#concert booking agency

[yourtemponashville]

Tips for Taking Care of Your Instruments While on the Road

Summer travel season is upon us, which means making to-do lists and packing suitcases in anticipation of a weekend getaway or a more extended vacation. We carefully fold clothing and ensure that all toiletries are closed and secure. These might be typical tasks for the basic traveler, but a concert booking agency knows that summer means something entirely different for touring musicians and bands.

After a rather long pandemic-related hiatus, music touring around the United States and internationally is in full swing. It is important to remember that touring is work and not a vacation. Traveling from one location and venue to the next is hard on musicians and their instruments, especially in different climates and environments. Tour management can convey to musicians and bands some best practices for caring for instruments while on tour. Music business software solutions allow for combining innovations in touring logistics and practical instrument care advice to launch successfully managed events.  

Down the Street and Around the World 

Whether a gig is in your neighborhood or a continent away does not matter. All musical instruments require expert care, so they always function at peak performance.  

Making a Case for Cases 

It is important to invest in a proper case. A sturdy, hardshell case is essential for protecting your instruments while traveling. Have you ever seen airline employees handling your luggage? Now imagine them handling the most expensive investment in your craft. Various kinds of cases are available, but hard-sided cases can withstand the bumps, jostling, and drops that can occur when moving them from place to place. 

Make sure cases are also well-padded inside as an added layer of protection during transport. Look for cases specifically designed for your type of instrument and consider investing in cases with TSA-approved locks. And for additional security, ensure that all cases have identification tags with contact details in situations of loss or damage. 

The Art of Proper Packing 

It is fair to say we all know that one person can pack everything they need in a suitcase with room to spare or fit everything into a car like a jigsaw puzzle. These same skills should be applied to packing musical instruments. When packing instruments for traveling one day or an extended tour, make sure they are secured inside the case. Remove any detachable parts or accessories that might prevent a tight fit and wrap them separately in bubble wrap or cloth. It is also important not to overpack cases as this may place undue stress on the instruments leading to damage.      

It is Not Always a Dry Heat 

Fluctuations in temperature and humidity can damage instruments, especially when changes are extreme. Your tour management should conduct a little research on the average climate and weather of the locations on your tour. Instruments must avoid extreme temperature and humidity conditions to maintain their musical integrity. Avoid direct sunlight and contact with water. Storing and traveling with instruments in a climate-controlled environment is preferable whenever possible.   

Now It is a Dry Heat 

When addressing the high temperatures in states like Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada, we often hear climate observations about it being "a dry heat." Well, dry heat is still heat and can wreak havoc on musical instruments. Just like extreme humidity can cause damage, no moisture can also cause problems. Consider using a humidifier to keep instruments from drying out. This is an especially critical best practice for wood instruments like guitars, upright basses, and violins.  

Squeaky Clean and Damage-Free 

Regularly cleaning your instrument can help prevent damage and prolong its lifespan. During a summer tour, cleaning should be a regular part of your instrument maintenance to avoid problems before they occur and correct any damage that may be found. Use lint-free cloths to wipe down instruments before and after each use, and always avoid using any harsh chemicals or abrasive materials. 

While cleaning your instruments, check for signs of any damage that may have occurred during transport. Look for cracks, scratches, warping, loose strings, and broken drumheads. Address issues immediately to avoid further damage and to prevent problems from interfering with the quality of the live performance.

Your Voice is an Instrument Too 

While most of us think about safely transporting instruments like guitars, basses, violins, drums, and pianos, it is crucial to include an instrument that sometimes may be ignored- your singing voice. It can be delicate and fragile, thus requiring some extra care to keep it ready for every note. It is important to stay hydrated by drinking a lot of water and avoiding caffeine which can cause dehydration. Other bad habits affecting vocal quality should be avoided, like smoking and drinking alcohol. Warm up your voice before a performance, just like you would stretch your muscles before exercising. Try to avoid misusing your voice by excessive talking or yelling. Finally, it is essential to rest your body from head to toe, which will, in turn, protect your voice.    

Fine-Tuning Instrument Care 

Your artist booking agency or concert booking agency can assist musicians and bands with practical information to keep instruments sounding fantastic and a long-awaited summer tour to proceed smoothly. Instrument care requires a little extra effort, but it is well worth it to protect your investment and ensure high-quality performance.

For More Information visit us: Tips for Taking Care of Your Instruments While on the Road

[peachsukii]

₊✩‧₊ ⇢ midoriya never thought he'd have a pop star for a girlfriend.

『 ♡ 』 midoriya x pop star fem!reader (18+ under the cut!) -`✧ izuku midoriya masterlist

✩ out of high school, you were scouted by a local talent agency on a whim. you'd desperately sent your demo tape to thousands of places, both in and outside of japan. you'd almost given up hope until your current agency called you one week after graduation.

✩ izuku was ecstatic for your chance to be a star. you sang every single song for him - he was your best friend and you trusted him with your life. he adored your voice and encouraged you to break out of your shell. you never told him which ones were about him, harboring your secret crush like a sacred treasure.

✩ two years of hard work and you signed your first record deal! going into the studio for hours at a time, constantly surrounded by various musicians, producers and directors. your first album was wrapped and ready for release in no time at all.

✩ izuku was the first one to buy your album and asked you to sign it for him. he bought two - one to save and one to play. he knew you were going to be popular and wanted to get ahead on his upcoming collection. he promised you, way back when, that he’d always be the first person to get your albums or merchandise.

✩ you would drag izuku to the mall and fashion district to shop alongside you, asking his opinion on every outfit you planned for shows you'd be performing. he'd mentally keep note of what he loved seeing you in...maybe it was a little selfish on his part, but you looked stunning regardless. dresses, mini skirts, crop tops, bodysuits - the works.

✩ your first concert was at a small venue booked by your manager - it held no more than 250 people but still sold out! it was a club with neon lighting, usually not your scene, but a gig is a gig. izuku was one of the VIPs, standing front row the entire night. you couldn't help but keep smiling at him as he took countless photos of your show as you danced and sang the night away. during your encore, you kneeled down and sang to him, leaving him with a kiss on the cheek.

✩ high on the adrenaline of your first show's success, you invited izuku to join you backstage in the dressing rooms to wind down...at least, that's what you told him.

✩ izuku heard the lock click on the door after you shut it, secluding the two of you from the world. he was confused until you sauntered over to him, straddling his lap on the obnoxious neon pink couch.

✩ his hands roam your body and settle on your ass as your tongue invaded his mouth, handfuls of his curls in your grasp. "you really think i never noticed, zu?" you mumble between kisses, each one more intense than the last. "the way you look at me?"

✩ the grin that crosses his lips is devilish. the confidence he's exuding in the moment makes your stomach cartwheel. "can’t help it, i’m your number one fan," he moans into your mouth, grabbing your hips and pulling you flush against him.

✩ clothes are discarded as the two of you tornado through the room, moving from the couch to the wall, to the stylist chair and back to the couch. you can’t get enough of each other - lips bruised from the excessive make out session.

✩ the black lace bra and underwear set that adorned your body drove izuku absolutely insane, pinning you underneath him on the couch as he nipped at your collarbone. you couldn’t help but whine when his clothed erection met your soaked panties.

✩ your hands slide to the hem of his boxers, hooking your fingers in the band and yanking them down his thighs, cock springing out and bouncing off your stomach. he reciprocates by sliding your panties down, shuffling your legs over his shoulders. they stay hooked around one of your ankles.

✩ izuku slips a hand between your bodies, relishing in the skin on skin contact. he brushes over your clit and slides a finger directly into your drenched cunt, a gasp falling from his lips as your slick coated his finger instantly.

✩ you’re biting your lip, trying to keep quiet as he fucks you into the couch, panting into the crook of your neck. his name echoes throughout the dressing room, breathless and growing higher in pitch as the thread in your core snaps. your nails are dragging down his back as your release coats his shaft with every thrust. he follows you soon after, pulling out and painting your stomach white.

