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Doujin Music Listening Guide V1.0.0

#同人音乐62
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This post is translated from Chinese into English through AI.View Original
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This document serves as a guide to accessing doujin (independent) music, particularly from Japan, addressing the challenges of finding and purchasing these works due to copyright issues and distribution limitations. It emphasizes the importance of supporting artists through official channels and provides various methods for acquiring both digital and physical albums. ### Key Points: 1. **Understanding Doujin Music**: - Doujin refers to independently published works by individuals or groups. - Doujin music includes original and derivative compositions. 2. **Purchasing Options**: - **Digital Albums**: Recommended platforms include Dizzylab (6% fee), BOOTH (3.6% fee), and Fanbox (subscription-based). Bandcamp is also available but has a higher fee (15%). - **Physical Albums**: Commonly sold at events, through BOOTH, Melonbooks, and other retailers. Shipping costs can be significant. 3. **Searching for Doujin Music**: - Use multiple search engines and databases (like VGMdb and Dojin Music) to find information about releases. - Consider second-hand sites for rare finds and utilize web archives for defunct pages. 4. **Community Resources**: - Join Discord servers and online communities dedicated to doujin music for sharing resources and information. This guide aims to help enthusiasts discover and support doujin music while navigating the complexities of its distribution.
  1. Preface

In light of the increasing questions about how to hear certain songs, I wrote this guide to doujin music.

The reasons why it is difficult to hear doujin works are varied. Japan's CD-centric distribution model limits the spread of doujin music overseas, various copyright issues faced in production and distribution, the limitations of digital media (as of August 1, 2019, artists are no longer allowed to release their works digitally without going through specific distributors. (Touhou Doujin Music Distribution)), and high commission rates (Booth's commission is 3.6%, while Bandcamp can be as high as 15%) also deter them. Alternatively, they may simply be unaware that there is a group of people overseas quietly following their works. After all, it is hard to imagine that in another country, random people would like your work when only a dozen people might buy your CD at an event.

Therefore, in order to let everyone hear the music they want to listen to, I hope this article can help.

Initially, I wrote a lot of introductory content, but later realized it wasn't really necessary, so I kept only a few practical parts. If you want to see more similar tutorials, feel free to let me know. I plan to create a Chinese site related to doujin music soon, so if you're interested, you can leave a message to let me know.

First of all, if possible, please try to listen from official legitimate channels.

This article will start with legitimate channels.

Please keep unofficial channels discreet.

This article will try to cover as many aspects as possible, from basic knowledge to acquisition methods. Of course, there will be some omissions, so please feel free to supplement.

0.1 Terminology Explanation

This section will explain various terms related to doujin that may appear later. Of course, it may not be entirely accurate, as some places specifically refer to doujin music.

Doujin: Works independently published by individuals or groups.

Circle: Similar to a record company, it is mainly composed of a group of like-minded composers. Circles can be as small as one member or as large as dozens of members. The average size seems to be 2-4 members.

Doujin Music: Independently published music works created by individuals or groups (which may include original music, derivative works, etc.). In most cases, the doujin music mentioned in this article will refer to doujin music from China and Japan.

Catalog Number: The catalog number/ID printed on the CD, or sometimes listed on the release site, may not always be present.

Example:

ACAL-0003

FKWSP-001

You may use this when searching for information.

  1. Purchasing Doujin Music Works

This section will try to cover the purchase of both physical and digital albums, as well as some niche methods that may not be introduced. Feel free to supplement.

For addresses on how to acquire the various purchasing methods mentioned below, you can check the Twitter/personal website of the doujin composer you are looking for, where there will usually be links pointing to Bandcamp/Tano*c store and other purchasing methods mentioned below.

1.1 Digital Albums

(1) Dizzylab

If you want to purchase doujin music works from China, Dizzylab is the first choice for buying digital albums. The website only charges 6% of sales for download traffic fees and supports various payment methods in China, as well as mobile apps. It is more convenient for Chinese users compared to the platforms introduced later.

Website: https://www.dizzylab.net/

(2) BOOTH

BOOTH also sells digital albums. Circles operate their own "stores" here. This is also a good platform because it only charges 3.6% of sales and allows artists to upload lossless audio. However! In some cases, you may not know whether they uploaded lossless or lossy music (I once bought a 128kbps mp3).

