Forum - View topicNEWS: Central Park Media Files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
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Paploo
Posts: 1875 |
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Don't have any links handy, but..... Suncoast/Musicland closed many of its locations in 2006, and as a major retailer for anime at the time. This collapse of anime at retail is a big part of why CPM closed up, and something that affected all companies to a degree, CPM moreso since Suncoast was a major account for them. This pretty much coincided with CPM's stopping releasing new titles. While online sales are important, brick and mortar stores are still where anime companies make the most of their business- which is why you see Media Blaster's John Sirabella frankly telling folks at AnimeonDVD that titles are delayed to better fit with BestBuy's schedule. So basically, if anime fans want anime companies to survive, it's best to support retailers and companies by buying what you'd like, and buyinjg regularly. In addition to these issues, you also had rising anime licensing costs [due to inflated demand that ultimately proved to not be as big as anime companies, stores and fans thought- another factor in stores like Suncoast closing]. And the legal issues relating to Be Beatiful, where many of CPM's contracts and pretty much all their catalogue, were properties from Biblos, who went under in Japan due to assorted issues. Their catalogue was taken over by Libre, who then put up a ruckus with assorted licensors of Biblos properties. In the end, CPM couldn't continue releasing these titles. There's all kinds of other issues, but these are just some of the things that helped CPM along the way to bankruptcy, and these are the publically known ones. A lot of the stuff behind it is stuff I'm guessing they can't talk about. Anime fans need to understand that for all kinds of legal and business reasons, companies can't always be as frank as we'd like. That said, the stuff I listed above, along with the general problems all anime companies are having lately, and a poor economy affecting credit availabiliy, are all things that could of caused it. CPM was really friendly with fans, and operated a great University Club program with Peter Tatara running it, with a regular newsletter, and lots of screeners, and were also helpful for Con support. It's too bad anime fans lost a lot of the stuff we'd enjoyed in the boom, and I hope we as fans can make things work again so we don't have to see another anime company go under. |
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jsyxx
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Utena just finished an HD remaster in Japan, so this would be the perfect moment for some company to do a license rescue for sure.
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xstylus
 Posts: 263 |
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You summed it up pretty well. Suncoast left them heavily exposed. In such a that situation, it was near impossible for them to successfully bid new titles at the prices the Japanese were asking (or were being constantly outbid), thus they didn't have anything new to keep an influx of new revenue going. It also didn't help that downloads were making acquisition of new licenses a risky endeavor and eroded pricing power. Eventually they resorted to perpetually re-re-releasing their back catalog in sets at insanely slashed prices. I should've picked up the Utena sets back when they were $20 each at Best Buy while I had the chance. Sadly, the situation described above also describes ADV. However, I have a feeling they'll survive though, since they've cleverly changed their business model from a license acquisition and release model to a localization service for the licensor model. |
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luffypirate
 Posts: 3186 |
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thank u cpm for some good titles. i shall cherish them. rest in piece
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Dumnerd
Posts: 152 |
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Hi, this is my first time posting.
CPM was terminal ever since Musicland Group went bankrupt a couple of years back. With the rising costs of licensing, localizing & promoting titles; coupled with our crippled economy I'm suprised they didn't file sooner. Either way they'll be missed. Central Park Media (1990 - 2009) R.I.P. 
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dizzon
 Posts: 338 |
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Central Park Media was the driving force behind my love of anime. I will miss them greatly.
Now to dull the pain the only way I know how.............a bottle of whiskey and Project A-KO. 
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kokuryu
 Posts: 915 |
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Wow, thats too bad. I remember meeting them many years ago at a convention right after they had started offering the videos - we had every title they were producing out for sale and it was going great. They were truly an icon in the American Anime industry. I hope that any titles they had rights for still some companies pick up and continue to release eventually. I just blame the bad economy for their closing - its been so bad lately, I am glad just to have a job...
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sunflower
 Posts: 1080 |
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While I'm sad CPM went under, I'm glad that someone else can buy the BeBeautiful licenses now so people no longer have to pay $100 and up to buy their books on ebay.
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8459 Location: Penguinopolis |
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My Patlabor OVA DVDs, Grave of the Fireflies DVD, and Now and Then, Here and There DVDs are all, in my opinion, great additions to my anime collection and all CPM titles. Their English dubs were beyond atrocious, but they licensed a few good titles on occasion, nevertheless. I wonder if anyone will even bother picking up some of the titles they licensed, considering their relative age to newer, more popular titles.
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zanarkand princess
 Posts: 1484 |
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Wow well I guess it was only a matter of time, I don't think I own anything from them though I've seen quite a few of their licenses. Still it's sad to see them go especially since they were one of the only NY based licensors
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taster of pork
 Posts: 594 Location: My House |
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Any company that distributes old anime will be missed by me. Hopefully someone else will continue to release them.
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daedelus
 Posts: 743 Location: Texas City, TX (ajd: 6/11/05) |
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Truly sad news. Gall Force: Eternal Story was my gateway and I'm glad that I own everything they brought over. I feel very fortunate that I own the NTHT boxset, as well as Grave of the Fireflies and Shadow Star Narutaru boxset. I probably have more, but can't think right now.
Thanks CPM/US Manga Corp for bringing me into the fold! You will be missed.
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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I'm not sure if this had to do with their decline but I noticed some bewildering choices they made like discontinuing the box sets in favor of continuing the singles (e.g. Narutaru)
Yes that would be awesome. I guess a redub too. But I'm not sure if we'll be seeing this anytime soon considering what I'd assume is a higher asking price for the HD remaster, its very recent release and Japan's usual fears of reverse importation. I hope I'm wrong though. Or TV Tokyo could break the mold and just release it here themselves (with the usual boxset value pricing), perhaps in lower-priced sub-only form at first like Gurren Lagann. Speaking of which, a number of older titles have had R2 DVD or BD remasters.. the only one I can think of that made it over was Evangelion. |
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poisondusk
 Posts: 61 Location: Brighton, UK |
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It's a real shame to see them go
I hope some of the other BL publishers pick up some of Be Beautiful's licenses - Yamane Ayano's Finder series is extremely popular among fans, but has been impossible to get hold of officially in English for a long time.
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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I'm glad I got my Outlanders DVD before CPM finally went down in flames. Perhaps a phoenix will be born from the ashes.
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