Spread the Beat

Everything that is eurobeat can be discussed here.
DarkSky
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Spread the Beat

Post by DarkSky » 09 Jun 2014, 15:14

Okay... hmmm.

I have decided to share it with the world because I think it's important to share the knowledge I have about the Eurobeat industry (of course within the borders of all legal limitations I have).

Another reason why I shared the document and made it public is because I really want one of you to continue with this, and making this written plan become reality. Someone with some great skills in business would definitely know what to do.

The main reason why I am handing it over to you guys? Due to a lack of time to spend on this project. I'll be travelling through Asia (and visiting the Dima Music studios again), and afterwards I'll probably leave the Eurobeat industry to fully focus on my projects for Universal Music. I'll won't leave the Eurobeat industry for good but I'll just play a less active role.

I would have loved to do this on my own, however I just don't have the time for it.

Read the full article on:
http://sjoerdvermaak.com/blog/?p=195

The download link is at the bottom of the article.

para_rigby
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Post by para_rigby » 09 Jun 2014, 15:37

Interesting. I think one of the huge problems (discussed so many times over past few years) is the lack of digital releases for full albums. Yes, I greatly appreciate that Avex has done right by putting special collections back on iTunes, but is this really enough? This is my chief complaint since the music industry is moving, on a global trend, to releasing music digitally.

Studios like Dima, Sinclaire Style, SCP, and Delta & Sunfire (the latter two with iffy circumstances) are doing a good job of releasing old material on the net, but how can we, as fans, grow this trend?

Avex has not done right by long time fans nor new ones, by insisting on having digital releases of full albums only on Japanese stores and releasing older songs on international stores without good marketing. I know studios have bitched about piracy and have sarcastically threatened their fan base about stopping digital releases since sales suck. That is not a good thing and could possibly hurt the long time fans.

How do we balance the need of the original fan base while marketing to the outside audience? 1. Give the originals what they crave. Digital full releases and even unreleased material (I know that SCP and Sinclaire Style have a shit ton of this!). 2. Stronger marketing by Avex to promote worldwide this genre. I truly believe there are eurobeat songs that could work on mainstream radio in some form. Avex and studios can't complain about sales if you aren't spending the money to promote the product.

Avex and studios need to take a hard look at the future. I oft worry that SEB will die within the next few years or so and this makes me terribly sad. Wouldn't be surprised if 250 is the last album to be released. Again, don't be shitty with the fan base's wants and needs. I think the studios really need to take the problem by the reigns since Avex does not want to take on this issue.

DarkSky
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Post by DarkSky » 09 Jun 2014, 15:53

para_rigby wrote:Interesting. I think one of the huge problems (discussed so many times over past few years) is the lack of digital releases for full albums. Yes, I greatly appreciate that Avex has done right by putting special collections back on iTunes, but is this really enough? This is my chief complaint since the music industry is moving, on a global trend, to releasing music digitally.

Studios like Dima, Sinclaire Style, SCP, and Delta & Sunfire (the latter two with iffy circumstances) are doing a good job of releasing old material on the net, but how can we, as fans, grow this trend?

Avex has not done right by long time fans nor new ones, by insisting on having digital releases of full albums only on Japanese stores and releasing older songs on international stores without good marketing. I know studios have bitched about piracy and have sarcastically threatened their fan base about stopping digital releases since sales suck. That is not a good thing and could possibly hurt the long time fans.

How do we balance the need of the original fan base while marketing to the outside audience? 1. Give the originals what they crave. Digital full releases and even unreleased material (I know that SCP and Sinclaire Style have a shit ton of this!). 2. Stronger marketing by Avex to promote worldwide this genre. I truly believe there are eurobeat songs that could work on mainstream radio in some form. Avex and studios can't complain about sales if you aren't spending the money to promote the product.

Avex and studios need to take a hard look at the future. I oft worry that SEB will die within the next few years or so and this makes me terribly sad. Wouldn't be surprised if 250 is the last album to be released. Again, don't be shitty with the fan base's wants and needs. I think the studios really need to take the problem by the reigns since Avex does not want to take on this issue.
That is exactly what I stated in the plan. Glad to hear u agree.

para_rigby
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Post by para_rigby » 09 Jun 2014, 16:01

I wonder how the studios feel about how the genre is shrinking. Many of these people have been with the genre for such a long time. What are the feelings of Avex's marketing plan on the studio side of things? I don't know to what extent you can talk for Dima Studios.

KoolKool
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Post by KoolKool » 09 Jun 2014, 16:50

cool!

i make music for fun,but i hope someday i can sign my track to SEB series,i want to help something with development of super eurobeat
althougn i don't understand much about music industry business,i need to learn more

Bonkers
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Post by Bonkers » 09 Jun 2014, 20:38

para_rigby wrote: I truly believe there are eurobeat songs that could work on mainstream radio in some form.
Why would you want to subject what underground gem this genre is to the mainstream?

