[kj1980]

Originally Posted by Eclipze

Thanks for the information kj1980.

But a continuation...what about people/groups like T.M. Revolution (who, I presume, were *normal* singers in the past, and got related to anime later on). Which category do they belong in? I mean, I would think that someone T.M. Revolution was once a big name in the Japanese music popularity charts (some other Asuki member mentioned this, not too sure about its reliability). But I also heard that because T.M. Revolution got involved in animes, that his popularity dropped drasticly.

Not just the popularity, what about the revenue? Do they still get most of it from their own CD sales (considering how they once depended entirely on it), or completely on doing OP/ED and some voice acting?

Re-read the post before you.

Revenue wise, It all comes down to:

Does the person sing as well as writes his own lyrics and music?

That's where the main difference in royalties come from.

I'm not an avid fan of T.M. Revolution, never was and never will be. So I am not going to go through the trouble of even looking at his CDs at my local shop to find if he writes the lyrics and music to his songs. But since most major label artists at least may write his or her own lyrics, he'll probably see some better income than a seiyuu who just lends her singing voice. But then again, I'm not going to check the credits on his CDs, so someone else can verify that for me.

Now the real artists, like L'Arc~en~Ciel whose band members writes their own music and lyrics, they get lots of money, I assure you that. Of course, I'm certain their income gets screwed by the government in forms of taxes though.

Originally Posted by spirits having flown

Now what about seiyuus lending their voices in video games (even the ero-games) or appearing in concerts, expos, and other miscellaneous events, how much are they paid? Also, who is currently the highest paid seiyuu?

I almost forgot, can seiyuus be invited in private functions?

1. "In the light" seiyuus that does voice acting for "in the light" games gets paid a modest amount. I'm not certain of the details as that is usually a haggling price between the game makers and the talent agency.

2. As for "in the dark" seiyuus who uses pseudonyms or who cannot get roles for "in the light" (sadly, majority of newly seiyuu graduates succumb to such roles) have no choice but to lend their voices for ero-games or ero-anime. They are usually paid quite low. But then again, that is not to say there are horrible seiyuus in the ero-game industry. In fact, there are many great seiyuus that are unfortunately "in the dark." However, lately many previously "in the dark" seiyuus have come "into the light" with high popularity of the originally ero-game based-turned anime. The opposite also holds true: many "in the light" seiyuus lend their own voices (with pseudonyms) for "in the dark" ero-game industry in order to make a living.

3. In either case, whether you are popular or not, whether you have concerts or expos, seiyuus are not paid that well. Only a few, a very select few make money whose ranges are of several ten thousand yens per episode.

4. Who makes the most money? The true veterans. No, not even Inoue Kikuko or Hayashibara Megumi. I'm talking about legendary people in their late fifties, sixties, and in their seventies. The people who do (did) voices for Doraemon and Sazae-san. People who did the majority of kids' shows back in the 70s and 80s. They are the ones in which the a large portion of the Japanese populace grew up listening to by watching "World Masterpiece Theater." Basically, the legends who current big-name seiyuus learned their skills from - people who even to them are untouchables. But even then, the top earning seiyuu legends like Kamiya Akira get paid an only a 10~50,000 yen per episode.

5. If you have the connections and if it is best for both interests. What? The average joe otaku calling a seiyuu for his birthday party? Yeah sure whatever. If it's an industry event where a big-shot scenario writer is has a excessive drinking party and if the talent agency sees that as a chance to sell their seiyuus by introducing them to him, hell yes.

Seriously, the anime industry is not all glitz and glory. It's just like any other entertainment industry. Lots of shit goes on in the back, that will make your head spin - wishing you never knew what goes behind their facade of cute smiles and moe~ voices. Trust me, don't stick your head in any further and keep your dream as your dream. Once you know the reality, it's basically like any other industry filled with sex, power, money, and back dealings.