UtaiteDB - Artists

Allowed artists

Trying to determine whether a particular artist is allowed or not allowed on the database can be confusing. Please read the following and use your own judgement before adding an artist.

(Note: the use of the term “utaite” is usually restrictive to Nico Nico Douga, but on UtaiteDB, the definition is extended to include other media sharing sites. This means YouTube and Bilibili singers are allowed, but will be categorized under the “utaite” artist type.)

Typically, what makes utaites special from other vocalists are the “amateur” and do-it-yourself aspects. Anyone can become an utaite by simply recording something and sharing their work with others. Utaites are generally singing for fun and not solely to make a profit. Every so often, an established utaite gets signed by a major label and becomes a “professional” vocalist in the sense that singing is now a career and not just a hobby anymore.

As long as the majority of the artist’s musical activity is/was based on these media sharing sites, they are allowed on the database. This is to differentiate between utaite-turned-professional singers and other professional vocalists. Even though they themselves no longer share their recordings, participating in these media sharing sites was a major part of their musical activity.

Other artist types such as music producers and illustrators are allowed to have their own entry as long as they play an active role within the utaite community. For example, artist entries for VOCALOID producers are permitted since so many utaites use and adapt their work.

Guidelines for non-individual artists, such as bands and circles, are less restrictive. It is encouraged to create entries for these groups for the sake of organization and comprehensiveness.

Artist names

Sometimes artists use multiple main names at the same time (typically for different activities - ex. separate names for singing and music production work), or have changed names after going professional. Your best bet is to use the name that is most known in the utaite community.

Examples of such artists:

• minato vs. トゥライ (To-Lie). Use トゥライ as the main artist name in the database since that is the name the artist uses for singing activities.
• 少年Ｔ (ShounenT) vs. 佐香智久 (Sako Tomohisa). Use 少年Ｔ as the main artist name since that name is the most familiar with utaite fans.
• ハチ (Hachi) vs. 米津玄師 (Yonezu Kenshi). Use ハチ as the main artist name since that name is the most familiar with utaite fans.

Of course, there are exceptions. These are usually reserved for artists who have become completely professional and no longer have ties to the utaite scene:

• ガゼル (Gazelle) vs. やなぎなぎ (Yanagi Nagi). Using やなぎなぎ as the main artist name is preferable as most are unfamiliar with the artist’s previous name.

Artist types

Every artist has a classification which also determines the artist’s default roles. Roles can be overridden per album and per song basis, but in many cases the artist is involved only in one role.

• Utaite - person who primarily sings and uploads covers of Japanese songs (usually VOCALOID songs) on media sharing sites such as Nico Nico Douga, YouTube, and Bilibili.
• Music producer - person who primarily composes and/or arranges songs.
• Animator - person who primarily animates PVs.
• Illustrator - person who primarily draws static illustrations.
• Lyricist - person who primarily composes lyrics for songs.
• Circle - group that self-publishes and sells albums at doujin events.
• Band/unit - musical group composed of vocalists and/or instrumentalists.
• Label - a commercial company that publishes albums for other artists.
• Other group - group that releases albums via Labels.
• Other vocalist - VOCALOID/UTAU/other voice synthesizers and unrelated vocalists who have no strong ties to the utaite community.
• Other individual - other people such as instrumentalists and mixers.

Some individuals are considered to be both equally an utaite and a music producer/other artist type. Since this is UtaiteDB, their main artist type would default to “utaite.”

Artist pictures

When adding pictures to artists, keep in mind all the pictures should be related to the artist himself, not his works. Do not upload album covers for artist entries.

That said, there is no common rule for choosing the main picture of an artist. Photos of the artist himself as well as official logos are preferred. You may upload any number of these pictures as additional pictures for the artist, provided that they’re relevant enough. Copyrighted pictures or pictures of artists may be taken down if the copyright holder requests it. If no better picture is provided, any picture found on the artist’s official profile, for example on Twitter, is accepted as well.

Entry status

Completed artist entries should meet the following criteria:

• The artist has at least one name whose language option isn’t “unspecified.”
• Artist type isn’t “unspecified.”
• The artist has a description OR at least one external link (to a wiki, artist’s NND MyList etc.)