User blog:K4KING/How to Find Vocaloid Music that Suits you!

Lately, there has been a rise in Fans in the West thanks to the concert by Miku. Now, We have a LOT more fans coming from the west, and the rest of the world is following up.

What's surprising right now is, as the fans grow the number of stupidity also grows. As of late, thanks to Miku's Popularity, some fans have already made mistakes in stating who she is, has failed to tell what is her purpose and even compared her as the best Vocaloid ever. Fans also are MORE obscure as to WHO made the songs, rather than who sang it.

I've been going around sites and blogs, and most of them fail to credit the Producer who made the song, or the illustrator of the song. They just mention this was sung by Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin etc. It worries me that pretty soon, the majority of fans will start forgetting to do this. Those fans before the craze of 2011, already have immersed themselves by going to NicoNicoDouga out of their wits, spoke Japanese already know the pattern of crediting and finding the artist. Or following them and mentioning them.

I'm not saying the fandom is at the worst possible state, but the lesser majority fans right now are ignoramus and now a major pain in the head with their false claims. So, to correct them and to make things interesting, I'll show a guide on how to follow a song or find a song you want, along with the artists and Illustrators.

Top Artists
The most basic is to find the most popular and the most favorited Artist in the fandom. One of the top artists in Vocaloid today, are OSTER-project, Supercell, Doriko, DECO*27, wowaka etc. You can find their music on Youtube, On Blogs and especially on their accounts on NND. Be sure to remember their Producer names, or their account names. That also means you know who made the song, and you can keep track of their music.

Illustrators
If you are easily amused, then that means you take a look at the drawings and the presentation before even judging. Normally that's a bad thing, but here, it means that the Illustrators's Skill comes into play where it can either amplify the message of the song they are representing or intensify the feeling of the song. Illustrators like RedJuice, Lamaze-P, OSTER-project are great illustrators. Again, you can find their blogs, their NND account or their Pixiv and KarenT Profile.

Other sources
The top most used sources for Vocaloid Music are Youtube and NND. But there are other ways to find music you know. Sites like KarenT also has Vocaloid Music, and those in the site means they are one of the best earned. Another way to know more about what you seek, is to visit other fan-powered sites too. Lately, Mikubook is one the ways a westerner or anyone can find the music they need.

Join Fansites
This comes either first or last. Either way, joining a fansite like VocaloidOtaku.net is a great way to start. You can find other westerners becoming artists in their own right, even going through the lengths of just studying Japanese just to learn to use the program. Another site you can follow is Vocaloidism.com. They are a blog site that presents various news from the Japanese fandom and translate them to the western fandom.

Visit Blogs
This is rarely used by a normal amateur fan, but by all means, is one of the most effective. Producers always have a blogsite where they update what they are doing, Vocaloid related or not. Daniwell-P is one of those people who has a blog site, of course he makes a lot of Neko Miku songs(I personally LOVE cats)

Vocaloid Ratings
There's a Vocaloid Rating system being broadcasted in NND, and also translated by Vocaloidism. Who knows? You may find what song you like! They happen on a weekly basis, so visit Vocaloidism regularly or go to NND to find the chart video.

CDs
Like all music artists, they also have CDs. Unfortunately if you live outside of Japan, The Only CD you can buy is that of Supercell. You have to import other CDs to your country if you want them. One of the labels that reprints those CDs is Exit Tunes. They occassionaly have a compilation CD or a Vocaloid Central CD, like Vocalonation, The Complete Best of Lamaze-P, or Vocalonexus. Those are CD Compilations that have the most attention of fans either years before or just lately. Other CDs are Fanmade CDs that are sold in Comiket or Doujin-sites and areas around Japan. They are rarer, and also less known, but are valued highly because they took their time and money to get CDs Made, record it etc. Examples like these are Cinnamon Philosophy, [http://vocaloidotaku.net/index.php?/topic/19813-rinpact-guitar-x-rin-compilation-album/ Rinpact! Guitar x Rin Compilation Album], Digital Trax presents VOCALO★TRANCE BEST Trance remixes, Kagamination etc. These are but a small fraction of other CDs unknown to the rest of the world. The third kind of CD, is the CD compilation made by the artists themselves. Supercell, OSTER-project, Wowaka, Lamaze-P and Livetune made one years before. You can find them again online.

Just a tidbit, here are the Upcoming CDs in October(I will make a page about them soon, look forward to it!):
 * VocaloCluster, Release Date: 10/19
 * Digital Trax presents VOCALO★TRANCE BEST Trance Remixes Release Date: 10/5
 * EXIT TUNES Presents Kirameki Senshibankou Daiga En feat. Kamui Gakupo Release Date: 10/5
 * Exit Tunes Presents 164 feat. Gumi Release Date: 12/7

If you live outside Japan, preorder them either in Amazon or Playasia(This may not work for Exittune CDs), or preorder them from other animesites.

Visit Vocaloidwikia
Of course, visiting this site is already what you are doing yes? This site has a list of Producer Blogs, List of Popular songs you might love and like and also other new Vocaloid news that might entertain you! Although I ask that you refrain from joining the editing team or editing pages if you have no idea what you are saying or are going to do a lousy job at it.

Make one yourself!
OK, this is not really for you if you aren't musically inclined, but it's worth it, hey, you might get recognized for it!

That's about it folks. Follow these and soon you'll find the music you are looking for!