✩ in the afterglow, izuku kisses you like you’re the only person in the world. once you part, you can’t help but jokingly say, “my number one fan, huh?” he smiles, a blush spreading across his cheeks. “always.”

⋆ ˚ʚɞ — something about midoriya with a pop star girlfriend is so cute to me! he really would be your number one fan, flabbergasted after every show that he gets to go home with you. ✨ i know this may seem a little ooc for izuku, but i honestly think a 20 something version of him wouldn’t be as shy and nervous around someone he’s loved for years. so when you make the first move, he’s all about it!

[youngsadlesbian]

BRAZILIAN CHAOTIC — wanda maximoff.

pairing: wanda maximoff x reader

summary: wanda watches a video that shows a chaotic and different side of you.

a/n: this is so silly, but i loved writing it. i hope you like it.

word count: 1,5k

warnings: none, just fluff.

You always dreamed of making it big in the fashion world, and when your agency offered you the chance to work abroad, you knew it was the opportunity of a lifetime. Leaving Brazil was bittersweet, but you were excited about the possibilities that lay ahead. Little did you know that this journey would lead you to Wanda Maximoff.

It was on a rainy night in New York City when you first met Wanda. You had just finished a photo shoot and decided to relax in a cozy little café you had discovered. Wanda, sitting there with a cup of coffee and a book, caught your eye. There was something magnetic about her, and before you knew it, you were sitting across from her, lost in conversation.

Weeks turned into months, and your connection with Wanda deepened. You admired her strength and intelligence, and she was captivated by your vibrant personality and adventurous spirit. Eventually, you went on a first date. And a second. And a third. Soon, you were in a relationship and life felt like a beautiful whirlwind.

One night, while you were preparing dinner in your shared apartment, Wanda was in the living room, watching an interview you had recently given. Your charisma shone on the screen, and she couldn't help but smile proudly. When the interview ended, the next video recommended by the algorithm caught her attention: "Y/N being a chaotic Brazilian for 10 minutes straight."

Curiosity piqued, she clicked on the video. In the introduction, important warnings were mentioned; the content had been taken from some social media platforms you assumed to have lost access to some time ago or posted by your Brazilian friends. The information that relieved Wanda was that there would be English subtitles, which she greatly appreciated as she didn’t understand much Portuguese.

The video began with a very different setting. You were outside a house, surrounded by friends Wanda recognized from your previous mentions. You wore your usual casual outfit: short shorts and an oversized shirt.

Besides the music, what surprised her was a detail: you were doing a "quadradinho" dance move in a very different position than she was used to seeing, all while balancing a beer can on your head.

"Pedro Sampaio, go!" one of your friends joined you, mimicking your movements. And gosh, the way your butt moved was mesmerizing.

The abrupt cut in the video made Wanda realize it was nothing short of surprising. You were always lively, constantly showing this personality in her presence, but there was a difference in seeing you so carefree.

The next video started blurry until your face came into focus. You were in a stadium, probably watching a concert. Your face was streaked with tears as you sang along to a song.

The subtitles explained that the song belonged to a singer named Jão.

The laughter of the person filming made you look at the camera, and Wanda found herself laughing too. You were very emotional, and it was very cute.

"Eu bato o meu carro, aprendo a roubar. Eu arranjo briga, bebo em algum bar. Beijo qualquer boca, eu traço algum plano só pra não lembrar..." The pause didn't prepare her for how you screamed the rest of the lyrics. "Que ainda te amo."

Your friend laughed again and zoomed in on your tear-streaked face.

"Are you okay, friend?" You shook your head, no. "Why?"

"Because this man seems to have based his songs on my life. He is too perfect to be real, Fê."

The video cut off with a shrill scream from you. Wanda was startled and burst into laughter.

Then another video started. It had the same aesthetic as the one where you danced with a friend, but this time she recognized the outfit and setting as a birthday party you had shown her pictures of.

The subtitles explained that you and two of your friends were dancing to a song called 'Desliza e Joga,' and dance you did. Wanda had never seen a butt move as fast as yours.

Then you sat on the ground. Your leg made such an unexpected move that Wanda's mouth fell open.

Your friends cheered, and you kept dancing like there was no tomorrow.

The next video was a bit different from the previous ones. You were sitting on a sidewalk, and Wanda could guess you were completely drunk. She recognized the street; it was just a few blocks from the bar where you used to meet while getting to know each other.

"Y/N, snap out of it!" Your best friend's voice surprised Wanda, and then she remembered that she had been in New York shortly before you and Wanda started dating. "She’s going to call you."

You shook your head and buried your face in your hands.

"She won’t. I was terrible on our first date, and she probably hated me and..." You stopped when your phone vibrated and smiled when you saw who had messaged you. "She said she’s been busy and wants to see me again!"

Oh, you were talking about her. Wanda had indeed disappeared for a few days after your first date because she was on a last-minute mission and didn’t have time to let you know. She showed up days later saying exactly that. She found it cute to have a record of you talking about that day and it broke her heart to see you thinking she hadn’t liked you.

Wanda had adored you from the first moment.

Another video started with you and a group of friends at a loud, crowded party. The camera panned to you doing a playful dance with a drink in hand. The subtitles caught a snippet of the conversation.

"Y/N, you're going to spill your drink!" one of your friends laughed.

"I'll just get another one!" you shouted back, grinning widely. Wanda chuckled, seeing how carefree and happy you were.

The next video showed you attempting a popular TikTok dance in your apartment, dressed in a very sexy outfit. The subtitles captured your playful commentary.

"Okay, I have no idea if I'm doing this right," you said, laughing at yourself. But as the music played, you nailed the moves with surprising skill. Wanda watched, captivated by your confidence and energy.

Another video began with you at a different party, clearly tipsy, dancing on a table with a group of friends cheering you on. The subtitles highlighted a funny exchange.

"Y/N, get down from there before you fall!" a friend shouted.

"Never! I'm invincible!" you declared, nearly losing your balance but catching yourself just in time. Wanda laughed out loud, feeling a mix of amusement and affection.

The final video was in a club, you and your friends dancing wildly to the beat. The camera focused on you as you pulled a friend into a dance-off.

"Let's see what you've got!" you challenged, and the friend responded with some impressive moves. You laughed and clapped, then launched into your own routine, which ended with you both collapsing into giggles. Wanda smiled, seeing how much joy you brought to those around you.

As the video continued, a message appeared on the screen: " Plus: some moments where Y/N is completely in love with Wanda Maximoff."

The next clip showed you at a friend's gathering, visibly tipsy and talking about Wanda. The subtitles captured your words.

"She's just so amazing, you know?" you slurred. "Smart, strong, and those eyes... I could get lost in them forever."

Your friends teased you, "You're so in love, Y/N."

"And proud of it!" you replied with a goofy grin.

The following video was you in bed, cuddling a pillow and speaking softly to the camera, clearly in a lovey-dovey mood.

"I miss Wanda so much. She's been on a mission for days, and it feels like forever. I can't wait to hold her again."

The subtitles explained your situation, and Wanda felt a warmth in her chest, knowing how much you missed her.

Another clip showed you at another party, talking to a friend with a drink in hand.

"Have you ever met someone who just makes everything better?" you asked, swaying slightly. "That's Wanda for me. She's... everything."

The friend laughed. "You're totally whipped, Y/N."

"And I love it," you responded with a dreamy smile.

The final video showed you lying on a couch, looking at your phone and giggling.

"Look at this text from Wanda," you said, showing the screen to the camera. "She's so cute. I can't believe she's mine."

The subtitles translated your words, and Wanda felt a blush creeping up her cheeks.

As the video ended, you walked into the room, noticing Wanda engrossed in the screen. She looked up, a mixture of amusement and affection on her face.