It accepts foreign credit cards and PayPal. It is recommended to register a Pixiv account first, as it is easier to use Booth than to register directly.

Website: https://booth.pm/

(3) Fanbox

Fanbox sometimes has albums and some unpublished demos from composers, even some production secrets and materials. It uses a monthly sponsorship system to determine the unlocked content based on the sponsorship tier. Before using it, you can check if your favorite composer has opened a Fanbox, or you can directly sync with Twitter, and the site will match you with creators who have opened Fanbox based on your Twitter follows.

It supports foreign credit cards, PayPal, and payments at Japanese convenience stores.

Website: https://www.fanbox.cc/

(4) Bandcamp

Bandcamp is also a very convenient platform. It supports lossless formats and allows separate purchases of singles and albums. More and more Japanese creators are starting to use Bandcamp, but Bandcamp charges 15% of sales, which is the highest commission among the platforms mentioned so far. Therefore, if you can purchase through other platforms, it is still recommended to buy on those platforms.

Website: https://bandcamp.com/

(5) iTunes, Google Play Music (now defunct), Apple Music, YouTube Music

Not recommended, as they not only do not support lossless quality but also have a commission as high as 50%. However, if there are no other ways to find the music you want to listen to, you can still give it a try.

(6) DLSite

There are indeed many doujin music works released on DLSite, but it is well known that DLSite is primarily for purchasing **** and ****.

Website: https://www.dlsite.com/index.html

(7) Major Streaming Platforms

Some platforms have indeed obtained copyright from creators, such as Spotify, Apple Music, etc., but whether some domestic streaming platforms have these copyrights is still unknown. You can only say that if you can listen to it, then listen.

1.2 Physical Albums

There are usually higher shipping costs. For specific forwarding and purchasing tutorials, you can search for related website tutorials on Bilibili, or it will be mentioned a bit later.

(1) Major Events

The vast majority of doujin music works are released at doujin events. Even the digital albums mentioned above are generally released simultaneously with the events. Events are usually tax-exempt and may have event bonuses and exclusive content. If you want to know whether your favorite circle/creator will participate in a certain event, the best way is to follow their Twitter for the latest news. You can privately message me for information on purchasing works from major events.

(2) BOOTH

BOOTH also sells physical albums, generally managed by the circles themselves on their store pages. There is also a feature called BOOST that allows you to give extra money to support their works. Products on Booth are usually shipped by the sellers themselves (not always), and some products require prepayment, so please check carefully. It accepts Visa cards and PayPal payments. Forwarding is required and can be done through official cooperation channels.

Domestic shipping usually starts at 370 yen. Orders can be processed and shipped on weekends.

Website: https://booth.pm/

(3) Melonbooks

The largest doujin works store (chain).

It has a reward points system (about 3% for CDs) that can be accumulated and accepts foreign credit cards. Forwarding is required (details on forwarding will be mentioned later).

Domestic shipping starts at 363 yen, and express shipping starts at 600 yen (including tax). The free shipping threshold varies, but doujin CDs should be after 5500 yen.

Pre-ordered items are shipped separately from in-stock items, even if ordered simultaneously. All pre-ordered items in the same order are shipped together. Please note that once the order is confirmed, you cannot modify it in any way. Forwarding can be done through official cooperation channels.

Website: https://www.melonbooks.co.jp/

(4) Tano*c store/diverse direct

These two are written together because they both have tutorials and forwarding guides for overseas users, and some steps are also common with the above.

Interested friends can check their official websites.

Website: https://diverse.direct/

Website: https://www.tanocstore.net/

(5) Second-hand Channels

Suruga-ya is the first choice for second-hand CDs, and you can try to find some obscure or older CDs here. Specific tutorials can be searched on Bilibili or look at the officially cooperating forwarding platforms.

Website: https://www.melonbooks.co.jp/

You can also check sites like Yahoo Auctions (https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/) and Mercari (https://www.mercari.com/), but I haven't used them specifically, so I won't introduce them.

(6) Xianyu

You can indeed find many second-hand CDs on Xianyu, and sometimes you can buy them at very low prices, but I think everyone should be aware of the specific issues with Xianyu.

