Do you think Koshi & Tak should use social networks more?

[Lebon14]

Trying to bring a bit of discussions here...

I've had this question to ask for a while now... Do you think Tak & Koshi try to use more the social networks such as Tweeter and Facebook to communicate more with fans?  To communicate small news... you know give us timbits of what theu are doing in the studio...

What do you guys think?

I think B'z is one of the rare bands that doesn't use any of this...  Kind of sad actually.

[Arkard]

Well to be fair, the whole japanese music industry is a bit behind on these things. Also, you gotta remember that in Japan there are already social networking sites in use that aren't really known outside of Japan which has really slowed down Facebook to gain any popularity.

You're right about twitter though, it's already used by many people in Japan.. so it would definitely be nice to see more updates through that or some site.

Thankfully we offthelock.com now, I lived in the dark for years before! (well okay, there was Keen's site as well the board but you know

[yurihadou00]

I think so because there are soo many Japanese artists that are starting to use twitter not only to promote themselves, but to reach out to the fans that can't afford to be in the fan clubs and overseas fans (ex. Ayumi Hamasaki). But that's my take on it! ^^;

[Arthuro]

P.S I know that Tak has a personal Twitter but I mean social networks for their music carreer.

That is not Tak's twitter. That person was communicating with him via E-Mail and she tweeted about it.
I doubt Tak is using twitter or any other social networks.
1) They're too busy with their work
and
2) Tak is not good with Computers 

[Pierro]

They don't need social networks. They already are the band number one in Japan without Facebook or Twitter. (who needs that really? People who want to fight against their dictators like in Tunesia or Egypt, okay, but the others?)

They already have the best rythm for announces and releases and their official website is really good. Personnally, I don't want to know too much about them. They have their lives and I don't want to know exactly who is doing what when and where.

A life without any mystery is what I find sad. I know that many stars tweet what they're doing in the moment but I don't care if they eat that or this for lunch.

What they could do is to improve their site in English because it's like they wouldn't have one right now. (and Tobias wouldn't have so much work to do!)

Very simply also: release their albums officially in North America and in Europe, even if there are small releases like Take your pick.

And then perform outside Japan.

But for all that I don't think they need social networks.

[yurihadou00]

But the thing is... B'z HAS performed outside Japan! They did some shows in America, Hong Kong and Taiwan (if I'm not mistaken). They're starting to release their tours on Blu-ray as well as DVDs... So why not use Twitter and Facebook as a promotional tool?  That way, they'll learn that they have fans in other countries outside of Asia and America. (^_^)

[Arkard]

It's been interesting how they aren't that interested in success outside of Asia or Japan. A lot of newer (and a lot less popular) japanese bands tour Europe but it's mostly stuff that attracts the younger jrock fans, things like Miyavi, VK groups etc and I know B'z isn't very popular among people like that. I'd like to think of it as a more refined taste.. Or just generally something that's targeted for a more mature audience.

I know they've done some shows outside of Japan before, but those things have been rather small gigs and I've wondered if it's not something that B'z is really interested in doing on a larger scale. I mean, lots of travelling, lots of work but very small audiences compared to Japan etc. And unlike something like X Japan or Gackt there isn't already a (relatively) massive interest in bringing them to Europe or the US.

I would not be surprised to see Larry & Tak do a gig or two in the Europe and US in the near future though.

Btw: If you want something B'z related to follow, Shane Gaalaas has an open facebook account and some of the supporting members of Koshi's band & B'z have twitter accounts as seen on offthelock.com.

[Arthuro]

But the thing is... B'z HAS performed outside Japan! They did some shows in America, Hong Kong and Taiwan (if I'm not mistaken).

They did... but do you know when that was?
B'z LIVE-GYM in Taipei 2001 ／ LIVE-GYM in Hong Kong 2001
B'z LIVE-GYM 2002 "Rock n' California Roll"
B'z LIVE-GYM 2003 "BANZAI IN NORTH AMERICA"

Koshi says "We'll be back here again" in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvloNPrjwCI&feature=related
I hope he's right... so B'z will come to the US again. And I hope that someday B'z will also perform in Europe...
I mean... look at the video from the 2003 LIVE-GYM in the US. There are so many fans. I doubt the tickets didn't sell well.
I also remember Koshi saying he was surprised that so many people came. xD

I would not be surprised to see Larry & Tak do a gig or two in the Europe and US in the near future though.

I hope so... I talked to the guy at WBA Entertainment and asked if Larry & Tak would come to Europe... he said there have been no plans so far. I asked when they announced the TAKE YOUR PICK tour for Japan. However, he asked me where Tak's fans are located in Europe. So perhaps there's a chance for 2011... but Tak will be busy recording for B'z...

