Forum - View topicNEWS: 3 Japanese Men Arrested, Charged with Uploading Anime
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tygerchickchibi
 Posts: 1448 |
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._. well, though...it's media, should it really all that necessary? It seems like a good plan, but...I don't know how I truly feel about that, considering that I don't think anime is THAT important to even have its own tax, let alone the general media. I can see clothes, furniture, homes, things like that...something that people actually NEED. But I doubt that would stop bootlegging, or downloads in any country but the USA, right? And would it really go to the companies? *scratches head.* I believe that's what I wanted to ask, but I'm a little tired here... >.>; I would say, it does sound good after reading it a second time. |
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samuelp
Industry Insider
Posts: 2231 Location: San Antonio, USA |
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Uh, read farther back in the thread. This is a general plan to offset industry internet file-sharing in general, not specific to anime. So basically make file-sharing legal, but tax media and distribute the revenue to the companies that produce the media in some pseudo-equitable manner. It's not unheard of, I think there are European countries that already have such laws. Actually, in a way this plan would give the government quite a lot more power than it used to have over the media industry, as I could imagine, say the porn industry having a hard time pleading for the government to cut them a piece of the tax revenue lest politicians be accused of "funding smut". Or the government withholding the payouts instead of leveling fines for FCC-type regulations, etc. Hmm... do I really want to give some of the power of the media industry's purse over to the government like that? Also, there's the international aspect to this, which anime would be a significant part of. Would the US pay Japanese companies some percentage of the revenue to offset their losses from US downloads? Or would they pay the US licensors, who in turn have more cash to license more anime from Japan? I'll admit these are not simple fixes, and probably would require extremely complex legislation and regulation, but you'd have to admit that it'd be better than the un-enforceable, ill-suited laws we have at the moment that benefit no one in the end. |
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Fallout2man
Posts: 274 Location: San Diego, CA |
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You're for government healthcare right? That's government sticking their hands into the pot in a very big way, much moreso than here. You could solve the problem by making this content agnostic. We have to remember more than anime is downloaded over the internet. There's movies, music, books, games and applications. Each has some use or point. There would need to be some process or barrier to entry to keep out people from spamming the system with files just to redirect money to them, and that could be an issue. However I think quality control in that case would be easier to solve then the other issues we have before us. Music might survive, anime still might make it through, games may survive but only by slowly leaving the PC (current trends are towards consoles), and applications now tend to be generally either GPL'd free software or (extremely) expensive large applications targeted at businesses (the adobe model.) If you're willing to let them sort it out then fine, but I do worry about the state of things, and that's more reason to try and think of the long term.
It's just as naive to believe we're going to reach a real solution to this by doing absolutely nothing. Please suggest something else then, because right now we stand to lose a lot if someone can't figure out how to make the system work for everyone. I know the government is horribly inefficient and bureaucratic but what's left here? Think of it like the debate about socialized medicine, we're faced with a crisis right now, this one just hasn't boiled over yet, and we need to address it before it's too late.
I don't, but I know a lot of people do, it's irrational, yes, but they do. Passive TV ads really aren't so bad but people still love to buy tivos and other devices that let them skip or fast foreward their commercial breaks. They may not have cared before but now the technology is here and a lot of people do. It'd be great if everyone could get their video content via a TV method of advertising and product placement but I don't think enough people would be willing to accept that.
True, but coupons give us a little something-something with that ad. :p
I used to watch that Pay-per view preview channel when I was younger, but this isn't about you or me so much as public perception. We may be able to agree on advertising but unless you and I are going to bankroll the book, music, movie, and software industry that really won't make much of a difference.
Then what else are we going to do? If things don't change, markets and a lot of stuff we love may die. You can't expect to change people's opinions on the value of digital content nor expect to realistically win from a legal or technological attempt to stop downloading. So that leaves us with finding a new way to satisfy the urge to consume while making money. What do you suggest? |
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Xanas
Posts: 2058 |
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Exactly my opinion. Sure there are huge problems with it and the plan has difficulties, but nowhere near the amount of problems and difficulties as the current mess. We also gain some huge advantages.