"Enjoying the show?" you asked, smiling.

Wanda nodded, her eyes sparkling. "I had no idea you were such a chaotic whirlwind. It's... endearing."

You chuckled, sitting beside her. "There's a lot you don't know about me yet."

"And I'm excited to discover every bit of it," Wanda said softly, taking your hand. "But I have to say, seeing how much you care about me... it means the world."

You leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. "I do care about you, Wanda. More than anything."

She smiled, resting her forehead against yours. "I love you, Y/N."

"I love you too, Wanda," you replied, feeling your heart swell with happiness.

[prompt-heaven]

100 different locations

abandoned house

airport

alleyway

amusment park

antique store

apartment

aquarium

art gallery

art studio

auto repair shop

bakery

ballroom

bar

bathroom

beach

bedroom

book store

bridge

bus

by a bonfire

cabin

cafe

car

casino

castle

cave

city

closet

club

coffee shop

concert

courthouse

crime scene

dentist

diner

dressing room

elevator

farm

festival

field

fire escape

fire station

flower shop

foreign country

forest

funeral

garden

gas station

graveyard

greenhouse

grocery store

harbor

haunted house

hedge maze

hospital

hotel

ice cream shop

island

kitchen

lab

lake

library

mall

market

mine

mountain

museum

music store

ocean

office

orchard

park

parking lot

photoshoot

pier

place of worship

plane

playground

police station

pool

resturant

river

road

rooftop

school

sex shop

ship

small town

spa

sports game

spy agency head quarters

tattoo parlour

tent

thrift store

train

treehouse

university

vet clinic

waterfall

wedding

[yokohamapound]

howdy! can we get some hcs for ranpo, chuuya, and akutagawa missing (or forgetting) their s/o’s birthday?

FungusWitch: Hello! My best bish, UnluckyAmulet, has once again graced us with a guest post of delicious headcanons, so I hope you enjoy!

Please check out her AO3! She also writes for Bleach, BNHA, Durarara, Dangan Ronpa, and JJK, among others!

Characters: Edogawa Ranpo, Nakahara Chuuya, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke

Contains: NSFW, birthday sex, bondage

Edogawa Ranpo

Of the three, Ranpo is far and away the smartest, in both intellect and emotional intelligence. It's very unlikely you can hide how you feel about him missing your birthday from him - even if you haven't been dating Ranpo for long, if you're his s/o, he knows you. He can read your mood like a 3-D pop-up book. It's disconcerting but also oddly comforting.

It is very unlikely he forgot your birthday - it's more probably that he was doing a job for the Armed Detective Agency and got so wrapped up in it that he temporarily set aside everything else until it was finished. When Ranpo is chasing an interesting case it's nigh on impossible to get him to focus on anything else.

Once his hyperfixation ends, though, he does feel a little guilty. You ARE the s/o to the World's Greatest Detective, after all, so logically that means you ought to be celebrated! He gets right to it, roping in poor hapless Atsushi and other members of the Agency into decorating the office for your birthday. Of course he knows what gift you want (and probably makes Atsushi, Kunikida or someone go out and actually buy it. What? He'd get lost if he had to take the train to the mall!) He still takes credit when you praise him for being so thoughtful.

Ranpo tends to be a little lazy and spoiled, but for you, on your special day, he very nobly puts that aside to spoil you for a change. You wanna go do something fun like visit an amusement park or go to a concert? Great! He'll have Fukuzawa pay for tickets! You want to do something more lowkey, maybe chilling at home cuddling and watching movies with him? Awesome, he'll get popcorn! You wanna go out partying and getting shitfaced? Well…he's not much of a drinker, but he'll still come with to dance with you and hold your hair back when you puke. (He'll make Fukuzawa come pick your drunk ass up.)

And don't forget a long, long night of some truly incredible oral - Ranpo's best asset in the bedroom is that tongue of his, so he's going to go to town on you~

Remember to lavish him with praise over what a great boyfriend he is. He needs the validation, okay?

Nakahara Chuuya

With Chuuya he was probably doing a mission for Mori and simply didn't have time to be there or he did forget. His way of making it up to you is simple - gifts. Chuuya is very wealthy thanks to being a high-ranking Port Mafia agent, so whatever you want is yours. That new Prada bag? Done. You want a spa day with all the works? Already booked. Fanciest resturaunt in town? He can just waltz in and get a table whenever he wants.

This may sound all fine and great, but Chuuya may not immediately notice how you're feeling about him missing your birthday - he'll apologise but in a "Oops, sorry, babe!" kind of way and you'll have to be upfront with him if you're actually upset. Chuuya does have a bit of a bad habit of buying your affection when he's too busy to spend time with you, because he's used to people depending on him and being seen as a provider. If you like gift-giving as a love language then you might not consider this an issue, but he does somewhat use his money to assuage feeling guilty and avoid discussing it because he doesn't like seeing you upset.

Also, Chuuya has no memories of before he was seven years old and I doubt very much he got to celebrate his birthdays much when he was running around Suribachi with the Sheep. Sure, he can afford to go ham for his birthday now, and his subordinates gives him gifts (Koyo always buys him wine), but he might not quite grasp the emotional significance of birthdays. Sit him down and explain to him that you appreciate the gifts, but you want him, YOUR BOYFRIEND to be with you, not a credit card.

To make it up to you, Chuuya will give you a birthday fuck that goes on all night. If you have a position or kink you haven't got around to requesting from Chuuya, now's the time, because he intends to make you feel so good you can barely walk the next day.

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke

I'm gonna be honest, Akutagawa is not particularly understanding or sympathetic. At least, not right away.

He grew up in the slums with his kid sister, surviving off scraps and learning to fight from a very young age. Akutagawa likely had no concept of what a 'birthday' even was except just being another year he's managed to survive in the hellhole he was born into. Even now he's an adult and can afford to do whatever he wants to celebrate if he so chooses, he's not a very birthday person. He always buys a gift for Gin and will get something for his superiors as a token of respect (because it's expected of him), and he'll begrudgingly tell Higuchi "happy birthday", but overall he doesn't consider them that important. He does appreciate being given gifts, but doesn't think of them as a necessity.

So if you get upset or angry with him, he's liable to bite back at first. Akutagawa has trouble apologising because he was never apologised to when he was treated poorly, so he's generally not good at owning up to his mistakes. Like Chuuya, you need to explain to him that even if he doesn't place much importance on birthdays, you do and it hurts you that he doesn't seem to care.

That will get to him. For as grumpy and quick to violence as he is, he does care about his s/o greatly and he doesn't want to lose you. He doesn't even know why you love him in the first place, but he isn't willing to throw your whole relationship away over something trivial like this. So, he'll treat you to whatever you want. He's got the money to really spoil you and he doesn't take much time off, so he'll be able to free up his schedule. (Gin will also remind him next time or help him set up a reminder on his phone so he doesn't miss it in future.)

Try not to force him to come clubbing or some other loud, crowded activity. He won't refuse because he feels bad, but he'll ruin the mood by brooding in the corner like a wilting plant and he gets overstimulated and grouchy quite quickly. But he doesn't mind treating you to a posh meal or going on a holiday or something like that.

I hope you don't mind being tied up, because once somebody explains to Akutagawa the concept of birthday sex, he will go find you immediately and use Rashomon to hold you still for hours while he works you over - that's one birthday tradition he doesn't consider frivolous~

[aihoshiino]

Da Vinci Magazine Jan. 2024: A Q&A with Ai of B-Komachi!

In the January 2024 issue of Da Vinci magazine, there was an in-character interview with Ai as written by Aka Akasaka that you can read a translation of here! What I forgot to mention on that initial post is that there was also a little lightning round Q&A the original anon didn't translate at the time. Thankfully, they did post it and I just... completely forgot it existed until now. ;9 Shout out to past me who remembered to save it and kept me from having to dig thru the 4chan archives for it...

