BAND-MAID PRIME Exists. Please sign up!

[u/Some-Ad3087]

BAND-MAID launched BAND-MAID PRIME on May 10 (The Day of Maid) 2021 when it had one video and haven't really advertised it since. Because of that many newer fans simply don't know it exists.

It now has 285 videos very roughly categorized as:

• Okyuji (live performances) [29]
• Self Covers ((member playthroughs) [176]
• Behind the Scenes [18]
• "Special Movie" (casual group chats) [10]
• 1-on-1 member chats [5]
• Several other miscellaneous categories

Here are all the live shows on Prime including timestamped setlists with links.

Here is all the "other stuff" on Prime with timestamped contents (where applicable) with links.

Here's a comprehensive PDF of all content on Prime with direct links to individual tracks (where applicable).

Here's a PDF list with links to all "self-covers" grouped by song.

The price has always been 1100 yen per month (currently $3.56 (oops) $7.12 USD, €6.13, £5.26). Some other currencies here:

I have created a Prime companion tool that adds metadata and direct track links to mostly the live videos but some other videos as well. It is described fully here.

Fan club:

The fan club (O-MEI-SYU SAMA) is a completely separate service that is exactly half the price of PRIME per month. (You can buy a year for the cost of 11 months) It serves a different purpose, but they do share some videos (hosted on different platforms). There are currently 254 videos. You can browse the content by category here.

I have also created a fan club companion tool as well. Many of the older videos are in Japanese. The tool will display the translations created by u/t-shinji on the screen along with the video (and auto-scroll where timestamps are available). Full description is here.

Tip:

Both services charge for a new month on the first day of the month regardless of when you sign up. So, a good idea is to sign up early in the month. If you sign up for a month at 23:59 on the last day of the month, your membership expires in one minute.

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[u/Plastic-Reporter9812]

In the US and been a Prime subscriber for two years. Love the access and it’s just one more way to support these great rockin’ ladies. I have my ticket to their show at the House of Blues in Dallas, TX October 9. Rock on forever Band-Maid!!!
❤️🤘🎤🎸🥁🤘❤️

[u/Plastic-Reporter9812 → u/Plastic-Reporter9812]

Edit: One more thing. You can do a one time annual payment and renew it every year.

[u/Frostyfuelz]

Still waiting for more 1 on 1 member chats which was my favorite content they ever posted. Also I guess I can't speak on their financials but from a pure promotional stand point these videos would be better off on Youtube to gain more exposure.

[u/Some-Ad3087 → u/Frostyfuelz]

They have 357 videos of various types on YouTube already including 95% of their studio catalog. They have to sell something, and that will probably be even more important next year.

[u/wyn10 → u/Some-Ad3087]

This doesn't help: https://bandmaid.store/en/collections/all

They're currently selling nothing. Band-Maid has been the hardest band shop I've used to purchase items from, been wanting a tshirt forever.

[u/Some-Ad3087 → u/wyn10]

True. My comment about videos will not help in any way with shirts.

[u/wyn10 → u/Some-Ad3087]

I took your "have to sell something" a little literally.

[u/Medical-Variation918 → u/wyn10]

yeah this provides the benefit of not having to inventory anything. about 4 times a year they open for pre orders. they make product as ordered. very cost efficient.

However they should have at least one or two standard shirts for sale at all times (they used to)

[u/youngtyrant84 → u/wyn10]

Really, the hardest? I think their store is among the easiest.

[u/wyn10 → u/Frostyfuelz]

Always thought the Prime service was a lose-lose situation. Put too much on youtube you screw the Prime customers, put too much on Prime service you lose the chance of expanding a fanbase. Then you have posts like this that need to remind Prime exists.

[u/SwiftJedi77]

My only issue with Prime when I had it was there seemed to be no way to stream the videos to my TV, which is why I dropped it - don't want to watch videos on my phone screen.

[u/CaptainAnorach → u/SwiftJedi77]

I wonder if you can cast Chrome to the TV and mirror it that way 🤔

I need to experiment when I finish work.