1) Derivative works would be legal (at least non-commercial works) and this would be a huge bonus to AMVs, fanfiction, etc. No longer would it have to be done anonymously and the companies wouldn't have to ignore it's existence to avoid being forced to cause trouble. 2) Out of print works could be legally downloaded and still contribute something to the licensor. 3) Foreign viewers would be put on a more even field where something is contributed on their account. I'll admit the porn problem exists, of course.. porn is even more widely downloaded illegally than regular media. I don't think it is really art either so I don't think it's necessary to promote. It'll always exist because there are people who like to be viewed as much as there are voyeurs.
I agree with you on this, but I don't think they do. Some of them think a huge crackdown where a ton of people get fined will "send a signal" and there will be this huge turn-around where we magically all decide to do what they do. That's why they ultimately argue against this idea, because they basically want to see "blood" instead. |
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Moomintroll
 Posts: 1600 Location: Nottingham (UK) |
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The media tax idea doesn't work. It can't be made to work internationally. It can't be made to work logistically and even if it could, the running costs would swallow most of the tax raised. It would be no more secure against tampering than DRM is against cracking. There is no effective way to know what every download on the internet is or who owns the copyright. There is no way of easily differentiating between the relative value of different downloads - should a single song by an unsigned band get as much as a £200 software package?
It has been mentioned that some countries had or have blank media taxes. What hasn't been mentioned is that since you can't tell what a blank tape or disc will be used for, the money raised simply got divided up amongst the largest media corporations and song publishers. It simply doesn't do anything for any anime company unless that company happens to be owned by Sony. If you don't believe me, next time a representative of an anime company appears on these boards, ask them how much the Canadian government ever sent them. And as if all that wasn't enough, no government (no US government in particular) is going to agree to a tax that would benefit all entertainment providers equally. Your government will not fund porn, Grand Theft Auto, fanservice anime, "un-American" movies, songs about taking drugs and so on and so forth. Wishing it were so doesn't make it so. --- The only way to keep anime alive if it's to be given away for free is to monetise it in other ways. Advertising isn't really a viable option (though it could certainly contribute) given the demographics involved. You can't sell cars and insurance and mortgages to 13 year old Death Note fans and you're not going to keep the likes of Madhouse or Gonzo in business with an occasional J-List advert. Subscriptions and donations are no answer either, or at least not in the long term - it seems that most fans are cheap and irresponsible and accept no accountability and they'd rather get it free now and worry about the goose that lays the (free) golden eggs later. So how would the anime industry survive? By releasing more toy advert shows for small children, more shows primarily designed to advertise a populist manga series or dubious hentai game, more shows that exist not to tell a story but to sell a bunch of semi-pornographic anime girl figures. More overt product placement. More ultra niche, otaku friendly moe stuff since those fans seem more likely (in Japan at least) to buy show-related collectible crap. But there's no place in that world for the future successors of Haibane Renmei, Paranoia Agent, Grave Of The Fireflies or SE Lain. No place for anything very intelligent at all. Not a problem if you thought He Man was the highlight of the 1980s or your primary interest in anime revolves around little plastic statues of catgirls in their underwear but it would certainly kill my interest in the medium. Of course, arguing the case with downloaders (especially those who don't also support the industry financially) on either moral or common sense grounds won't work. They aren't listening and even if they were, nothing punctures the bubble of entitlement. Besides, it's a collective problem and everybody knows that the thing they're currently downloading won't be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Why should they stop if everybody else is doing it? That's not to say the arguments shouldn't still be stated - it's the principle of the thing. Legislation and prosecutions probably won't work either. Nobody has the appetite or resources for a battle on the scale required, nor the technological lead to sustain the victory if it were achieved. That could change in the future but it's not a realistic solution at the moment. Which is not to say that companies shouldn't prosecute if they feel like it - it's their rights being usurped and, frankly, people willfully breaking the law ought to feel there's an attendant risk, no matter how small. In short, I don't see a feasible solution to the problem at this time. I think the industry will survive but it will be a shadow of its former self and what it will produce will largely be lowest common denominator dross. That's not the end of the world - there are enough movies, books, anime, music, manga and whatnot produced in the past that I've never yet encountered that even if no more were produced, I could go my whole life without ever running out of things to discover. I won't go short of entertainment and it certainly won't be on my conscience but it'll be rather a shame, especially for the artists currently producing new works, no? |
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Xanas
Posts: 2058 |
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Well I agree it'd be a shame, but I'm not convinced the alternative is impossible yet. I've never been a big fan of Canada the way some people are, so I don't think their inability means no one can solve the issues. I do believe we'll have to reach some kind of breaking point (not for Japanese media but for our own) for changes of this kind to even be considered.
