Arjuna TV is nearly the same as the long version of the song. And it is definitly worth to watch. Hell, they even showed it in the german TV ^^
But I think the second OST isn't as good as the first. (well, not much Maaya )
So why is everyone acting like this is perfectly fine and they'd readily share the file if they had it?
Because its impossible to get everything without? (If you aren't very rich that is)
I never buy CDs I havent heard. Now that I have heard, and liked it, I was finally able to get Loop and 30 minutes after long search for a price I could afford (thanks to the Euro-Dollar rate). Its all my first-quarter money for CDs/DVDs but... its Maaya.
I have the second Arjuna OST (Onna no minato) because I wanted 'Sanctuary' and 'Saigo no mameshiba'. Haven't got around to getting the first, I had 'Bike' and 'Mameshiba' anyway. But I missed out on the other world version of 'Kuuki to hoshi' which hurts.
[quote="misssakura"]I don't think the file sharing thing really applies to rares.[/quote]
Of course, there is always the problem of figuring out what is truly a rare and which isn't. And in the other hand, it is problematic to find out how much is enough to own while still justifying having almost all the songs. I have only a few Maaya CDs, most importantly because I can't afford getting more.
Anyways, as for the rares... here comes a list based on what I think could be rated rare, hard to get or not worth of getting only for the Maaya content for your average Maaya fan. Within the parentheses is what has been set as album name.
Solo:
- Aqua (Missing Blue)
- Ashita e no Tobira (Yui: Little Lovers 2nd)
- Call Your Name short version (Escaflowne Prologue OST 1: Earth)
- Cloud 9 (Wolf's Rain OST 2)
- Go For It! (Musical Mizuro Jidai)
- Primary Days (Primary Days)
- Sanctuary (Onna no Minato)
- Story (Mebius no Tokei OST)
- Taikutsu to Yuuutsu (Kita He White Illumination: Pure Songs and Pictures)
- Tell Me What The Rain Knows (Wolf's Rain OST 2)
- Teens (Devicereign OST)
- Wasurerarenai Mama (Mebius no Tokei OST)
- Yoake no Kaze Kikinagara (Omishi Mahou Gejikou: Risky Safery)
- Yubiwa acoustic version (Escaflowne Prologue OST 1: Earth)
Non-solo:
- Love Mania!, with all too many artists to actually recognize Maaya within the song (El Hazard: Alternative World OST)
- You're Not Alone, with Shanti Snyder (Escaflowne Movie OST)
And other audio recordings:
- Shounen Alice Unplugged radio
- Tanabota concert 1 and 2
I may have others as well, I only listed the ones I have in MP3 or OGG format as I could easily see the details of those files in Vista.
I'd actually would like to get APE/FLAC/WAV versions of these, or a very high quality MP3. All too many of these are something like 128 kbps MP3s...
Merri, I have the CDs with Cloud 9, Tell me what the rain knows, Sanctuary, Saigo no mameshiba, Yoake kaze kikinagara and You're not alone (in FLAC in my mp3 player), and Shounen Alice Unplugged in Mp3. The FLAC files are rather large.
The acoustic version of Yubiwa is the only version I dont have. Can I still consider myself a Maaya fan if I only have four versions of Yubiwa?
Just checked, I also have Yume iro no lollypop (from Risky safety?) and Dakishimete~click in my heart from Whoops. The difference between Maaya and Chieko Higuchi's voice is remarkable, Chieko has a ok voice but Maaya just has so much class.
A rare is a piece of merchandise that is not in wide circulation and does not benefit the artist financially but makes a good addition to a fan's collection, whether they pay for it or not.
For an artist to profit from a single or album they have to sell a designated amount before they see a penny. With Maaya I'd imagine this is in the thousands. For mainstream artists (e.g. Ayumi) you're talking about hundreds of thousands.
Of course these rules don't apply if there's no middle man or marketing. Maaya is signed to a label however.
Best way to look at it is support current albums and singles when they come out, because it's these numbers and statistics that benefit the artist most.
Oh, I left Whoops!! out by purpose. No reason in the world for anyone to find out more about it. I still wonder why I just don't hit Shirt + Delete on the files.
There is also Letter ~ Bring to Light that I left out as I can't recall how widely it is available. Probably not too well, but I just didn't feel like typing the songs ^__^;;
My eyes missed Yume Iro no Lolipop, it is from Kouya no Medalot:
Then rare status doesn't really apply to the songs in OSTs like Wolf's Rain, Esca and Arjuna. Its just a matter of are you dedicated (mad) enough to buy them and do you have the cash. I think her really obscure stuff like her game's tracks and lives are better placed in the rare category.
Hey, Whoops still could be useful. If we ever meet Maaya.....
Sorry just fantisizing. If we ever meet her we can play Whoops and probably embarass her.
The other thing is that shops who stock the rarer singles are catering towards the people who will do whatever it takes to complete their physical CD collection, and therefore they can justify importing the single because they can add a significant markup that goes towards the store, not the record label (and therefore maaya)
The reason they don't stock hundreds of these singles and albums is because most people faced with either "buy all her albums or don't listen at all" would probably choose the latter. I'm one of those people as I barely have enough money to keep myself afloat, yet I enjoy music. I just don't enjoy it enough to give up my dinner for a week or two.
The cost of importing via a shop versus importing as a 'lone agent' comes to about the same total - either way it's very expensive. An album is more justifiable because you're getting 14 tracks or so with the same artist. Still, not that many overseas people buy the album the second it comes out. That means that their sales a few months, a few years later don't affect the charts and don't bolster the reputation of the artist. So if you buy a CD you're doing it more for yourself than for Maaya.
Anyway for now the bulk of her sales are in Japan and as I said before, the opening week and month figures are far more important to an artist and the label than the slow trickle of revenue from occasional overseas purchases.
That's not saying people shouldn't purchase it - it's merely stating the obvious, that people who want to complete a physical CD collection will do so in their own time, and those who don't want to complete a physical CD collection would rather not listen than spend money they don't have.
[quote="Merri"]
There is also Letter ~ Bring to Light that I left out as I can't recall how widely it is available. Probably not too well, but I just didn't feel like typing the songs ^__^;;
[/quote]
It's really rare. It's out of print and was only sold at the performance venue, if I recall correctly; used copies pop up on Yahoo! Japan Auctions from time to time, but they're always above 10,000 yen (I've seen most of them finish above 30,000), which is a a lot of money for a single CD, even if it is Maaya (though I might save up and bid on one of them anyway, someday XD).
30,000 for a SINGLE is insane. Unless I win the lottery I wouldn't do it even for Maaya. Maybe if it was personally signed, with a kiss in red lipstick and Maaya's phone number on the liner....
So why is everyone acting like this is perfectly fine and they'd readily share the file if they had it?
Because its impossible to get everything without? (If you aren't very rich that is)
I never buy CDs I havent heard. Now that I have heard, and liked it, I was finally able to get Loop and 30 minutes after long search for a price I could afford (thanks to the Euro-Dollar rate). Its all my first-quarter money for CDs/DVDs but... its Maaya.
That wasn't the point. The point was, filesharing was shot down earlier, so it should be shot down here too, case closed.
However, if Merri himself is saying that things that are rare count as things we can share within this community, then that's his decision. I would just warn him, because once a forum goes positive on file-sharing, a lot (A LOT) of leechers show up. On the forum I admin, we have a secret forum for file sharing that is only viewable after you've posted in the community for a while (it's a combination of post count and other things), and we keep the forum a secret and don't mention it outside that forum because we don't want people coming to the forum just to leech and not contribute to the community. Believe me... it will happen.
)