[Pierro]

Right, when I say they should perform outside Japan, of course I don't forget they already did, but I mean they should regularly perform outside Japan. What happened after 2003? We are waiting since then but there is nothing.

Once again, their official website in English is an empty page. That shows that they don't count on their international fans.

And if you really look at Matsumoto winning his Grammy, you can feel that he underestimates himself: "Guitar player from Japan" he says. Is that all? You are not just a little guitar player from Japan Tak! You are Tak Matsumoto, one of the greatest guitar players who have a Les Paul signature!

So, I think he and Inaba are too humble. Maybe they think they cannot succeed outside Japan. But we don't expect them to hit the first place everywhere in the world.

Also, it would be great if one day someone who was at there shows in the US in 2002 or 2003 could write here to tell us how it was. Sometimes, I have the impression that the audience was almost only Asian people, was there only Japanese? Living in America? Or Japanese who came from Japan just for the American shows? This impression could explain why they did not perform in America after that. Why yould they perform in the USA in front of Japanese? But I can be totally wrong (and I hope so), but when you take a look at the picture of their induction on the RockWalk Boulevard in 2007, the most people where... Asians, if not Japanese...

So, now, in 2011, after the Grammy Win, we should expect the next B'z album to be released worldwide!

Take your pick Tak and Koshi!

Now, we know they came first to Taiwan and Hong Kong in 2001 and a year later they went to America. Matsumoto and Carlton could came to America in 2011, as they went to Taiwan and Hong Kong in 2010... But that is just a theory.

There were rumors they could come at the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland) in July 2010. But why not in 2011? Carlton will tour in Europe in May (and already in Japan in April! With a Matsumoto appearance?) and has nothing yet in july.

http://www.larrycarlton.com/tour.html

http://www.montreuxjazz.com/2011/

(but at the end, for all that, I still don't see the interest of social networks...)

[Lebon14]

P.S I know that Tak has a personal Twitter but I mean social networks for their music carreer.

That is not Tak's twitter. That person was communicating with him via E-Mail and she tweeted about it.
I doubt Tak is using twitter or any other social networks.
1) They're too busy with their work
and
2) Tak is not good with Computers 

Oh OK, I thought that she tweeted him.  XD  So, I removed that P.S from the original post.  LOL @ 2)  I remembered reading stuff on Keen's website and found that haha... but nowadays... he cannot escape computers... so i think it might have changed.

I think that Facebook and Twitter are excellent promotional tools.  While I argue that using Facebook to communicate with people is... a time waster and stuff but I think that's one of the best promotional tool is THE best tool.  They are still getting #1 on first weeks but... many more artists are selling much more than B'z do and if they are unlucky and fall at the same time that Ayumi Hamasaki or any VERY popular singer or band (ex: Ayumi Hamasaki, Namie Amuro, Versailles, etc) and do no promotion at all... Sorry to say, even being a big B'z fan, I must confess that #1s will stop coming.  They don't come by themselves.

Some suggestion, imo, I think are good strategies :

- Go on TV and perform.  Somehow they stop doing that after SLS.  Similarly they can perform for free at the release date to promote.
- Use Facebook and tweeter and encourage their followers (which I think will be in 100k in no time at all)
- Go out and meet fans and give autograph sessions
- Release music on digital platform worldwide; not only Japan.

This look like "Huh, some of them might be costly or annoying!"  Yes, I know, but to make great promotion you need to use a combination of all that.

[outlaws0020]

Matsumoto has said in earlier interviews that he has learned how to use a computer now:)

I think that one of the reasons why B'z can stay so much on top is because of their low amount of promotion compared to other bands and singers. They don't perform on tv very much, they don't really use any social sites and they don't do all these public things that will get them into the news papers and magazines all the time.
Just take a look at those who gets way to much publicity in too short time. Their sales will fall. That's artist like Ayumi Hamasaki, Morning Musume  and probably many more, I just can't come up with some right now:)

[Pierro]

- Go on TV and perform.  Somehow they stop doing that after SLS.  Similarly they can perform for free at the release date to promote.
- Use Facebook and tweeter and encourage their followers (which I think will be in 100k in no time at all)
- Go out and meet fans and give autograph sessions
- Release music on digital platform worldwide; not only Japan.

We talk about B'z, the best selling band ever in Japan, not about a new little band. During many years they went on TV. I think they simply don't want anymore. Broadcastings like Music Station are stupid. They come, smile, say thank you, sing and sit.
Now they know people like Larry Carlton and Slash, I'm not sure they want to sit near the next new empty boys-band...