The constant extensions on copyright terms, the desire to increase control further and the desires of consumers to get what they want are too big of a conflict to avoid permanently. What's impossible to manage now will not necessarily always be impossible. I agree we are probably in for some decline though, and there isn't any avoiding it. I'll do the best I can to support the shows I like. Hopefully we'll still see a few things going on during that. And yes, there'll always be American TV, which I probably appreciate less than I should. Lately with all this talk on the forum I've really withdrawn from even caring about American TV due to this whole crisis mentality. |
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Joshua-Sensei
Posts: 20 |
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[/quote]You may not be a teenager in actual age, but by the looks of your posts so far your attitude and mentallity hasn't crossed the 19 barrier yet. So if you don't want to be mistaken for a spoiled 15 year old with "I'm entitled to everything now, and the world is cruel and mean for not giving it to me." angst, then start posting in a way that does not give that impression to us next time. Your definition of "decent" might not be what the general public would call it. and it is to the general public that companies want to target their product in order to get the most profit, that's fundamental business. Also you shouldn't have to be told to stop doing something by someone you are doing it to, when you should already know that what it is you are doing is wrong. That is what is expected of a responsible adult in any country.[/quote]
Honestly who are you to say it is wrong. Just because something is illegal does not make it wrong... Everyone has their own set of morals I see no wrong in downloading a show that I will never have the luxury of purchasing in the US. Wrong and right are not black and white.. and to say it is shows a great lack of intelligence or basic understanding of life.
Plenty of people buy crack and drugs for outrageous prices.. and even go as far as to sell their children for it... I guess that isn't ridiculous from a retail point of view to the dealer.....
Honestly and don't take this the wrong way.. I could care less about what you would have a problem with or not have a problem with... you are just another name on the internet to me.... another person odds are a week from now I won't even remember. Some one who means less to me than the cat I accidentally ran over this morning. The same goes for me to you.. you'll never remember me, nor do I mean anything to you.. that's the world we live in. As far as the anime downloading goes... I see no problem with it, I am not hurting anyone by doing so, and I will continue to do so until the industry figures a way to actually make anime more accessible to those who might not be able to shell out ton o money. There is nothing you can do to stop it, or change my mind about it, just as in turn there is nothing I can do to make you feel different about it... Life sucks, and when it does you have to forge ahead, and do what ever it takes to make yourself happy because no one else is going to help you become happy nor do they really desire to. People are bastard covered bastards with bastard filling.... I cause no harm to anyone by downloading, I'm not stealing because I'm not taking money away from them when it wasn't available for me to buy it in the first place. [/quote] |
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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My solution isn't popular.
I work in Law Enforcement. I'm for criminal charges against downloaders. Keeps me in business, doesn't it?  I happen to think if you nail a few, others would grudgingly comply & the problem would end up somewhere lower than the amount of drug users I deal with in any given day. Locks keep honest people honest. Thieves want something bad enough, they'll steal it & because they're never as good as they think they are, they'll get caught. My clients either learn their lesson & stop breaking the law or they keep coming back until it finally sinks in. The drug users clean up or die ugly deaths. One of the more popular pix in my office is a set of mugshots of a particular gal from something like her teen yrs to around her 40's when I believe she OD'd & it's not a pretty decline.
