I totally agree with Nathan Reavan's May 28, 2014 post. I JUST learned about Nocturnal Bloodlust yesterday after looking for something else. I never even heard of kei music. I was looking for quality Japanese metal, which has been a pursuit of mine for over a year now. I cannot even say I am so impressed by the costumes (well, some of them) but the music is great. And it totally makes sense that if you invest all that time and energy in it then you should be compensated, especially if you have a network that supports you and fans by trying to make it reasonable to purchase. I did not know that Japanese fans had the sort of ethos that compelled them to purchase a CD in that manner; being from the US I understand that a lot of piracy is the norm here, but, from another perspective, I absolutely support that standard for fans no matter what. and why shouldn't they be able to travel and get paid for it? It's weird, because as excited as I am right now to listen to their music, I do support their standards and I just literally have not been able to purchase anything--offline or online--for a while. But I want to. I also think that strategically it might make sense to try to connect outside of the music industry with others who are dealing with piracy and its implications. These are PROFOUND implications. In another milieu, I totally get pirated all the time and it's NOT okay with me in any way. EVER!
I don;'t respect pirates in that manner. But I also don't respect social conditions that support pirates in accessing materials to use to make money while people of integrity who produce quality music and other things of value get pirated so they lose their passion. I look forward to seeing Nocturnal Bloodlust live. I cannot say if I will enjoy their costumes that night or not yet...
