Cover image: https://www.pixiv.net/artworks/96580324
Disclaimer: This article only expresses the personal views of Black201. If you have different opinions, feel free to communicate.
The initial definition in this article comes from a speech I made last year about doujin music, which was required for my course. During the preparation, I consulted opinions from doujin music enthusiasts and creators both domestically and internationally. After the speech, I also discovered some flaws and errors in my definition at that time (it was written on a whim while walking in the morning, so there were likely issues with logical coherence, etc.). I wrote this article, and if you have better suggestions or ways to express this, please feel free to correct me.
So, what is my definition of doujin music? It must meet the following criteria:
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The creation, publication, circulation, and sale of the work are entirely in the hands of the author, or even if not in the author's hands, it can be freely controlled according to the author's wishes at any time.
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The author considers their creation to be doujin music and also regards communication and sharing with like-minded individuals as one of the purposes of music creation.
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Activities are primarily conducted by groups or individual circles. Here, I will quote the definition of doujin circles from THB:
A "doujin circle" (Japanese: 同人サークル，English: Circle, also known as "doujin organization" or "doujin group") is formed when people with similar interests come together as a group to create doujin works. The composition of a doujin circle is relatively arbitrary and has no restrictions; there is no need for formal ceremonies to establish or dissolve it, nor is registration required. A cooperative group formed for doujin creation can be called a doujin circle. Moreover, a circle does not have to consist of multiple people; an individual can also establish a personal circle.
Inside the circle, members often collaborate and maintain relationships based on a shared interest or friendship. Members who play a coordinating and decision-making role within the circle are called "main organizers" (literally meaning the ones who host).
The works of doujin circles can be derivative works or original doujin works, primarily expressed in forms such as doujinshi, doujin music, doujin games, etc., but there are no limitations, and it can be any other form. Doujin circle works can be distributed online or sold physically (as decided by the circle), with physical sales mainly through doujin events or commissioned sales in doujin shops.
Members of the circle do not necessarily have to be geographically together; they can also collaborate through the internet.
Collaboration between circles on a single work is also common, and there are even cases where multiple circles jointly complete a work.
https://thwiki.cc/ 二次创作 #同人社团
- The main forms of work release are albums, mini-albums, and compilations, primarily sold at doujin events or commissioned doujin shops.
Artists who primarily release doujin music are called doujin music creators.
Here, let's take the well-known RoughSketch as an example.
RoughSketch is a doujin music creator, and I believe there should be no dispute about that.
Now, let's take his latest personal album as an example.
RoughSketch – Halloween Is Chaos
https://www.discogs.com/release/20879275-RoughSketch-Halloween-Is-Chaos
The main forms of work release are albums, mini-albums, and compilations, primarily sold at doujin events or commissioned doujin shops ✔
The creation, publication, circulation, and sale of the work are entirely in the hands of the author, or even if not in the author's hands, it can be freely controlled according to the author's wishes at any time.
Uh, that seems to be incorrect.
We can see that this album contains several tracks for BEMANI's rhythm games. As we all know, does 573 allow the creation, publication, circulation, and sale to be entirely in the hands of the author? Of course not, so these tracks cannot be on streaming platforms and can only be bonus tracks on the CD version.
Therefore, those tracks cannot be considered doujin music works. However, since the overall creation format still broadly follows the doujin music creation style, we still refer to this album as a doujin music work.
Of course, not all music game tracks are not doujin music.
For example, some music games only have the rights to use short versions of the music, and the producers did not interfere much during the author's creation. In this case, the extended version can also be considered doujin music.
Additionally, some music games are themselves doujin music games or grant creators a high degree of freedom, transferring all rights of the work to the music creators (I won't specify which games here). Therefore, the music from these rhythm games or the music game compilations they release also belong to doujin music.
As for what constitutes a doujin game, that's another topic, but you can modify your understanding based on the definitions above if you're really interested.
Look at this.
ステラのまほう (Stella's Magic)
Although there are various definitions, in actual communication among doujin music enthusiasts, the type of music mentioned above can also be referred to as music created by doujin music creators, and there is no specific distinction made in discussions.
(After all, isn't listening to music the same whether it's written for yourself or for others?)
So, why these four definitions? Or what role do these definitions play in our context, in the creative environment of doujin music?
In fact, all four points serve the same purpose:
Communication among like-minded individuals.
Having all rights to the work in the hands of the author means that the author can create freely according to their wishes, protecting the communication among like-minded individuals from deviating from the theme.
Conducting activities in the form of circles or personal circles, selling their works at doujin events, provides the space necessary for doujin music creators to engage in communication with like-minded individuals.
Releasing works in the form of albums not only serves as a means of communication among like-minded individuals but also allows doujin music creators to receive feedback on their creative work (simply put, Japanese people are willing to buy albums; most doujin music circles can maintain their operating costs by selling albums and receive feedback from fans through doujin events or online forums. This point can be seen in the second article I published about the Iron Shell).
With the above points clarified, we can answer some questions:
- Is TANOC still a doujin music circle?
In my view, and based on discussions with domestic doujin circles and enthusiasts, the answer is no.
Some people in the comments say we are deliberately smearing TANOC.
First of all, TANOC has already changed its definition from a Japanese doujin music circle to a Japanese original music group on its official website, so it's not our definition; they changed it themselves.
Secondly, I was once the head of the TANOC translation team, translating many videos and consistently translating daily pushes. I don't seem like someone who would hate them. Many evaluators of the Abstract Music Awards were once loyal fans of TANOC, having bought many TANOC albums and listened to TANOC music for many years.
However, their current operations are very detached from the core of doujin music creation, and the quality of their tracks is declining, which is why I left that group. I no longer have any love for this group; they have repeatedly breached my trust... I digress.
However, many of their members are still engaged in doujin music activities, so I now view their works as a collection of doujin music creators' works.
- Are music game composers necessarily doujin music creators?
After reading this, you will realize that they are not.
First of all, those who originally only participated in commercial music events and created tracks for rhythm games upon invitation do not participate in doujin music activities and cannot be considered doujin music creators.
Secondly, many who have emerged in the past two years, who do not care about doujin music and only want to gain fame through doujin music or music games, do not care about the so-called communication among like-minded individuals, nor do they have any so-called doujin music works, and thus cannot be considered doujin music creators.
- Why have I written so many articles recently?
Because according to the setting, once Momo resolves her inner conflicts, she will become an extremely talkative and troublesome woman, so now that this aligns with the setting, I will be posting more ramblings. However, there should be fewer articles on doujin music since there isn't much to say now. I will likely start making videos about J-Core culture and production, so those interested can look forward to it.
This definition is also my personal opinion, and I hope everyone can express their differing views.