As for the tax, I look at the California Lottery which was pitched as a great way to "help our schools!" Each $1 spent is divided between prizes (at least 1/3), Administrative costs, whatnot. What do the schools get out of that dollar? A nickel. Many schools actually protested the lottery because they said (correctly at times) that while the money was pitched as "extra" funds for libraries, etc., they would be used to offset school budgets. Sure enough I've discussed issues at election times & often hear the opinion "I'm voting against the school bond issue. They have the lottery money. It's better in my pocket" As I said (& Moomintroll pointed out) very little of that money would make it back to anyone who counts. Come on. you know America usually refuses to march to the same drummer as the rest of the world. Call upyour local PBS Station & ask them how easy it is for them to get the funds they need to bring us quality tv without commercials. Joshua-Sensei- Yes, you have hurt someone. In this world what goes around comes around & I believe fervently in karma. The jobs you are costing in the anime industry thru your & other people downloading illegally will come back to bite you in the butt someday. You'll lose a job interview you really want. you'll go thru lengthy periods of unemployment. Whatever. Maybe someday you'll lose a cat or a dog to being run over & maybe then it'll hit you. My husband bragged when he was a teen he'd put cats in barrels & roll them down hills or drop them off freeway overpasses-lots of laughs. Then we got a cat & he felt incredibly horrible for all the things he did. Your karma will nail you. My husband died at the age of 44 & I don't doubt a piece of it was his karma. If there is no one who cares about you, maybe you need to find someone to open up to. Very few people are islands. Most of us impact someone's life. I see about 100 clients per week & it may take me a bit, but I do remember a lot of them even though I only see them every 2 months or so. And they remember me (sit & stare at me, waiting for me to call their name while I'm talking to the clients ahead of them). And every once in awhile I get someone who thanks me because we kept on them so they had to change their ways. They're holding a job for the first time in their lives or they've been clean for 6 months or more. If downloading weren't the problem it is, would Geneon have left? Maybe yes, maybe no, since I can't decide how much was us & how much was the parent company, but I do believe downloading impacted them just as it is costin jobs in the domestic anime industry. I can't see downloading because I know I wouldn't appreciate it if I worked all day long & then didn't get paid (actually been there-company I worked for went belly-up & the checks bounced a few times at the end.) |
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Fallout2man
Posts: 274 Location: San Diego, CA |
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What you're basically proposing is just a different form of government subsidization of an industry though. The big difference though is law enforcement is impractical. You aren't going to stop a gigantic international movement with a few high profile court cases. If anything you might increase the amount of downloaders. Just about every time the RIAA made big news with one of its suits there was actually an overal sharp increase in the population of downloaders. If you wanted to drive it underground with enforcement you'd have to nail a significant percentage of people. You make talk of drug users yet throwing junkies in jail for poluting their bodies has been shown statistically to be counter-productive and ineffective. This is for the same two reasons. You don't have the resources or ability to catch a significant percentage of the people doing said crime and you also are entirely missing the critical reason of why and failing to address that. You don't cure diseases by treating the symptoms. In this specific case I already mentioned what you'd have to do to actually have effective enforcement, and if you think a tax would be a hard sell...Try selling to ISPs and the public that the general purpose internet is now officially over and only government approved protocols are now to be used, and anyone violating that would be convicted of a felony. The kicker? make the ISPs foot the bill for the constant required deep packet inspection and management of every single personal internet connection in existence. That's the only way you'd win the arms race and have a high rate of catching and preventing people from using peer to peer software. The unintended consiquence though is that you have just effectively killed the internet and forced what may even be a financially impossible task on ISPs to watch everyone 100% of the time to make sure there's no funny business. Plus you have to somehow get the public to agree to give up all online privacy, oh and ban all sending of encrypted data. No more SSL for e-commerce! It just won't work, and even moreso than a media tax, no one except for the big media companies would want or accept it.
You'd have to change a lot of things for it to be effective no doubt. You'd have to allow for a single centralized protocol for sharing that tracked statistics and create some sort of national file registry that had some sort of set of requirements or credentials to approve who or what got tracked on the income distribution system. It might work, it might not, but it's at least a little more realistic and goes after the actual issue here. People find anything digital as being of nil value because it can be reproduced and copied infinitely with the double click of a mouse. They want to consume it still but since they see it as without value they often don't want to pay.
