How to fix the industry, part 2
Kabitzin’s Version
I had to ask Kabitzin of Sea Slug Team! his take on this “issue” because he’s been doing this forever, and because I’m a fan. It was only natural that he (and probably quite a few other people) would mention fansubbing. It turns out Kabitzin tackled the issue three years ago. I suggest everyone reads that post, because it’s typical Kabitzin: concise but meaty, and very thoughtful, skeptical instead of argumentative. That, however, was a direct reaction to the fansubbing issue, whereas I was hoping to be more forward-looking here. Three years later, we shouldn’t be in the same spot, and it appears that he agrees. So, on with his thoughts:
I have always felt that the industry needs to stop focusing on pointing fingers and start coming up with solutions. I think what you have seen companies do recently with day-of streaming and official subs is a step in the right direction. In America, fansubs built the anime consumer base and to target fansubs before you have a viable solution in place is counter-productive. I think the music industry offers some hints about how to proceed. Once you’ve got services with large selections, reasonable prices, and fast releases then you can really start cracking down on pirates and fansubbers. Until then, all you are doing is decreasing your potential audience.
Well said. The music industry has been slow on the uptake though, and if it takes anime production and licensing companies just as long as the Big Four and the RIAA, we’re in for another few years of the same crap.
The main point I can take away from this is that there are two attitudes you could have.
- “A fansub downloaded is a DVD sale lost.” That is both logically flawed and, frankly, whiny.
- “A fansub downloader is a potential customer.” Now that’s the kind of attitude that makes money.
It’s also the same kind of pioneering thinking that got anime over here to begin with. As Kabitzin mentions, fansubbing created today’s market for anime in America. Music downloading led to the iTunes store. You get the idea.
Next up, that classic argument for the efficiency of a dictatorship.
