Drac of the Sharp Smiles wrote:The fact that YOU are getting it at little to no cost does NOT equate to it costing little to nothing to CREATE. The majority of the cost of creating a book of any kind is NOT in the paper and ink used to print it. (Most people assign FAR too much value to the paper/ink -- go read some of the arguements about digital book downloads for the Kindle, etc, if you don't believe me.) Paper/ink is one of the tiniest costs in the whole process. The majority of the cost is paying the artist, the writer, the editor, the publicist, etc, etc, etc...
But that's not the point. What I was referring to is that people can easily obtain music, videos, comics, books, etc. and carry it around on small, portable devices to enjoy whenever. And companies cater to this by selling media at a nominal cost. I would hope that the fee that I pay to buy legitimate copies does cover something, but, I realize that companies are stuck between a rock & a hard place - either sell it for a reasonable cost or expect people to obtain it through illegitimate means. So, it's either recoup some of your cost or none at all.
As in the music industry, the way a performer earns money is through concerts and not through CD sales. It may be that mangaka are going to have to follow a similar route. I'd imagine that there's a good fee for artists to participate in signings/conventions, or, at the very least, an all expense paid trip to said location.
BTW, Cutiebunny, I could not utterly and totally disagree with you more about kids in the US not having spending money. Kids have more spending power in this country than almost anywhere else in the world. Even if that weren't the case, I still hold by the same words Zerospace used: "I'm of the opinion that if you can't afford it, you don't get to have it." IMHO, that goes for EVERYTHING that is optional in life. If you WORK for it, you can have it. There's no reason a kid can't flip burgers to make some cash if mom and dad aren't handing any out -- they just DON'T WANNA. Boo-hoo.
That was before the depression.
Here's a nice CNN article about the current situation in the US -
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/08/ch ... l?hpt=Sbin
I know plenty of kids that would love to have part time jobs but there are none out there. In this economy, it's hard to find a job - even one at McDonalds. Prior to 2008, most of these stores would have signs out asking for help. But once the depression hit, those signs disappeared. I can't tell you the last time I've seen a "HELP WANTED" sign at Burger King.
There's a reason why, just this past Christmas, the president of Toys R Us was gloating that, due to the depression, the workforce at his stores are not only more efficient, but more intelligent. He even bragged about having college grads and CPAs working there. If Toys R Us is hiring CPAs, what chances does your average high school kid have?
Frankly, I pay for my anime and manga because I want to see more of it. I'm not going to see more if the person writing it can't put a meal on their table because I'm stealing the item they created to sell. You can shake their hand and say "GOOD JOB! AWESOME BOOK!" but when you don't PAY them for the book, do you think they can walk up to their landlord, shake his hand and say "GOOD JOB! AWESOME APARTMENT!" instead of paying rent?
The majority of people have limited funds. They choose to spend them in whatever way they want to. Some prefer to spend it on merchandise affiliated with the anime, while others choose to buy the manga/DVDs. Either way, they are purchasing items that tell the companies that they like the product and want more of it.
The majority of fans support the industry. But the method in which they do it in differs from person to person.
"If fansubs and raw anime were not available AT ALL, then I'm sure I would be buying more anime than I am now. I would be renting more anime than also."
Read that twice, Cutiebunny. Keropi states exactly that scanlations and fansubs ARE reducing the revenue of the companies bringing the shows over here, just as I said.
So one person states this and it now is the gospel truth....?
Perhaps, in some cases, it is. But I would venture that there are other reasons that are affecting it.
The end result ISN'T the same. Obviously, it's best for publishers for you to buy the anime/manga yourself. However, even RENTING it from a rental store increases revenue for the publisher because the rental store will stock it. Look at Blockbuster on release day for a hot new movie. They have something like 50 copies. Why so many? Why not just 10 copies? They bought more because they knew people would be coming to rent it. Let's pretend we have an anime, "Goddess Girl Academy". So our hypothetical rental shop buys a single copy of GGA volume 1 on it's release and the dang thing is almost always off the shelf. When volume 2 comes out, the owner thinks how he can't keep volume 1 available, so he gets TWO copies of GGA volume 2, and maybe gets another copy of volume 1 to boot.... HOWEVER.... if the rental shop owner bought that single copy of GGA volume 1 and it usually just collected dust, he definitely won't get more of volume 1 and what do you think the chances are he will get volume 2 at all?
My original example did not include video stores. They're nonexistent where I live. The Red Box is much more convenient.
The problem with this example is that it assumes that any anime is going to be an instant hit and that, if it's not available for free, tons of people will pick it up and watch it. But unless that item is something shown on TV, the chances of it being so successful that a company can easily make a profit out of it is slim. And as most newbies tend to be younger children who were first exposed to anime from TV, they're more likely to stick with a favorite Naruto episode than venture off to GGA. Kids are like this.
Fans who have been around longer tend to buy their stuff online, either through various companies directly or through second hand markets.
Libraries work the same way. Right now, libraries won't even take manga for FREE. I tried to offer a few manga sets for free to some local libraries and I was told, almost verbatum, that they didn't see a reason to keep it in the library because everyone "downloads those things online". They figure no one would check it out, and with the tiny funding most libraries get (most are pressed for space too), they sure aren't going to buy something that won't bring people in... Less revenue for the publishers. But what if libraries started to carry it because people came to get it? Do you KNOW how many libraries there are in the US?? What if even HALF of them bought just ONE copy of a given manga?? That's a lot of manga.
I think it depends on your library. I know that mine always accepts my manga, in fact, they're elated to get it. There's a larger "teen" section in all the libraries in my area, and they stock them with lots of manga and other graphic novels.
Ultimately, the biggest difference is also in possession. When you take it out of the library, do you get to keep it? NO.
I can make a xerox copy. Or scan it and print it at home. It might require some effort and cost, but either way, the publisher isn't going to see a cent of it.
When you read it in Borders, do you get to keep it? NO. When you download it, do you get to keep it?.... Gee. I seem to have found a BIG difference.
Unless it's a manga that you really enjoy or you're trying to refresh yourself plot-wise, how many people reread manga? Once I read something that I'm only mildly interested in, I don't re-read it again. The same can be said with any books - I love several Shakespeare plays and I've read those many times. But I didn't like "War and Peace", so I'd never read it again.
The same can be said at Borders - you don't see the same people in there, day after day, rereading the same manga day after day, right?
I can't imagine too many people downloading it to keep forever and ever and ever and ever....
I'm one of the very rare people who use fansubs/digisubs for previewing only. Do I watch the whole thing fansubbed? Frequently yes. Do I get impatient and watch it fansubbed because the anime companies are taking their time? I admit it, yes.
Call me old fashioned, but I was always raised with the notion that the only ones that can criticize are the ones that have never done it. That being said, to get upset at people for how they choose to obtain their manga/anime when you yourself have done it(and may continue to do it) defeats your argument.
Shall I use your argument that, if you don't have the money for it, you shouldn't watch it? I mean, if it's available in Japan on DVD, you should import the DVD and watch it. Otherwise, you shouldn't 'preview' it. That's taking away money from the industry and the mangaka.
See how stupid that sounds?
It would be nice if we lived in an ideal world where everyone could buy everything. But the US industry needs to evolve with the times and instead of punishing people for liking anime and eradicating all the items (including those that are not and will not be licensed), why not reward them with a legitimate site where they can watch the anime, fansubs and all? And if they like a show, they'll buy the merchandise, which will support the industry, the mangaka, etc.
Anyone else care to weigh in before I continue? 