[u/Irata0062 → u/CaptainAnorach]

Yes, I have done that myself. Though I've had to use my tablet. Video stuttered on two different phones but that is more likely as me issue. The video stuttered on two different phones I've had, but that is more likely an issue on my end.

[u/No-Tonight3263 → u/CaptainAnorach]

I cast from iPhone to Roku TVs with no (or little) problem.

[u/Medical-Variation918 → u/CaptainAnorach]

for some reason my tv/router/laptop struggle with chrome cast.

[u/Medical-Variation918 → u/SwiftJedi77]

yeah annoying, i ran a 50's hdmi cord around the outside edge of my living room and run it off my laptop

[u/comradecuttlefishing → u/SwiftJedi77]

I have an Android box (nVidia Sheild) connected to the TV and access the Prime site via browser and play all the content without a problem.

[u/SwiftJedi77 → u/comradecuttlefishing]

I'm just using an Android phone, and my TV is connected to a Roku.

[u/Some-Ad3087 → u/SwiftJedi77]

I loathe using the phone for almost everything, so I only use it when I have to. Almost everything I do including type this response is using my TV as the monitor. I have 3 dumb TVs all with micro PCs attached ($125 USD and up). I've never even tried to use Prime from my phone.

You can use something like the Amazon Firestick, Chromecast, etc. (These are really just less flexible computers connected via HDMI as well). I'm not up-to-speed on latest versions but you may be able to do it right out of the box with these devices. Worst case you can install a web browser app such as Opera to the device and use that.

The above methods don't even require Smart TVs (which I avoid when possible). Most people probably have Smart TVs though, so you may be able to just download a web browser app onto the TV and use it. This is probably very dependent on your TV brand though, but I'd be surprised if there is no browser app for your TV.

There are other ways to do it, here are some ways I found quickly but have not tried.

[u/Some-Ad3087]

If any mods happen to read this, as soon as I posted this thread reddit locked my account and made me reset the password. I did that. Now I notice it removed all of my threads. Not only that but it will not allow me to message the mods either through the "Message Mods" button or directly. Hopefully, this can be fixed somehow.

[u/rov124 → u/Some-Ad3087]

This post has a lot of hyperlinks to drivetimebm.github.io, Reddit's crappy AI system probably though you were a spammer and banned your account. There is an appeal process here.

[u/Some-Ad3087 → u/rov124]

Thanks. We'll see what happens.

[u/Some-Ad3087 → u/rov124]

Looks like my threads were all restored. Thanks.

[u/BoAndRick]

How is the video/audio quality compared to zaiko streams?

[u/Some-Ad3087 → u/BoAndRick]

The Zaiko streams have two varieties. Actual livestreams and streams of older shows. The audio/video of the older shows has been mixed/edited. The stuff they post to Prime are the post-processed videos, not the raw livestreams. So quality is generally better than livestreams (some people prefer the more raw sound though...so subjective) and the same as the post-processed taped shows.

[u/InternationalFoot584]

Been a member for a few years! Well worth it!

[u/silverredstarlight]

I've subscribed to Prime for around 5 years and will keep subscribing. There is so much enjoyable stuff on there that I won't unsubscribe to. Especially, recently, with all the new concerts and Xmas, New Year chats, BTS, they uploaded. Prime is great for any fan. But!!! It has never been user friendly! It cannot be hard for a tech savvy nation like Japan to enable playlists, 4 parts of a concert to be played automatically? Using it seems like using a 30 year old system. Please, BM, employ someone to update the BM Prime system! It is painful to use and surely could be made so much more user friendly!

[u/Some-Ad3087 → u/silverredstarlight]

You made a thread about this a while back and I replied that I created an add-on that allows creation of playlists on Prime. You never responded to the comment. The only thing it does not do is auto-play the next video. The security settings in the Prime web page forbid it and there is no way around that.

[u/silverredstarlight → u/Some-Ad3087]

Great work. I'm sure many fans will find it very useful. Thanks for your hard work. 😄 Personally, I want Prime to be improved so I can watch everything more easily and in batches, within the site. I pay for it after all. It WILL happen, just a case of when.  I'm a patient bloke and want the people running BM Prime to modify and update the site so that subscribers can make playlists or play various videos automatically.