You won't like what you get. Hypothetically, let's say Eurobeat becomes a blast here in the States with the current generation. All the chaotic/hyper factors of the genre will be picked out and thrown away since most American media is not "hyper-sound" based. The italo sounds/vocal layout, accent-grammar, etc. will be reformed for American ears. The genre itself will become nothing more than eurodance/trance because mainstream circuits do not split hairs; it's either house, trance, dubstep, pop, rock, metal, etc.

Eurobeat needs to stay in the underground away from mainstream American clubs/radios if you wish for it to remain it's Italo/Japanese influenced sound. If anything, DJs need to start collecting the tracks, playing them out live for crowds (raves), and you'd be amazed how big the genre would become. Eurobeat is dance music, it needs to be in a dance-specific environment that focuses on hyper, off-beat, loud, cheesy sounds, aka rave scene.

ParaPara is not something I can see catching on fully in the States (unless you want to isolate the genre even further and keep it among what small para circles are in the States and build on it from there...pretty much a USAvex).
Last edited by Bonkers on 09 Jun 2014, 21:20, edited 2 times in total.

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SuperEuroJimmy
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Post by SuperEuroJimmy » 09 Jun 2014, 20:42

If this were Facebook, I would press 'Like' on Bonkers' post.

Bonkers
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Post by Bonkers » 09 Jun 2014, 21:15

Children have Disney & Nickelodeon to make their music...let me rephrase...Disney & Nickelodeon are everything to kids. (I refrain from adding cartoonetwork because that station, in its current format, does not churn out teen bands). And fads do not last long with kids.

Video games would be an acceptable format of media, but at the same time...you have to look at the difference between Rock Band & DDR. Rock Band has actual songs from actual artists who have released (on vinyl/CD) their music on an authentic label. DDR on the other hand, it's a toss up. Some tracks are, as I call them, real tracks, meaning somewhere, the song is available in a full-length version on a label to purchase (physical/mp3). And other songs are from Toshiba-side artists who develop music solely for the game. The problem with this...the general public does not take the time to sift out the real tracks from the game-specific tracks, and you get a population of minds who think ALL the tracks are just "video game music". You're left with the position of either being okay with this, or pissed because you've created a population of minds who think "Eurobeat" is a DDR-specific genre and boom, there goes your music sales out the window.


I'm just saying...make sure the audience you want to target is going to achieve your vision.

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otter87
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Post by otter87 » 09 Jun 2014, 21:57

I hate to sound like a downer and dismiss this plan, but I don't think Eurobeat has any chance of ever gaining any amount of success in the states more than what it already has. People do not want to hear music this cheesy. It's written off as childish, corny, and weird - which, in all honesty, it is. The only things remotely close to Eurobeat which have ever been "popular" here are bubblegum acts like Aqua or The Vebgaboys. And it's not like they exactly lasted. They were novelties and their songs were only ever used in commercials and school dances lol

para_rigby
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Post by para_rigby » 09 Jun 2014, 22:26

Bonkers wrote:
para_rigby wrote: I truly believe there are eurobeat songs that could work on mainstream radio in some form.
Why would you want to subject what underground gem this genre is to the mainstream?

You won't like what you get. Hypothetically, let's say Eurobeat becomes a blast here in the States with the current generation. All the chaotic/hyper factors of the genre will be picked out and thrown away since most American media is not "hyper-sound" based. The italo sounds/vocal layout, accent-grammar, etc. will be reformed for American ears. The genre itself will become nothing more than eurodance/trance because mainstream circuits do not split hairs; it's either house, trance, dubstep, pop, rock, metal, etc.

Eurobeat needs to stay in the underground away from mainstream American clubs/radios if you wish for it to remain it's Italo/Japanese influenced sound. If anything, DJs need to start collecting the tracks, playing them out live for crowds (raves), and you'd be amazed how big the genre would become. Eurobeat is dance music, it needs to be in a dance-specific environment that focuses on hyper, off-beat, loud, cheesy sounds, aka rave scene.

ParaPara is not something I can see catching on fully in the States (unless you want to isolate the genre even further and keep it among what small para circles are in the States and build on it from there...pretty much a USAvex).
So here is my problem with the whole "underground" logic. I highly doubt if eurobeat got radio play on mainstream, that it would somehow dilute itself because the genre has some pretty strict ideas of its own structure. Riffs, in particular.

The underground idea is specious reasoning. We like the genre for what it is, but hate the idea that it should ever change in some form. Take when SCP was starting to use trance sounds. People hated it, but it soon became popular in its own right (Pamsy, anyone?). How dare the genre try to stray and incorporate new structures or ideas into the genre itself. Bah. That's too mainstream! It's almost a hipster mentality we have for the genre.