Unlike the original interview, this is my translation! So any goofs and gaffes are entirely on me lol. This is also totally spoiler safe, so you can read both this Q&A and the original interview no matter what point you are in the series.

Get to Know Ai Better! Q&A Session

Q. What motto do you live by?

A. I really like "Tomorrow is a new day." I'm one of those people who forgets all their worries after a good nights' sleep. (laughs)

Q. Tell us how you refresh yourself!

A. I like taking naps on my days off. I was saying earlier that I forget my worries once I've gotten some sleep but with this job, it can be hard to find the time to actually do it. Not just that, but lately I've been waking up in the night to take care of this and that, so when I do have the time to sleep, I really conk out.

Q. What is your routine on days off?

A. I wake up, prep some milk… oh, um - I like cornflakes so I always need milk for breakfast. Then I go for a nap (laughs). I know some of the other B-Komachi members like going to beauty salons or nail salons, but I don't do nails and I let my hair grow out so I'm usually just at home (laughs). I even cut my own bangs! I've been doing it for years so I'm pretty good at it. I've even cut other peoples' hair once or twice, though not anyone in B-Komachi.

Q. Your 20th birthday's coming up soon. What are you looking forward to doing once it arrives?

A. I want to try drinking alcohol. The president of my agency keeps saying, "I can't wait to have a drink with you!" He makes it sound like a lot of fun, so I'm curious to know what getting tipsy's like.

Q. What book left the biggest impression on you this year?

A. It's a manga, but I was moved to tears by "I'll Go With Sweet Today". The heroine is a girl who distrusts people and develops anorexia, becoming terrified of eating… I have a bit of that in me too, though not quite to the same extent she does, so I could really relate to her and her journey to recovery really moved me. If there's ever a live-action version, I'd love to play her!

Q: What would you like to do after the Dome concert?

A: I'd like to go on a trip or something. Where would be nice... Oh, I've heard of 'Mito Natto' before, so maybe Mito!

Q: What's something a fan said that made you happy?

A. You know, I didn't used to read any fan letters at all. But there was a time I was getting tired of being an idol and I was planning to quit, so the president made me sit down and read all the letters I'd gotten. That was the first time I'd ever realized just how much support I was getting and it made me go "in that case, I'll give them all my love and support in return!". I even wrote a song about it. So now I treasure all the letters and words I get from my fans. I actually got a gift from a fan recently, some 'star sand'. It was really beautiful and my real name "star" in it, it made me really happy. I've still got it displayed in my room.

Q: What is "true love" to you?

A. I guess if I had to sum it up, I'd say true love is being a genius who doesn't lie. I think maybe people lie to avoid lying. I'm not sure if that's a good answer and even I don't know if it makes sense, but it's just something I feel.

Q: Do you think you're a liar?

A: Hmm~~? That's a se~cret! (laughs)

[jokeroutsubs]

📝 ENG Translation: European Tours in Times of Inflation

💬Kris Guštin shares some insight into the organization of Joker Out's recent See You Soon tour.

Article written by Gašper Završnik and published in Delo on 03.04.2024, English translation by a member of JOS and @kurooscoffee, Proofread by IG GBoleyn123.

Coping with rising costs and crowded markets is a challenge for the whole industry.

The concert part of the music industry in the post-Covid era is characterised by the expansion of live performance. The long-suppressed desire to tour, to perform in front of audiences in as many countries as possible, is only this year being fully realised.

We took a look at how European touring is going in the new inflation-driven reality. This was one of the themes of the conference part of this year's Ment¹. The European concert market is facing many challenges, such as the rising costs of touring, organising concerts and festivals, increasing musician fees and, as a consequence, more and more expensive tickets. There is also the question of how to manage the concentration and congestion of concert venues and balancing the availability of the most sought-after artists. An additional problem is finding opportunities for new performers in such a competitive environment.

¹Ment is a showcase festival and music conference that happens every year in Ljubljana.

We also enquired about the European tours of Slovenian performers, two groups that have a different style and a different audience, Joker Out and Širom².

²We translated only the part of the article that was relevant to Joker Out.

Joker Out recently returned from a European Tour. As Kris Guštin told us, it was organised by “a booking agent from the Wasserman agency and our manager. The booking agent arranges the concerts, the conditions, and the dates, and then the manager comes up with all the logistics, that is, he arranges the transport, the accommodation, puts together a team and everything that needs to be done.” He says that tours have always been a big financial investment for performers. “Especially for performers of our size, who have only just started breaking into the European market, where the ticket sales often don’t make up for the costs of transit, accommodation, and the salaries of the performers and the team. The inflation over the past few years is of course making that even harder, but the musical market has slowly adapted to that with higher ticket prices.”

Joker Out had 19 concerts in 18 cities in 12 countries this year, and they have three more coming up in Great Britain. The ticket price for each concert is determined based on the size of the venue, how in-demand the artist is, the local standard, and the overall concert-going culture in a certain place.

Joker Out are very happy with how many people came to their concerts. “The turnout differed across Europe. In the countries we’re strong in, like Finland and the Netherlands, we played for crowds from 1500 to 2000 people, and for countries we haven't played in a lot yet, like Germany and France, we performed for 500 to 1000 people. The venues were always nicely filled and the audience was excited.”

We asked Guštin what they base the length of the tour on. “The length of the tour is based on demand, territory strategy, and how busy the performer is. In our case, we decided for a month-long tour, in which we covered a lot of countries that we couldn’t do last year,” he added.

[fuckthemforthis]

📷 Mateo Levak for Novi list, interview highlights under the cut

About Käärijä:

"We met Käärijä in Madrid at a pre-party, he was on a similar energy level as us - he didn't take himself too seriously and we didn't either. He was quite open-minded and had a positive approach to the whole situation, so we really connected on that level during the ESC when really huge things were happening to everyone, in the form of media pressure and everyday new situations, so it suited us all to have each other to share those feelings.

That's how we stayed in regular contact, we even played together on the Finnish tour when he left literally everything he had on his calendar and became part of the band for four days." (dude just say everything on his calendar was in fact 20k)

About Wasserman booking agency:

"We've always welcomed people into the team according to some key rule being that they enter our circle more or less naturally and we were lucky when things rose to a higher level that Ryan, our booking agent from Wasserman, got in touch with us because he was at our concert in London.

He liked how we functioned and wanted to start working together, so we're more than happy that a man from abroad was the first to join our team, someone who first enjoyed the performance, saw some bigger picture and himself as a part of it in maybe even bigger formats in the following years."

About 3rd album and relocating to London:

"Next year in January we're moving to London, where we plan to absorb new energy in an unfamiliar living space, so we will change the environment in order to create a new album that will be released by the end of October 2024 at the latest.

We will be more in contact with the English language, which in a way represents a mental break for us because we are used to creating music in the Slovenian language, but there will still be all kinds of material - mostly English, but also songs in the Slovenian, Serbian and Croatian languages."

[akookminsupporter]

I know I've said this before, but you know what annoys me about the documentary? It doesn't provide new insights into the guys' careers. Yes, we get more of their opinions now, but it's not much different from what they've said in lives, concerts, posts, etc.

We've already discussed how disappointing it was that they didn't focus more on the early years of the band. However, I thought there would be a bit more about everything that happened during COVID. The fact that they not only had a huge tour planned but also planned to enlist after that. It's a shame they didn't address a bit more of their feelings and how they reacted to it all, especially since they kept working during those two years. Even though there are DVDs of those moments, like the online concert, they never really delved into what it meant to them as artists.

Something else that I think they should have included, and that would have been interesting to see, is how the agency planned everything. How they looked for a way to make many of the things that the group could do in 2020 and 2021, in particular, possible. Obviously, not everything in detail, but some of it.