Indeed it might not work but you can't deny the fact that we still have to figure out a way to get money to artists here. It's not going to happen with the way things are going right now. Industry groups composed of some of the largest, richest, most powerful companies in the world have been fighting tooth and nail for eight years now against this. They've thrown as much time, money, technology, litigation, and legislation at the issue as they possibly can, the richest and most powerful companies in the world. If after eight years they are only losing more and more ground, it's obvious something else has to happen.
I think he was talking about unlicensed anime. If it's not available here how can any damage be done? From a logical perspective the only possible issue here is of lost sales. Where someone downloads a product they would have otherwise bought. However if they are physically incapable of buying and making use of that title through legitimate means, there is no way a lost sale can be an issue in that case. So where is the exact cause of the harm?
The ethical issue runs far deeper then that though. You often bring up apples to oranges comparisons when we get to the ethics parts of these threads. If you ever really want to debate with someone and convince them you first must try to understand how they think and why they come to their conclusions. You become that much of a better person each time you are able to see the world through someone else's eyes, even if only briefly. |
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Meson
Posts: 219 Location: Buffalo, NY |
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I don't know if it will be enough, but in the end, the only way to make revenue for teh industry will be product placement. Advertisements inside teh content itself. For anime and otehr video, that means putting in products from arround the world or just internationally distributated products. Nobody likes it, but it might be the only way.
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Moomintroll
Posts: 1600 Location: Nottingham (UK) |
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Careful, Xanas - Canadians have long memories and their agents are everywhere! 
From libertarianism to nihlism? You have to smash the system before you can reform the system?
Agreed. And I'm all in favour of curtailing copyright and DRM excesses. That is not the same thing, however, as throwing out the good with the bad - which is what doing away with the whole system achieves.
Yes. And? Are you suggesting crack should be given away free to help the poor? Or are you just agreeing with me that "expensive" does not equal "unsustainable"?
Why ask the questions if, upon recieving answers you don't like, you're just going to say you didn't care what the other person thought in the first place? Why bother entering the debate at all?
True enough. But since when has that been a good reason for people not to put forward their moral and / or practical objections with regard to any issue?
Truly, you are the poster child of the entitlement generation... 
Some people actually think there's more to life (and happiness) than instant gratification.
Accurately determining which content providers should be compensated for (and to what degree) by your media tax based on download traffic surely has the exact same problems?
Downloads are available because there are people willing to download them making downloaders as responsible for their existance as uploaders. The download, once on the net, is not restricted to markets where the title is unavailable so any Japanese fan wanting to watch the show for free can now do so (if they're willing to put up with the subs) despite the DVDs being available. That's harmful. That the title has been given away free also impacts on its desirability to potential licensors. That's potentially harmful. Lastly - and maybe most importantly - the concept that everybody is entitled to everything regardless of whose rights they have to trample on to get it and whose livelihood they might be damaging in the process is harmful in a social sense. It's not a recipe for good and productive human beings or a harmonious society. |
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samuelp
Industry Insider
Posts: 2231 Location: San Antonio, USA |
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Actually, no, it wouldn't. If you truly had a media tax like I suggested, there would be no need to encrypt the file-transfers because it wouldn't be illegal, and therefore you don't need deep packet sniffing, you'd only need generic sampling (like nielson ratings) to get averages. In fact, (similar to the immigration debate), by giving downloading and file-sharing official "status", it would allow them to come out of the shadows and be counted accurately for the first time, enabling businesses and investors a much better picture of what the true state of the entertainment industry is, and allowing them more data to make better marketing decisions. |
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Xanas
Posts: 2058 |
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I read an article sometime ago that indicated what most libertarians know. We realize that regardless of party government becomes bigger and that when it comes down to it our viewpoint isn't one that will ever be implemented. Taxes will only go up in the long run. So I'm inclined to agree that sometimes the system has to be smashed in order for there to be a significant reason to reform. I hope that I'm wrong, but just looking at the way that people think leads me to believe I'm not. The fact that reform could go in the entirely opposite direction (towards total control, loss of privacy, etc.) frightens me a great deal. I think others are far too trusting if they think that would be a good development solely due to it's "advantage" in protecting media and prosecuting people like me. But others have shown that they clearly don't care about the repercussions, they just want to see real hardcore enforcement. |
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Joshua-Sensei
Posts: 20 |
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What I said was "no one cares if you are happy or not, they care about their own happiness more." And Karma is a perfect example of this.... you don't do nice things for people because you care about them or want them to be happy, you think if you are nic to some one eventually you will reap some sort of reward. The same logic could be used as to why you don't do what you feel is "wrong." (When I say you I mean the world as a whole.) I doubt me downloading anime will get me a whole heck of a lot of bad karma.. and honestly I wouldn't care if it did... I don't believe in karma (not to say that you are wrong or right I just don't believe)
Thank you thank you a thousand times that you!...