We put the music on a pedestal and hold it to a high regard for good reason. However, if we want the genre to grow and, yes, become more profitable and popular, there is no reason why it cannot be introduced to the masses. Not all euro sounds would be popular with the public, true, but there are some sound worlds that could have some sort of reaching effect (disco, pop, or trance-infused eurobeat that still remains true in its core).

Interesting that I hear people complain, myself included, on this forum that some artists do the same sounds over and over again. We ask for it, in a way, yet we don't like it sometimes when they try something new. It seems rather confusing for our tastes.

Why does no one sit here and complain about the Brony music? I don't mind it myself, but that is reaching mainstream ideas and thoughts. Dear God, how is this different than anything else? Does this niche of eurobeat help promote the genre, itself? Why are people not complaining about that?

I always like listening to new sounds and ideas that the studios bring to the table. I enjoy the fact that the sounds of today are not the same ones from 20 years ago. We can't be so holier than thou about how the genre should spread if we want it to continue and grow.

Bonkers
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Post by Bonkers » 09 Jun 2014, 23:10

Gruzky wrote:I hate to sound like a downer and dismiss this plan, but I don't think Eurobeat has any chance of ever gaining any amount of success in the states more than what it already has. People do not want to hear music this cheesy. It's written off as childish, corny, and weird
....Happy Hardcore & the candy raver scene???

I beg to differ with your logic! Happy Hardcore is alive and well in the USA! Nothing can top the cheesiness of HHC! Tons of vocal cheese in this vid!

http://youtu.be/BDNIBFdvKr0?t=45m15s

para_rigby
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Post by para_rigby » 09 Jun 2014, 23:25

Bonkers wrote:
Gruzky wrote:I hate to sound like a downer and dismiss this plan, but I don't think Eurobeat has any chance of ever gaining any amount of success in the states more than what it already has. People do not want to hear music this cheesy. It's written off as childish, corny, and weird
....Happy Hardcore & the candy raver scene???

I beg to differ with your logic! Happy Hardcore is alive and well in the USA! Nothing can top the cheesiness of HHC! Tons of vocal cheese in this vid!

http://youtu.be/BDNIBFdvKr0?t=45m15s
To what extent?

Bonkers
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Post by Bonkers » 09 Jun 2014, 23:43

para_rigby wrote:
Bonkers wrote:
Gruzky wrote:I hate to sound like a downer and dismiss this plan, but I don't think Eurobeat has any chance of ever gaining any amount of success in the states more than what it already has. People do not want to hear music this cheesy. It's written off as childish, corny, and weird
....Happy Hardcore & the candy raver scene???

I beg to differ with your logic! Happy Hardcore is alive and well in the USA! Nothing can top the cheesiness of HHC! Tons of vocal cheese in this vid!

http://youtu.be/BDNIBFdvKr0?t=45m15s
To what extent?
Extent in what context? Popularity? Sales? Bookings?

para_rigby
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Post by para_rigby » 10 Jun 2014, 00:20

Bonkers wrote:
para_rigby wrote:
Bonkers wrote: ....Happy Hardcore & the candy raver scene???

I beg to differ with your logic! Happy Hardcore is alive and well in the USA! Nothing can top the cheesiness of HHC! Tons of vocal cheese in this vid!

http://youtu.be/BDNIBFdvKr0?t=45m15s
To what extent?
Extent in what context? Popularity? Sales? Bookings?
Yeah. I've always been curious as to those sort of things :D

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otter87
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Post by otter87 » 10 Jun 2014, 00:41

Bonkers wrote:
Gruzky wrote:I hate to sound like a downer and dismiss this plan, but I don't think Eurobeat has any chance of ever gaining any amount of success in the states more than what it already has. People do not want to hear music this cheesy. It's written off as childish, corny, and weird
....Happy Hardcore & the candy raver scene???

I beg to differ with your logic! Happy Hardcore is alive and well in the USA! Nothing can top the cheesiness of HHC! Tons of vocal cheese in this vid!

http://youtu.be/BDNIBFdvKr0?t=45m15s
Having a devout fanbase is not the same as being successful in the sense of branching out, which is what it seems the op is looking for. You're not going to get children's Eurobeat compilations being produced in the vain of Kidz Bop. You're not gonna have Ace Warrior's newest track being played on the speed channel or at racing events/car shows, and you sure as shit are not gonna start hearing Eurobeat being played on mainstream radio and consistently showing up on the Billboard charts lol.

When have you ever heard happy hardcore being played on the radio? Outside of maybe some college station or a small station in a big city like San Francisco or Chicago that has a decent-sized electronic music club scene.

And honestly, I would imagine Happy Hardcore is alot easier to swallow for a typical American than Eurobeat. Imagine some random guy hearing some HRG track with a Russian melody singing about cows? It's ridiculous. They would probably die from laughter and write off the entire genre as a joke right there and then.

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