Now the documentary is about to end, and I feel like I haven't learned anything new about them. Nothing we didn't already know, at least. The documentary looks like it was made by a fan who could only cut and paste clips, commentary, and parts of the original content together to make a video out of it all. HYBE and Disney+ missed a valuable opportunity to show something more… real. Raw.

The documentary also reminded me why I don't usually like interviews with the guys in magazines or publications. Not just because the interviewers ask superficial or repetitive questions, but because they are very guarded in what they say. Sometimes too much. That's why I really appreciated the interview Namjoon gave for a Spanish newspaper. Although I must admit that their interviews with Weverse Magazine are usually good as well.

The documentary is not bad, although my complaints might say otherwise; I just expected more, especially after reading the book. I really enjoyed hearing the guys' opinions on a lot of things, and that they themselves told us how they were feeling at X moment and so on. Something I also found interesting is how, especially in the last two episodes, they talked with a lot of uncertainty about their future as a group. I'd love to see them really talk about why they decided to renew their contracts as a group at the end, particularly. Because that uncertainty about their future as a group went on for a while, especially for some of the members. And that uncertainty ended, I think, in September? At least, that's when I noticed it.

Having said all that, in the last few days, I have particularly remembered that their culture is different, not only the culture of their country but also the culture of the industry they mainly belong to or grew up in. And that, although BTS, in many ways, disassociated themselves from it, at their core, they are still part of it. They and their agency/company. And I guess that's something that won't change.

[yourtemponashville]

Best Tips for Staying Organized and Healthy During Summer Tours

Ah, the summer concert tour season—the time when music fills the air and fans unite to celebrate the magic of live performances. For musicians, bands, and touring staff, these tours are both exhilarating and demanding. With the adrenaline-fueled rush of performing night after night, it is easy for everyone involved in such grueling schedules to forget about staying organized and maintaining good health.

But fear not artists, musicians, crew members, and booking agencies, for we have compiled the best tips to keep you on top of your game during the summer concert tours. This blog post will explore the wonders of booking agency software and other organizational hacks that will ensure you have a blast while staying organized and healthy while on the road and entertaining all of your fans. 

The Power of Booking Agency Software

As a musician or band gearing up for a summer tour, the booking process is one of the most crucial aspects. This is where booking agency software comes to your rescue. Such a platform offers a seamless and efficient way to handle gig scheduling, manage contracts, and coordinate with venues and promoters. By using a booking management platform, you can streamline your tour schedule, track performance details, and stay ahead of the game, eliminating any last-minute chaos. 

Collaborative Planning and Communication

Touring involves a myriad of moving parts, and effective communication is the key to success. Create a centralized communication channel using your booking management platform, where everyone involved in the tour can easily collaborate. Regularly update each other on changes, progress, and challenges during the tour. Keeping everyone in the loop fosters a sense of camaraderie and ensures that everyone is on the same page, enhancing efficiency and minimizing misunderstandings. 

Prioritize Rest and Self-Care

Summer concert tours can be demanding, both physically and mentally. These characteristics are particularly evident during this time of year because of soaring temperatures across the country. It is crucial to prioritize rest and self-care to avoid illness, injuries, fatigue, and burnout. Ensure you have downtime between gigs, allowing yourself and your crew to recharge and recuperate. Encourage healthy habits like regular exercise, balanced meals, plenty of hydration, and enough sleep to maintain peak performance throughout the tour.

Embrace Mindfulness and Meditation

The life of a touring artist or musician can be fast-paced and overwhelming at times. Consider incorporating mindfulness and meditation practices into your daily routine to stay grounded and centered. Meditating for a few moments each day can help reduce stress, increase focus, and boost overall well-being. Plus, it is an excellent way to keep the creativity and productivity process active and engaged.

Stay Hydrated and Eat Well

This advice is mentioned above, but it is worth mentioning in more detail because it is so important to overall health. On-the-road food choices can sometimes be limited and unhealthy. Be mindful of the selections you make. Sometimes a bit of comfort food seems like the right idea when you may feel tired or homesick. But the reality is that unhealthy food choices can be especially detrimental physically and mentally. Look for options that are fresh and unprocessed. Try to vary your food choices so you get a range of nutritious meals or snacks. Make an effort to stay hydrated and opt for lots of water rather than sugary drinks whenever possible. Carry reusable water bottles and healthy, easy-to-manage snacks with you to keep energy levels up and ensure you are ready to rock the stage each night!

Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is essential for musicians and touring staff alike, but it can be challenging when schedules seem all over the place. It is easy to fall into the trap of late-night socializing or long drives, but sleep deprivation can take a toll on your health and performance. Make sleep a priority, even if it means adjusting your schedule slightly. A well-rested artist or crew member will be more creative, productive, and ready to give their best on stage.

Organize Your Merchandise

Merchandise sales can be a significant source of income during tours. Keep your merchandise organized and readily accessible by using labeled bins or containers. This way, you will save time searching for specific items, and fans can easily find and purchase their favorite merch to commemorate their experiences. Additionally, consider using a digital payment system for merchandise sales to speed up transactions, minimize cash handling, and relieve yourself of this worry.

Plan For Emergencies

No matter how well-organized your tour is, unexpected emergencies can still arise. Have contingency plans in place for possible issues like equipment malfunctions, travel delays, or health emergencies. Make sure you have necessary items like phone chargers, booking agency contact information, and medication. Knowing what to do in these situations will help you handle them calmly and efficiently, ensuring minimal disruption to your tour schedule and avoiding any health or safety issues.

Connect with Fans and Take Breaks

Summer concert tours are an excellent opportunity to connect with your fans on a personal level. Remember, you are on the road because of your fans. Engage with them through social media, post behind-the-scenes glimpses, and interact with them at meet-and-greet events. These connections can foster loyalty and turn casual fans into devoted followers. Additionally, remember to take short breaks during long drives to explore new places or enjoy local attractions. It's a great way to recharge and find inspiration in the world around you.

As you embark on your summer concert tour, armed with the organizational help of your booking agency software and these top-notch tips, you and your team are destined for a sensational journey. Staying organized and healthy will not only boost your performance, but also ensure that you create unforgettable memories for yourselves and your fans. So, rock on, and let the music guide you on this extraordinary adventure!

For More Information visit us: Best Tips for Staying Organized and Healthy During Summer Tours

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

Thinking about Angry's band and I keep thinking that Koko would make a helluva manager for them... like bringing them in a limousine? Check. Recording? Yep, he's got them sharing studios with the big-time bands in Japan.

Making sure to go all out in the promos? He's booked a concert hall in advance.

Merch? T-shirts and mugs are being printed and designed as we speak. Smiley already has a first look at the individual uchiwa fans and has distributed them out to the rest of Toman.

He'll already be arranging all of this stuff for them, practically setting up his own agency for them. He says it's because of all the money they can make, but he actually really loves how they sound.

He definitely does! He probably listens to them play once and then immediately offers himself to manage them. The others are a bit confused at first, especially when Koko feels too awkward to just say he likes them so instead says he likes the work of this stuff. But they agree and of course Koko goes overboard in helping them out, he does everything he can (including saying no to Chifuyu when he offered to design the shirts). He basically becomes another member of the band and nearly cries when they all make him come up on stage after playing so he can get the audiences appreciation too. Inui better delete that recording because Koko doesn't want anyone to see that!

[coloursflyaway]

Won't Fear Love (4/6)

Pairing: Edwin Payne/Charles Rowland

Rating: T

Word Count: 1.500

Read on AO3

„We should go a date“, Charles says on a perfectly bland Tuesday, looking up at Edwin from whatever he is doing at the moment.

If Edwin wasn’t dead already, he would suspect that Charles is trying to kill him.

or:

Five times Charles takes Edwin on a date to figure out if he could fall in love with him, and one time when he has an answer.

tagging all the lovely people who wanted to give this fic a read: @itsablueberrycow @piristephes @assignedpeanutallergyatbirth @mylu @oneweirdbean @lifeinvirtualreality

There is a crowd outside of the next location.

