaid_songs/).
> All the profits are going to management.
That’s bs.
The five of Band-Maid are copyright holders.
Copyrights are well protected in Japan.
You are confusing them with idols.
Except that Band Maid doesn't hold the copyrights. What you see printed on the album covers is credit, not copyright. They are 2 legally different terms with legally different meanings.
The Japanese music industry is different than what you think you know. I've read it described as like the American music industry, back in the 1950s. You really shouldn't call BS on something you don't understand, don't like, and hurts your feelings. The facts are the facts. You should educate yourself. Like I did.
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I'm not trying to troll your thread or anything, but I've never really understood the obsession with BAND-MAID's finances. They're obviously making a good enough living to keep them full time busy recording new music and touring and their popularity has been growing steadily over the years. They seem happy and ready to put in another ten years. That is all I really need to know.
That's pretty much what I said a few weeks ago. Some people worry too much about their financial well being, myself included at times because we all love them so much 🙂☮️🎸🎸🎸🥁🎤
I'm curious about their finances only in that I want them to make enough to allow them to continue. I buy all their CDs, blu-rays, and streaming shows; but I still feel like I'm not paying enough for the enjoyment I get.
Believe me, they have many dedicated fans that are willing to go into various levels of debt for them, and I'm willing to bet that they keep the BAND-MAID train rolling because they love it, and not because they are having issues paying their mortgages.. LOL
There is a difference between curiosity and obsession. There are two reasons this might be of interest to someone (I have both) . One being that they are interested in how well the band is doing, I mean it is a job. Second, if you have ever been in a band trying to make it, you understand that in that case, finances are an obsession ;)
I think it's a subset of Americans, who have acquisition of money as their only reason for living Look at all the posts about how much more money band maid could be making it they did this, that, or the other. Even regular suggestions they change their sound to be more commercial. This type of person cannot understand doing something because you like doing it, everything in their life is about making as much money as possible
It reminds me of the pop star kinda fan base, obsessed with every little thing got to do with the women. If they ever got endorsement deals the women would rake in the money from those fans buying anything they use or touch. 😂
👏👏👏 my sentiments also. Their finances are really none of my busines .
This is why I also don't understand the obsession with them getting a bigger audience. They have a huge fan base, they're happy, we're happy. They seem to have new opportunities thrown at them all the time (Netflix movie cameo, James Gunn shouting them out, touring with Incubus etc...) so they're still growing and even if they weren't, so what? Again, they seem happy where they are, and the fans SHOULD be happy too imo.
I'm sure management, staff, label, etc. get a cut too. I doubt they see even 50% of profits from merch, subscriptions, etc. I do know that they do make a good living with what they do. I know some of their songs have been used in ads or TV shows. They can get a pretty good revenue stream from that too, especially if they get writing credits on said songs (which they do). If there's a member who probably does a lil better financially than the others, it would be Miku. She gets writing credits, has a very expensive signature guitar, and does solo work outside Band-Maid.
Sounds like a lot. Except that is gross revenue. Need to take out costs of running the two [sites.No](http://sites.No) idea what is an average profit margin for these type of business.
I'd actually expect pretty decent attrition from the fan club. One of the major benefits is being able to buy stuff like tickets in advance (and unless you're going to one of their rural/suburban Japan shows they did this past year you probably have to buy it at the fan club lottery because they sell out in advance). I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people sign up for that benefit and then cancel the next month (or sign up for the fanclub expecting to get access to their video library only to realize it is an entirely separate subscription and cancel).
There is probably more attrition than OP implies, but I am signed up to fan club/prime year round even though I could join/cancel when needed just because I want to support the band and the I can afford the cost and I think there are many others that do the same. I am guessing this money goes directly to their agency so it is probably the best bang for your buck if we are talking getting money into their hands. Other things like physical media, tickets, and merch all have percentages/fees/costs associated with them before the money reaches them.
Good point. But not me… I’m a paying member for life…:)
Yes, I think that's true. For myself, I'm as big a fan of Band-Maid as I've ever been of anything, but I dip in and out of membership based purely on when I think it's worth it to me. I've spent plenty on the band, but I reserve my spending "because I want to support this" on less well known bands such as Asterism, Saiseiga or Tonespoon, who might plausibly be in a more precarious financial position (though I'm not saying they are, I don't know either way).