Okay riddle me this... a sequel to your favorite movie is coming out on tv alone, one night showing and you will never see it licenced as a dvd in the US... you have to work the night that it airs or are in some way incapacitated.. you have a friend record it for you... you watch it then you have another friend who did not get to watch it... How is that any different from me watching anime that has not been licenced in the US? What are fansubbers if not everyones friend who "recorded" the show for them... and if it was a Japanese movie from the example how is them putting fansubs on it any different if say you had a Japanese speaking friend who translated it for you? Obviously you didn't read what I have said so I'll put it in bigger font for you (or just caps it) I DON'T DOWNLOAD WHAT IS LICENSED IN THE US! I should probably add that if a show is licenced and I downloaded it, I usually go out and buy it. Great example of that Onegai Teacher... I downloaded it... I loved it... It was licecnced I bought it..... now if I had never downloaded it, how would I have known that it was worth shelling out the 40.00 that I did when it first was released.... So in all actuality I am not hurting the anime industry at all really... in fact my downloading shows helps me decide what I want to buy and what I don't want to buy... Monster is another perfect example.. I have all the episodes fansubbed on my hard drive.. and now it has become licenced.. I'm going to go out and buy the dvd's when released..... Now how is that hurting or wrong? As far as the crack reference I was trying to show that people will buy anything no matter how high it is priced.. so saying it is reasonable because people buy it does not work. If milk was priced at 350.00 a gallon.. you bet your boots some people would still buy it and it would sell... but don't you think that it is a little overpriced? and perhaps priced unreasonably???? |
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Andromeda
Posts: 119 Location: Florida |
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I have an idea - how about broadcasting free on a YouTube-esque, site, but one that gives part of its banner ad revenue to content contributers (or is one you the producer/copyright owner happen to own)... and then including the usual ad breaks (for normal live action TV, that would be one for after the teaser/credits, one after the first act, one after the second act, one after the third act), but only including one single, brief ad in each break? If the break is only 15 seconds long, chances are I personally will not skip it, it's too quick to bother because the program will be literally back in a few seconds - from what I can tell, other people are lazy too, and chances are if the ad isn't say, as obnoxious as the Head On commercials, they won't bother to fast-forward, and may not even bother muting it for those few seconds (granted, you could almost guarantee that most people would sit through them if you made them unable to fast-forward or mute, or if you made such things clunky and difficult to use so it's not worth it, but then you risk annoying users I suppose  ). You could also charge extra on certain shows to have a custom-tailored ad at the beginning (this would work best with comedies, obviously), with say, creative use of humor to poke fun of commercialism or whatnot, while still driving home the logo or name of the brand who bought the spot. (This would have to be used sparingly, though, unless you're a freaking comedy genius who could make it entertaining consistently) Hell, funny ads in the first place work better - people are more likely to even watch them, you know?
The rest of your budget-making-up stuff and even profits could be from a combination of the following: *Product placement (you don't even have to pull an obvious one; there are whole websites devoted to showing you what brand jeans that chick on Grey's Anatomy wore last week, after all) *"Hi-def ad free" streams that charge a very small premium (like a buck or two) for say, the ability to watch it, higher-res and commercial free, anytime to you log into the site until the end of time or at least until the stream isn't available anymore. This would probably be pretty inexpensive, even if only a small contingent of fans tended to purchase viewing rights to them. *Cheap, portable iTunes-style downloads, which have already proven to have a reasonably good following as countless people discovered that they could actually have something entertaining to do while in line for the DMV or if the highway inexplicably has a 32 car pileup and is blocked for an hour or two with you stuck in traffic. 