(7) Various Purchasing Groups and Domestic Doujin CDs

If you want to know about purchasing matters, you can privately message me (I don't do this, but I know people who do).

To buy domestic doujin CDs, you can check the websites of various circles or privately message to inquire (of course, not asking me, but asking members of the relevant circles).

(8) Other Channels

You can check out this article https://meramifan.wordpress.com/guide/#sites-for-new-goods for more information. Some articles in this section are also referenced here. Note that the author of the article is American, so specific shipping details may differ from domestic ones.

If the circle you are interested in does not sell their works anywhere, I personally recommend that you directly inquire through Twitter DMs or email. If they have any CDs they want to sell, they will most likely sell them to you, but don't expect a good response.

  1. Searching for Doujin Music Works

This section mainly introduces various ways to find the doujin music you like.

2.1 Finding Release Information

(Circle, creator, title, tracklist, catalog number, release date, etc.)

2.1.1 Major Search Engines

Different search engines will yield different results. Some search engines filter specific websites, while others do not.

I recommend using at least two different search engines (Google, Bing, Yandex, Baidu, Yahoo, etc.) when trying to find information.

Pay attention to those special pages, which may contain Crossfade/xfd, and their descriptions may have the information you want.

2.1.2 Databases

There are specific database websites for different types of music. Most well-maintained databases can find most of the information you want, but if they lack maintenance, the information may be incomplete or inaccurate.

Dojin Music (https://www.dojin-music.info/)

Doujin music site

VGMdb (https://vgmdb.net/)

Soundtracks, anime OP/ED, commercial works, doujin works

THWIKI (https://thwiki.cc/)

Touhou-related works

vocadb (https://vocadb.net/)

Vocaloid-related works

Utaitedb (https://www.utaitedb.net/)

Singing-related works

discogs (https://www.discogs.com/) All types of music (though not very doujin)

2.1.3 Second-hand Sites

For rarer works, most databases may not contain any information, and release sites may also be inactive.

In this case, your best option is to search for information through the second-hand sites introduced above.

2.1.4 Wayback Machine

Special sites may become inactive a few months after an album's release. You can try using the Wayback Machine (https://archive.org/web/) to look for these inactive sites.

However, images or files on the sites may also be inactive, so you can look for information elsewhere after gathering enough information.

2.2 Finding Download Information

This chapter will introduce some sites and methods for finding doujin music.

Common Sites

2.2.1 Doujin Music - Discord Server

https://discord.gg/wP8TN5RE7r

An overseas doujin music exchange Discord server, which has a doujin music resource sharing section. The administrator, sharky, provided a lot of help while writing this article and welcomed others to join, so I put it first. You can check #helpful-info in the server for specific usage.

*How to use:

  1. Download Discord

  2. Register an account

  3. Click the link above to join the server

  4. Go to the download list

upload-sharing: Doujin (albums, EPs, LPs, singles, mixes, etc.)

ost-sharing: ost

misc-sharing: Miscellaneous

upload-request: If you don't see the album you want, you can post a request here, remember to follow the format.

  1. Use the search function to find the works you want.

2.2.2 Doujinstyle

https://doujinstyle.com/

According to sharky, this is just a mirror site of their server, where you can search by composer, album, circle, event, or genre (to be honest, genre is just a rough idea).

The site also has a compilation of all lossless Touhou doujin music.

2.2.3 Doujin Music - VK Community

https://vk.com/doujinmusic

This can be understood as a lossy version of doujinstyle, managed by Legalist, with no download limits. If the link is broken, just contact him.

Less Common Sites:

Doujin Music (ad-free/no registration required)

Note that 4chan will open the event board within a week after major events, where you can find what you want (probably).

Doujin Music (ad-supported)

Doujin Music (requires registration/ad-supported)

Domestic Sites (registration required/membership may also be needed)

  1. Afterword

Originally, this article was over 10,000 words long, but I deleted most chapters and kept only the most practical parts. If there are any aspects not mentioned, feel free to contact me to add them.

I will be satisfied if everyone can hear the works they want through this article.

(This time, the Spring M3 organization won't be so quick; it may take until May Day.)

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