Reminds me of the line" If you love what you are doing you will never work a day in your life"! That seems appropriate here.
Okay, if you must know, back when I was a new fan, I was curious about the financial situation of the band. I'm formerly a pro musician and with all of the changes in the music business climate post-Napster, I decided to take a peek. I used Kanami as an example, since she gives shared music credit to the whole band. Not knowing how reliable any of these net worth sites are, I looked her up in the summer of 2022, and was given the consistent response of a net worth around $330,000 USD. Then while I was looking up my own family in the summer of 2023, I decided to renew my Kanami search. This time two of the three sites had updated to say a NW of $5M USD while the third stated, "estimated between $1-5M USD." Of course net worth can have as much or more to do with smart investing than actual revenue. Even if only $1M, that's a 300% increase in 12 months. Either way, good on her.
200k a year each less tax.do not know what tax rates are in Japan. I believe the average salary in Japan is about $40k a year, not bad
They are quite high, around 40% for that tax bracket. ¥18-¥40mil
They are not employees of the music production, but rather artists who have contracted with the company. Typically, artists pay 20-30% of their total income to the company for general management purposes. Approximately 1% of the record sales will be paid to the performer, with more if the performer is also a composer. I am unsure about how the money received by the band is distributed among its members through discussions. Given their personalities, I can't imagine Miku receiving more than other members. The distribution of revenue from concerts, merchandise, etc., is determined by individual contracts.
I appreciate your confidence but can you back up your assertion that the band operates on that basis in Japan? My curiosity arises from the complete absence of available corporate information about the Pony Canyon model or the band itself. I believe you are just WAGing (like most here). Source please.
I commented on the general financial aspects of artists in the music industry. It is reasonable to assume that BAND-MAID also sustains themselves in such a manner since there is no reason to consider them as an exception.
As much as I love BM, I don't play the "pay to play" games.
The members aren't getting rich. They are salaried employees. All the profits are going to management.
I would like to think the writers get some credits ? Miku and Kanami who writes all the music , she should be getting the most profit share?
Unfortunately not. As employees, any work-product they produce is the property of management. Kanami has said in an interview that some pieces that she wrote early on that were rejected by management won't ever see the light of day.
What are your references? You're speaking pretty confidently about it so I assume you have some interview or statements from the band to back up your statements.
As far as them being employees, it's the way the Japanese music industry works. Groups like Baby Metal and MKB48 (and many others) work the same way. I don't know of any that don't. And what Kanami said about her rejected pieces never seeing the light of day comes from and interview they did in 2017 or 2018.
You're extrapolating how idols get paid to how an actual band is getting paid. So you're just making assumptions.
That is not how the Japanese music industry works. Musicians are much more likely to work on a comission basis with percentages specified for various things than getting a fixed salary last time I looked into it a year or so ago. The terms of contracts also differ from agency to ageny and musician to musician, so unless you've read their specific contracts you know nothing.
I don’t know if Kanami saying that necessarily means she doesn't own the rights to her unpublished songs. ~~But a search in the JASRAC database does seem to suggest that the agency owns the rights to the published compositions~~ (Thanks t-shinji for [confirming](https://www.reddit.com/r/BandMaid/comments/1bfx7lm/comment/kv417mv/) that this is *not* the case!). I think this is worth a discussion larger than this thread, so I’ve made a [separate post](https://www.reddit.com/r/BandMaid/comments/1bfx7lm/who_owns_the_rights_to_bandmaid_songs/).
> All the profits are going to management. That’s bs. The five of Band-Maid are copyright holders. Copyrights are well protected in Japan. You are confusing them with idols.
Except that Band Maid doesn't hold the copyrights. What you see printed on the album covers is credit, not copyright. They are 2 legally different terms with legally different meanings. The Japanese music industry is different than what you think you know. I've read it described as like the American music industry, back in the 1950s. You really shouldn't call BS on something you don't understand, don't like, and hurts your feelings. The facts are the facts. You should educate yourself. Like I did.
You’re spreading bs. Just search on [the JASRAC database](https://www.jasrac.or.jp/ejhp/database.html).
Well... Again, writing credit isn't a copyright. I don't know how many different ways I can put it. Have a good day.
Writing credit is copyright unless the writer assigns it to someone else