Ongaku Society is a close-knit community of Japanese popular music enthusiasts in the Philippines. There are no membership requirements to fulfill, no forms to fill up, and no fees to pay to become part of the organization. Any individual with love for the music and respect for fellow fans is free to join. You can join Ongaku Society through four different web-based venues: the Yahoo!Groups mailing list, the LiveJournal community, the Multiply group, and the official website.
- To join the Yahoo!Groups mailing list, first you must sign up for a Yahoo! account. Once your Yahoo!ID has been confirmed, you can subscribe to the mailing list by clicking the JOIN button near the top of the page.
- To join the LiveJournal community, first you must sign up for a LiveJournal account. Once your LJ user name has been confirmed, you can join the community by clicking the JOIN button near the top of the page.
- To join the Multiply group, first you must sign up for a Multiply account. Once your Multiply user name has been confirmed, you can join the community by clicking the JOIN button on the side bar.
- To register for the official website, click the REGISTER button on the top right section. Please remember that you have to be registered to be able to post article comments, and forum posts.
Unlike regular OS membership which is absolutely free, Preferred Membership has the added requirement of minimal membership fees and some special paperwork. But in exchange for the small amount they will be contributing to OngakuSociety and its many projects, Preferred Members will be enjoying several benefits exclusively for them, including:
- An official Ongaku Society Preferred Membership ID, valid for two (2) years;
- An exclusive gift item courtesy of Ongaku Society (gift items are subject to availability and may be changed by Ongaku Society at any time);
- An exclusive e-mail address that forwards all mail to your primary e-mail address;
- Special discount price on tickets to Ongaku Society and OS-affiliated events (maximum of two (2) tickets per member);
- Special discount price on Ongaku Society and OS-affiliated merchandise (maximum of two (2) items per member);
- Admission to the Preferred Members-only section of the official OngakuSociety website;
- Admission to exclusive Preferred Members-only events and activities.
- And many more! Please click here for more details.
By signing up for the Ongaku Society Preferred Membership Programme, you are agreeing to the following Terms and Conditions for Cardholders:
-- Ongaku Society, its moderators, and its partner-establishments reserve the right to modify or terminate Cardholder privileges at any time. Ongaku Society also reserves the right to change the Terms and Conditions for Cardholders at any time. Ongaku Society undertakes no obligation to provide a replacement or substitute offer for any discontinued offer and/or privilege.
-- To avail of in-store privileges at any of our participating establishment, the Preferred Members Card must be presented prior to purchase, plus the Cardholder must fulfill all pre-determined conditions. Our partner-establishment reserve the right to withhold Cardholder privileges if the Card is not presented prior to billing or does not fulfill store-determined conditions. Establishments may also reserve the right to ask for additional identification to verify your identity as a rightful Cardholder.
-- Ongaku Society partner-establishments are legal corporate entities on their own right. Ongaku Society will not be held liable for any dissatisfaction with products or services rendered by these establishments. Ongaku Society is also not responsible for changes in promo terms and/or privileges for our partner-establishments due to errors, ommisions, and inaacuraccies in advertising material, or due to new ownership or acquisition of the company. For any disputes with a partner-establishment, Ongaku Society will take reasonable efforts to solve the dispute on your behalf.
-- Unless otherwise stated, your Ongaku Society Preferred Membership will expire two (2) years from the date of payment. Use of the Ongaku Society Preferred Membership Card and its benefits and discounts in a manner that violates the rules or regulations of any participating partner-establishment is prohibited by this Agreement and is grounds for termination of your Membership. Ongaku Society reserves the right to cancel your Cardholder rights immediately in the event of such a violation.
Website updates occur in real-time. Fortunately, we are running on a CMS-based back-end, so updating is a breeze. Check back often for fresh articles and new updates on Japan and the local Japanese pop culture scene.
For people who would like to be part of the website team, we're very sorry but currently only community moderators can be part of the website development team. However, when vacancies open up on the team, or when there is a need for additional people to help with the site, we'll be putting up announcements and screening people as soon as we can.
Regarding article submissions, it's up to the mods if they choose to publish your article, but if you'd like to give it a shot, then kindly place your .DOC or RTF article (and accompanying pictures) in a zip file and send it to this address. Please label the subject line ONGAKU WEBSITE ARTICLE SUBMISSION, and include a short description of yourself in the main body of the e-mail.
Events are held twice a year with indeterminate gaps in between. However, as soon as plans are set for a new Ongaku event, announcements will be put up at the mailing list, the LJ community, the forums, and the website.
Most of the bands that play during Ongaku events are active members of the community. If you want to play at the next gig, you can start by joining any of our web-based venues and participating in community activities regularly.
When a call for bands comes out, be sure to sign up for audition slots and participate regularly during meetings to improve your chances of getting picked. It also helps to have a good reputation among the fans, but if you're a new band just striking out then being friendly, helpful, and professional in your dealings will go a long way in helping you land that performance slot.