At least it isn’t teenagers, Edwin reasons with himself, while he lets Charles drag him there, hand in unenthusiastic hand. It seems more like an adult event, with middle-aged men and women laughing and mingling, which elevates his worries just slightly. “Where are we going, Charles?”, Edwin asks, and the smirk Charles shoots back at him is definitely disconcerting.

“Well, the last thing we did, that was for you”, Charles explains and it seems to Edwin that he is far too excited about this. “This one’s for me. But I promise, you’ll like it.” It’s only because he has the utmost trust in Charles that Edwin sets a foot inside the establishment. And maybe the hand that is still holding his.

It is a concert.

Edwin should have known, after all, this is where Charles usually goes to if he spends an evening alone. On several occasions in the past, he had asked Edwin to join him, but he had always declined, preferring the quiet of their agency and a good book to the chaos of live music. Especially the kind that Charles seems to enjoy most.

However, he has to admit that there is something about watching Charles here that is… captivating. Intriguing. Beautiful in its own way. Because Charles is happy here.

He weaves through the crowd with practised ease, glowing with excitement as he takes in their surroundings, mouthing along to the song that is playing through the stereo. Edwin can hardly make out the words, yet Charles seems to know them by heart.

Eventually, Charles stops at the back of the room, a few metres away from the bar, and turns around to face Edwin. “We don’t want to go up the front, there’s gonna be a lot of people once the band starts”, he tells Edwin, “And I hate it when they phase through me during a song, really takes me out of the whole thing. Also, we’ve a bit more privacy here, yeah?”

Edwin isn’t certain why they would need privacy, seeing as they are not visible to anyone around, but he still appreciates the sentiment – people phasing through them is quite unpleasant and proximity to the stage isn’t anything Edwin is keen on in the first place. So, he nods, and Charles smiles, and then does something cruel, heartless, unthinkable.

He drops Edwin’s hand.

It is strange how used to it Edwin has become in such a comparatively short time, holding Charles hand, to the point where he feels the lack of it now, because they are on a date and Charles is supposed to hold his hand.

Yet, instead he is rummaging through his backpack, letting out a tiny Ah! when he finally finds what he has been looking for. He’s smiling, almost a little shyly, and reaches out to grasp Edwin’s lapel, fixing something on it.

“I got you a pin”, he explains; his hand finds Edwin’s again and all is fine in the world. “Little bit like mine. So you won’t look so out of place in here with your fancy suit and your perfect hair. See?” And he points to the pin, a little circle in black and white. It really does resemble the chequered one Charles is wearing, only that the lines are less crisp and more of a wave, that there are little pink and yellow stars scattered between them.

It looks ridiculous against the blue tweed. Edwin never wants to take it off.

“Where did you even get this from?”, he asks, feeling almost dazed, and Charles grins, even as he rubs the back of his neck, indicating an answer Edwin might not be happy with. “Stole it”, Charles admits, and yes, Edwin should be cross with him, but it is very difficult to remember that than when Charles stole it for him. “From a Primark a couple of blocks down from the office. But don’t worry about it, it was maybe a quid. They won’t miss it.”

He’s right, and much more importantly, Edwin just cannot bring himself to care.

“Thank you”, he says softly, putting his hand across the pin and almost, just almost feeling the cool, smooth plastic against his skin. “I love it.”

The band starts playing only a little later, and Charles is so happy that Edwin forgets that he doesn’t particularly likes crowds, that this isn’t music he would listen to if he could choose, not even that Charles at some point in his dancing drops his hand. Because there is joy in every motion, every word he sings along with, loud and inaudible to anyone but Edwin, and watching him, Edwin thinks he might never have loved him more. He’ll go to a thousand concerts, listen to a million songs that don’t make sense to him, if he only gets to see Charles like this again.

The song changes, a piano playing, and it’s more mellow than what has come before, and Edwin expects Charles’ movements to become slower; what he doesn’t expect is for Charles to turn around to him, his hair framing his face in wild curls and hold out his hand. “Wanna dance? I think we should dance.”

“Dance?”, Edwin repeats, still too dazed by Charles’s joy to make sense of the words, and he doesn’t get to think about it for a minute longer, because Charles grasps his hand and pulls him in.

Edwin has danced before, but not like this: it had been stuffy classes his mother made him go to in the summer before he died, taught by a stern woman with a hazel switch that she would use to flick at her students’ feet if they missed a step. He had hated every second of it.

This, however, is so different it should not even be allowed to carry the same name.

Charles’ hand settles on Edwin’s hip, gently pulling and pushing him with the rhythm until Edwin gets the hang of it, smiling so wide that Edwin’s cheeks hurt in sympathy. The light is dim, yet his eyes sparkle, and although the music is so loud, Edwin can hear Charles’ laughter when he raises their hands to spin around, before returning to Edwin’s arms.

He moves like it’s as easy as breathing and Edwin is captivated, smitten, unable to look away. And they are so close, close enough that Edwin could count each of Charles’ lashes, close enough that he can make out every excited twitch of his lips. It would be the easiest, and the scariest, thing in the world to just lean in and…

The song changes.

“I never thought I'd miss you half as much as I do”, the singer croons and Edwin is close enough that he can see that Charles’ eyes go wide, his smile falter for a split-second, before he starts laughing.

“What is the matter?”, Edwin asks, confused by the sudden shift of atmosphere. The music is still playing, sounding almost the same, they are still dancing, but Charles is looking at him with an expression Edwin cannot describe, let alone understand.

“Just listen”, Charles tells him, and Edwin does.

The melody is quite pleasant, upbeat and maybe a little bit longing, and Charles is watching him listen; eager, maybe, interested, definitely.

“Every night, every day, I know that it's you I need to take the blues away“, the singer continues, and Charles ducks his head a little, then „It must be love, love, love…“

And Charles looks back up at him, and suddenly it feels like Edwin hadn’t been aware how close they are after all, even if he spent the last minutes thinking about nothing else. But they are so close, and this is a love song and they are dancing and Charles still isn’t moving away.

Instead, he is holding Edwin’s hand and watching him, his eyes curious and dark, and Edwin wants to kiss him so much it hurts.

“How can it be that we can say so much without words?”, the singer asks and Edwin thinks, yes. Thinks, please. Thinks, I would do anything for you. Thinks, I love you the most.

It’s only when Charles makes a little sound at the back of his throat that Edwin realises they have stopped moving, but before he can formulate a single thought, Charles is dragging him close. Slender arms wrap around Edwin’s shoulders, and Charles is hugging him so fiercely that Edwin can feel it, their astral bodies so close he can hardly tell where he ends and Charles begins. Without thinking, Edwin hugs him back, and Charles buries his face in the crook of his neck, and Edwin holds him, eyes slipping shut.

“It must be love, love, love”, the music still plays, “Nothing more, nothing less, love is the best.”

It’s no kiss, but it’s enough, more than that, even.

It’s love, and the kind really doesn’t matter.

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

Whenever there's a story about a secret society or a shadowy quasi-government organization that pulls all the strings and controls the entire world and regularly defeats apocalyptic threats against humanity, I always wonder who the hell's paying for it all? The Men in Black, Hellboy's Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, the Assassins, the Templars, they all have blank check budgets and carte blanche to do whatever they need to, whenever, wherever, however. Need to go to an archeological site in Baghdad that may be the literal Garden of Eden? No problem, you'll be on the next flight alongside all your friends and co-workers, and all their supplies and guns and computers, you know, all the stuff that's really easy to ship across international borders. The Kola Superdeep Borehole is actually a portal to hell? I'm sure the Russian government won't mind us checking it out. Area 51 is about as impenetrable as the backstage at a rock concert; sure, some burly guy in a STAFF t-shirt or full combat gear may shout "HEY" and start chasing you, but you can give him the slip real easy and go about your business without him ever alerting a superior.