Matsumoto and Inaba meet fans sometimes from B'z Party but they don't go out like that. They are true stars, not any cheap idols posing with an advertising wall behind them.

They released some titles on i-Tunes America. I am still waiting for true CD releases...

A very good thing would be if they would be invited in some american or european rock festivals. That would be really great. Inaba said they like Summer Sonic because there are many international bands. Why wouldn't they perform in festivals outside Japan?

[Arthuro]

So, I think he and Inaba are too humble. Maybe they think they cannot succeed outside Japan. But we don't expect them to hit the first place everywhere in the world.

I wouldn't be too sure about it. I read the recent interview with Tak (from Be with!) and they talk about the impressions Tak got while in Taiwan & Hong Kong with Larry. Most of the fans who came to see Tak were B'z fans. Some even called him "Ma-chan"(that's what Japanese fans usually call him, it's his nickname). Larry was so surprised to see that so many fans were anxious to see Tak. Tak noticed this too and said "They really want B'z to come to Taiwan / Hong Kong again". I don't know if they can decide whether they will tour in Asia or not, but Tak's impressions in Taiwan and Hong Kong with Larry will definitely have an impact on their future decisions. They will probably go to Taiwan & Hong Kong again if there's time.

I wouldn't be too sure about them coming to Europe or the US... perhaps if they created an album specially for that market... with only English songs.

There were rumors they could come at the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland) in July 2010. But why not in 2011? Carlton will tour in Europe in May (and already in Japan in April! With a Matsumoto appearance?) and has nothing yet in july.

I'm sure Carlton would love to perform again with Tak. But the question is: Will Tak have the time? He's busy with recording right now, and I wonder if he'll be able to do other stuff later. They will perhaps do Showcase events in Japan...

A very good thing would be if they would be invited in some american or european rock festivals.

Rock am Ring, much? 
Dir en grey performed there 3 times... 2005, 2006 and 2009... Why not B'z? B'z is much better than Dir en grey.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mRfTJ6mu5g&feature=related
Just an example... If such crap bands can play there, then B'z will totally rock the place!

[Lum]

I think that Facebook and Twitter are excellent promotional tools.  While I argue that using Facebook to communicate with people is... a time waster and stuff but I think that's one of the best promotional tool is THE best tool.  They are still getting #1 on first weeks but... many more artists are selling much more than B'z do and if they are unlucky and fall at the same time that Ayumi Hamasaki or any VERY popular singer or band (ex: Ayumi Hamasaki, Namie Amuro, Versailles, etc) and do no promotion at all... Sorry to say, even being a big B'z fan, I must confess that #1s will stop coming.  They don't come by themselves.

Facebook isn't really popular in Japan, you know? Mixi is much more used. If I was in Japan I think I won't complain about the way they interact with fans, because there's B'z Party, and via Be with! they give a lots of information. The problem is if you're not in Japan...

And yes, B'z are selling less than in the '90s but they're still selling *a lot*. Plus, they sell most of the copies in the first or second week, and #1 are in first week only. Of course if they go against Arashi or AKB48 it'd hard to have a #1 but otherwise...
I remember this summer when Okay sold like 130.000 in its first week and the #2 sold like 60.000. And we know that B'z sell better. If you think that some of those groups or singer are on tv 4 or 5 times a week, it's a great result.

[Arkard]

Rock am Ring, much? 
Dir en grey performed there 3 times... 2005, 2006 and 2009... Why not B'z? B'z is much better than Dir en grey.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mRfTJ6mu5g&feature=related
Just an example... If such crap bands can play there, then B'z will totally rock the place!

The unfortunate fact though is that visual kei artists etc have a LOT bigger following in Europe than B'z does. I think B'z kinda goes in the same category as other classic Japanese bands like Mr. Children that are huuuge in Japan, but aren't really that listened to by generic jrock audiences in Europe and US. I just don't think there is enough interest in Europe to get them to play here. A lot of the bands that tour Europe also have a label contract here, like DeG I think had released one cd on a german label before touring as well as Abingdon Boys School which made a collection album specifically for european market. Gackt did a mini europe tour after years of waiting when he switched to the Japanese label AVEX that actually has done touring in Europe with their other signed artists.

I kinda agree with Pierro that they don't have to appear in music shows in Japan or try to tie every possible single release to some tv show, commercial etc. like a lot of Japanese bands do. I think it's pretty great that they can rely on their massive fanbase.