*Tangible spin-off merchandise (the market for this is actually insanely big and apparently can make a considerable amount of money, judging from how much product gets put out each year even for crappy movies. Everything from copies of the script, to spin-off comics and novels, to sticker books, puzzles, PVC figures, etc., you get to charge a licensing fee for all that you know) *Selling off your leftcover scripts, storyboards, props, set dressing, costumes, cels or sketches, etc. - no seriously, these things are big collector's items now, and a number of studios actually have a sort of rapport with certain collectibles companies (PropStore.com, for instance, is one of them), because they can sell off the props and stuff to the companies - sometimes even for more money than it actually cost to make the things, I think - and recoup some of the budget costs that would ordinarily be written off as a loss... while meanwhile fans win by getting to own a piece of the movie. There are even whole cottage industries within the pieces-of-the-movie-itself collectibles business, such as that for cel collectors (huge business in the anime community actually, since many Japanese animation studios have been slow to switch to CGI), or for cult hits like Serenity or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which have obsessive fanbases (I swear, Propstore of London probably could support itself profitably for a good ten years just from Joss Whedon fans alone  ). Even a CG-animated film would have printed scripts, concept sketches, storyboards and the like that could still be sold off to collectibles stores.
*Super-special collector's set DVDs with tons of bonus features, interactive features, and cool "feelies" (tangible extras). Hell, anime companies already do this, all the time, with things like reversible covers and liner notes and art boxes, sometimes even stuffing the art box with all kinds of feelies too: Bandai for instance stuffed a copy of the first OST CD, a T-shirt, a "collector's cel" or two and an honest to goodness shot glass (and a nice one, to boot) in the artbox edition of Witch Hunter Robin vol. 1; Right Stuf's release of Comic Party had a gorgeous artbox with an animation cel-esque slipcover, a mini pencil board signed by one of the voice actors, and of course, the requisite reversible cover and disc itself also had an interview with the Japanese actors and a bonus short omake film (still thought the series was a waste of time to watch, but damn that was a nice vol. 1 release!); and ADV almost inevitably includes reversible covers, a liner notes booklet, and an artbox on one of the volumes, on everything but some of their cheapskate releases - and occasionally they include other neat stuff, too (Azumanga Daioh for instance came with some cute pins and Excel Saga featured some of the coolest DVD features - popup video-esque translation notes, games and easter eggs, amusing menus specifically modeled after an episode on the disc - along with fun things like the "Excel Saga tapping sumo game" or funny paper dolls), and of course, Last Exile vol. 1 came packaged with the first OST as well (or at least, one version of it did). I could go on and on about this one, but honestly I think you probably already got the idea - it's common practice, which it wouldn't be if it wasn't at least a little profitable. To be honest, half the reason I occasionally still splurge on anime DVDs (with relatively few exceptions) is because they include cool things like art boxes and shot glasses and soundtracks and tapping sumo games. I actually am ambivalent on WHR, was bored with Comic Party and Last Exile... but the WHR extras made me feel like I got a lot more than I paid for, and though I never bought CP vol. 2, I felt like it was worth the money just for the awesome box, believe it or not. And LE? LE wasn't interesting enough to really catch my attention past vol. 1, but darned if it didn't have an awesome soundtrack (since I bought the set for $10 as part of a Right Stuf sale, I think of it as having gotten a good deal on a really cool CD, and getting a bonus DVD out it, actually, heh). Heck, I even appreciated the free t-shirt with Shingu, even though the design is kind of silly (the show, however, turned out to be pretty fun). I don't think I'm the only one who's a sucker for a pretty box, either, since they do still always seem to come out with an art box for most series now (and occasionally even sell additional copies of the art boxes later, as I know ADV did with Excel Saga). There's obviously a market for them. In other words, I think the industry can - and in many cases already is - finding ways to cut costs and make money off of a series, and could easily find ways to turn a profit even if their actual shows were available for free to the viewer. Indeed, though, download sales are actually climbing, with at least one major company reporting it expects to earn something like $1 billion(!) from digital this year. Notice that the big sticking point in the writers' strike is largely over digital revenue.
-Andromeda |
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