BORING.

Give me the shadowy agency that has had regular budget cuts since the 1980s. Their power and influence ebbs and flows every 2 years depending on which party controls congress. There's so much red tape and so many roadblocks that the 10,000 year old cult which was once the dominant global superpower is now just a rump echo chamber; they've preserved their ancient Proto-Indo-European language, the mother tongue of about half the world's population, but there was so much infighting over the millennia that they broke into countless warring factions that basically don't do anything anymore. "We're the People's Front of Judea, not like those wankers in the Judean People's Front."

Agent Kay once said "there is always an Arquilian battle cruiser or a Corilian deathray or an intergalactic plague about to wipe out all life on this miserable little planet, but the only way these people can go about their happy lives is they DO. NOT. KNOW ABOUT IT!" Surely they drop the ball from time to time.

"Hey, where's the Archduke? Aren't you part of his security detail?" "I thought that was your job!"

or

"When you disabled the alien ship, you set the autopilot to crash into the Pacific, right?" "The Administrator told me to aim for the Arctic." "Why the hell would he tell you that?!? Its orbit was nowhere near the Arctic! Where is it now?" "Apparently it's about to enter the atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia. Whoops."

or

"A rematch?!? That wasn't the plan! Why don't the higher ups ever give me a warning before they go off book? Do you even know which campaign you're supposed to sabotage? Everyone already hates them both!"

[usedpidemo]

What if there was a K-pop based game? Not a Just Dance K-pop edition, but an actual game? What would the gameplay be like? Would you play or buy it? And who should be the first cover idol?

This honestly shouldn't be something I put so much thought into, and it's only scratching the surface, but there's so much material and concepts you could do with a K-pop based game. Other suggestions have already been tackled and explained tactfully, such as gameplay and Career/Story Mode, so here's a list of things and ideas I would like to see in a hypothetical game:

Cover idol:

I think if it’s not BTS or Blackpink, especially for the first game, you’d cause a huge riot. They are far and away the two most popular and recognized K-pop groups of all time, and are basically most Westerners’ gateway to the genre. It makes sense why not them, they’re currently inactive (esp. since BTS are in the military), but I’d argue that you should easily make two cover versions of the game—one with BTS, the other Blackpink. If it has to be one active idol, you could go with many options: Wonyoung, Karina, An Yujin, Yeji, Chaewon, Winter, Seulgi, Sana, Miyeon. It would be cool to have a foreign idol, but it has to be a Korean first, and I’d personally go with Wonyoung. For the Legacy/Legend Editions, I’d pick IU.

MyGM:

You could go three ways with a MyGM mode. Group based, company based, and music show based. All three will have similar gameplay elements, but have different ways and strategies to go about managing a successful group, company or music show. 

MyIdol could be you as a singular group’s manager, scheduling comebacks, concerts, days-off, and so on during a calendar year. There’s a stamina/morale system to balance between working them for profit/popularity and resting them so that none of the members get disgruntled and leave or be sidelined. You’d also have to make decisions for the members’ solo opportunities, line distribution, and more.

MyCompany is larger in scale—you now run an entire company or sublabel (good luck if you’re running Cube or SM lmao). You have to manage every artist’s comebacks and schedules, or else they leave or demand a contract termination. An addition from MyIdol is the ability to sign other idols/artists/trainees on the free agent market and you can add them to existing groups or create new groups with your current roster. 

MyMusicShow would basically be WWE 2K’s MyGM. You’re in charge of a music show/Korean TV station like KBS’ Music Bank or SBS’ Inkigayo and you have to compete with other networks for the best ratings of the week throughout a calendar year. You can negotiate exclusive contracts with other agencies so that their groups can only appear on your programs, as well as managing set designs/TV booking (who wins on your show)/screentime for the artists on your show. 

Universe Mode:

What it says on the tin: you have control over the entire industry and decide who are the top dogs, create special collaborations, send groups on international stages, etc.

Showcase Mode:

Depends on who’s the cover idol: you basically replay some of their most iconic/legendary stages throughout their career. If it were someone like Wonyoung for example, it would include her Very Very Very performance from PD48, that one Love Dive baseball stage, K-Pop Flex 2022, her 2022 Melon Music Awards performance, and so on. You could also do one for whoever’s on the Legend/Legacy Edition cover.

Roster:

Depending on which companies are down for it, I expect all the current 4th/5th gen guys to be available from the start, while 3rd/2nd gen groups are labeled as Legends/Legacy and require some grinding to unlock (with few exceptions). Newer groups would probably be DLC or groups from prominent eras/releases (like 2018 TWICE or 2010 SNSD for example). TheLibrarian’s suggestion of having boy group/girl group only versions is also a possible option, but c’mon, if the NBA and WWE 2K games can include both their men and women’s rosters, I see no reason for the K-pop game not to do the same.

I put so much unnecessary thought into it for some reason, I even tried making concept covers of my own using my ideas and others (they're kinda bad XD). Sorry you had to read through all that.

[michellemisfit]

WEEKLY TAG WEDNESDAY - FIRSTS!

Tagged by @suzy-queued @deedala @darlingian @heymrspatel @lingy910y @energievie @mybrainismelted @blue-disco-lights

Name: Michelle

Age: Currently getting a kick out of telling people that I’m nearly 40 and having them go ‘NO WAY!!!’ - It’s funny and flattering :)

First Pet: Siberian gerbils called Tom & Jerry

First Word: No idea. Turns out my parents kept a baby book for my older brother where they painstakingly recorded all of that stuff. I found mine a few years ago and it’s got a grand total of 3 entries, one of which is talking about how chubby I am, and how I am yet to find a food I’ll say no to, and let’s hope that’s not a sign of things to come… after which it was abandoned. Thanks mum.

First Celebrity Crush: Leonardo DiCaprio

First IRL Crush: Dominik. We hung out basically every day after school. I would go round to his house and he would play me the latest Michael Jackson tape and show me new dance steps that he’d taught himself. I thought he was so cool.

First Kiss: Age 14 with my first boyfriend. He was 20 years old. We were in a relationship for over a year. Shit was fucked up. At the risk of repeating myself… Thanks mum.

First Car: Bebop 🚙 He’s my baby and I bought him this year and I love him! He’s a turquoise 2013 Toyota Yaris Hybrid.

First apartment/house/dorm/whatever away from your parents: Heh. I moved straight from my childhood bedroom to a different country. If you’re gonna do something, do it right! lol

First Time on a Plane: I was… 18 months old? Parents went on holidays to Florida. I have about 3 memories from that trip.

First Cellphone: Nokia 3210 😎

First Concert: David Hasselhoff. I was maybe… 6? And I got very tired and slept through the second half, but my parents woke me up for Looking for Freedom, which was my favourite song of his.

First Foreign country you visited? Italy or France most likely. Pure proximity, and most of our family vacations were done by car from Switzerland so…

First sport you ever played? Hmm. I did competitive swimming when I was very young. And then gymnastics. And after that… about five minutes of football (the only sport I to this day do not understand. How do I run AND kick a ball simultaneously?!?), then 3 years of tennis, 2 years of basketball, 8 years of roller hockey, and a whole smattering of other sports on and off.

First career aspiration? I mean… I basically wanted to be a Disney Princess, purely for the Animal Best Friend aspect! And then any form of Animal Whisperer would have done the trick. I watched all the TV shows and movies where characters had magical bonds with animals, and I wanted that. And then I realised that the characters in the shows and movies aren’t real, but the people training and handling those animals *are*. However that wasn’t something realistic to aspire to, being Swiss, so instead I became a bookseller (somehow that made sense at the time… 🤷🏽‍♂️). And then 15 years later, in a different country and a different life, I did end up training animals for TV and film. So that’s kinda nifty.

And finally… tell me about the first time you wrote/drew/created/whatever something that made you think “wow”

Hmmm. I dunno. I thought I was really fucking talented when I was about 12. I wrote a novel and sent it to publishing houses and literary agencies. One of them invited me for an interview, because they thought my writing was great and they wanted to meet the kid that had sent them a manuscript aged 12/13. They ended up giving me a job, working as a admin/secretary/slush pile reader. They also gave me lots of feedback and constructive criticism on my writing. I scrapped the novel I had sent them in favour of writing a different, better novel. I still think that novel was pretty fucking good. I tried to get my mum to proof read it and give me feedback so I could do any necessary corrections before I spent my pocket money on photocopies, C4 envelopes, and a whole bunch of stamps so I could attempt to get it published again. She was dragging her feet and I tried to explain the urgency, because I was clear that it needed to happen before I turned 14. That was the goal in my head. I had huge ambitions and dreams. I was also convinced that if it happened after I turned 14 it wouldn’t be special anymore. Like anyone could do it after 14… 🙄 In response to this my mum told me that she’d had ambition and dreams, too, when she was my age. But not to worry, that’ll go away, and once you’ve put away the fanciful notions of being talented then you can just get on with your life…

Not sure if this actually answers the question, but that was kinda the first and last time I remember feeling uncomplicatedly good about and proud of something I created. After this anything creative I did was always immediately followed by the doubt of ‘is this actually good, or is this just a fanciful notion I have about being talented, when in actual fact it sucks?’ 🤷🏽‍♂️

Wow. Ended that on a downer, didn’t I?

…

Erm… I wrote Tell me we’ll never get used to it,

They’re the only two people left that know what it’s like to have loved and to have lost a Lightwood.

And it’s a good story.

There.

I said it…

Tagging @crossmydna @palepinkgoat @too-schoolforcool @vintagelacerosette @heymacy @loftec @mikhailoisbaby @rereadanon @the-rat-wins @tsuga-of-mars @ian-galagher @andthatisnotfake @francesrose3 @faejilly @jrooc @creepkinginc if you fancy playing? I’m just very exited I’m actually posting this on a Wednesday still! Whoop!!

[tempestaurora]

the child soldier summer tour

13k | bnha | bakugou & class 1-a, bakugou & midoriya, bakugou/kirishima

The scheduling gods – AKA Yaoyorozu Momo and Iida Tenya – slapped down the papers on the kitchen table. There were way too many people in Jirou’s apartment, but Bakugou was just thankful that they’d decided not to cram his living room for this. Usually, they liked to, because he had the biggest living space seeing as his place came with three obnoxious roommates, but today they’d all met at Jirou’s and Jirou had only acted totally fine with twenty people shoved into her little two-bed box that she shared with Ashido, and now they were all climbing over each other to see the meticulous schedule their ex-class presidents had put together for the summer.

“This is insane—when are we supposed to pee?” Kaminari yelped, as Kirishima complained, “Three back-to-back – are you forgetting we’re heroes too?”

“Bathroom breaks will be scheduled on a day-to-day basis,” Yaomomo said, Iida chopping the air behind her.

“The schedule has been designed with heroics in mind!” he cried. “This way, everyone can attend an equal number of events, while also maintaining their agency contracts. We will have handouts for everyone to take back to their agencies!”

“This is amazing, guys,” Deku gushed. Bakugou shoved himself past Sero to get a look. True to form, the schedule was a colour-coded nightmare of thirty-six tour dates across twenty-nine locations in Japan over only the two months of summer. The system was divided equally between the five members of the band who had to appear at every concert (for obvious reasons) and the fifteen remaining ex-classmates who insisted that they, too, were also part of the band and would be coming along to roadie, dance, or just take selfies backstage and get in the way.

Bakugou’s opinion on the whole tour had originally been fuck that, if I’m gonna be a hero, I can’t waste an entire summer playing music, followed by three days of yelling and the eventual decision that if he didn’t spend a summer playing music now, when the hell would he ever get the chance to do it again?

They were freshly twenty, some of them still holding onto the reins of nineteen, and they’d only been out of Yuuei for a year. Only experienced the world of being rookie heroes for twelve short months and already it was more than they’d bargained for. Their second and third years in school had been downright peaceful compared to that hellish first, and maybe Bakugou would’ve preferred it if they had been just as dangerous – they’d gone soft, almost, in that time. Memories of the war had finally started to fade, and peacetime was a good look on them all. They were well-rested, therapized, on top of their studies and throwing late night parties in their dorms – when they’d been kicked out onto the streets of Japan, expected to rent an apartment and go to a job and be famous fucking heroes, the culture shock had damn near knocked half of them on their asses.

Bakugou didn’t want or need a break – but they were a damn good band, and there was no time he saw for himself in the next twenty years that would allow them to do a tour like this again.

When he’d consented to the band at one of their jam nights, they’d all fucking cheered. Then they’d added him into the groupchat with the rest of the class that they’d made three days before, fully knowing he would change his mind.

“Alright, everyone take a copy,” Yaomomo continued. “Then check it over – you have one calendar week to return with any necessary changes before we confirm bookings with the venues. It’s alright if you need to switch, just let us know by the deadline.”

-

Bakugou slumped into the chair opposite Best Jeanist. He’d signed on for eighteen months at the agency, his last months falling at the end of summer. He watched Jeanist’s eyebrows vanish under his hair as he read over the schedule.

“Well, this is organised – who put this together?”

“Creati and Ingenium,” he replied, tipping his head back. Even the ceiling was obnoxiously bedazzled. A disco ball hung from the centre; somewhere around the building, Aoyama was interning – a common appreciation for Best Jeanist (albeit for entirely different reasons) was the only thing the two had in common. Aoyama was a year behind everyone else since the whole, you know, All For One traitor shit, but he was pulling it back, and Bakugou respected the drive if nothing else.

“I would expect nothing less from them,” Jeanist mused. “I can’t say I’m surprised, as you warned me just how much time you would be spending on this during the summer, but I’m happy to sign it all off.”

Bakugou tilted his head forward. He’d expected even the slightest negotiation. “You are.”

“Of course. Bakugou, your work has been admirable and impressive this past year, but you haven’t taken a single day of holiday and there comes a point when that becomes a work violation as an employer. So I’m thrilled to roll over your unused holiday days into this calendar year so you can go on this tour.”

Bakugou raised an eyebrow. Jeanist had a way of speaking like he was always on camera, but there were none in here and he wasn’t about to be bullshitted by his own boss. “Alright, now tell me what you really think.”

He could see Jeanist’s smile beyond the high collar. “I think…” he hummed. “Approximately three years ago, when you were barely sixteen, you died, Katsuki.” Bakugou swallowed, tensing at the given name. “You then got up and kept going. You took down All For One, you ploughed through months of gruelling rehabilitation and graduated third in your class two years later without so much as a single break.”

“I went home for Christmas,” Bakugou muttered.

Jeanist continued anyway, “You haven’t done anything for yourself in all the time I’ve known you. No—that’s a lie. You joined a band. But even that, initially, was to cheer up your fellow students who had been put out by your class’ misfortune. So, if this band is the one thing you let yourself enjoy, away from being a hero, I would be a terrible employer, and a terrible friend, to not allow you time to take part in it. And I hope that in return – although, really, it would be tacky to get any sort of thanks for this – I would appreciate a single ticket to see your finale show in Musutafu.”

Bakugou blinked. Jeanist stared. Bakugou’s mouth curled into the sharp kind of smile.

“I think I can swing a ticket.”

“Then I wish you all the best of luck on your tour,” Jeanist said. “Let me know what dates you can work, and if you need any help choosing what to do after your contract runs out.”

-

COMING TO A CITY/TOWN/NONDESCRIPT WAREHOUSE NEAR YOU

THIS SUMMER

A BAND: THE CHILD SOLDIER SUMMER TOUR

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