If you have no idea what I am talking about, here is a quick abstract. Manga is a form of comic from Japan, one that many people worldwide enjoy. For years, mangaka (manga drawers/writers) signed on with publishers in Japan, who would distribute their work. With the introduction of web 2.0, it has been easier than ever to distribute manga online, for free. If people can access this manga for free, then there is no use in paying for it. "I wasn't going to buy it anyways" is a really lame excuse. Publishers are claiming the cases as piracy, and are blaming lost sales on it.
Whether downloading manga online is an ethical problem isn't the concern here- the point of this post is to discuss the next stage in distribution: the internet. For years, the RIAA and publishers have complained in the United States about downloadable music. Companies like Apple capitalized on the viral nature of web 2.0, offering songs, high in quality, for a price on the internet. Song sales soared as P2P networks distributed low quality songs, and often viruses.
Downloads from Itunes were not raw MP3s. Instead, you could distribute the media to five different sources- excluding external devices like Ipods. People still download and pirate goods, but the average joe these days is demanding quality, for a price.
I see many people on our campus reading "scanlations", manga that was just released in Japan, translated, and scanned for an American audience. Since I don't read that much manga anymore, I am a perfect example for analyzing the situation from an external view. The first problem I see with scanlations is not the content themselves, but the publishers that have nothing to do with their distribution. If people are scanning manga for an overseas audience, why isn't the manga, or any of the merchandise, being marketed in that country?
There are three reasons people will not purchase manga in stores in the USA. Many fans of anime and manga want to buy the material for their use, but the problems lie in:
1) the cost of the media
2) availability of the media
The cost of media, such as manga and anime, can be expensive. American publishers have lowered prices of DVD sales to lure buyers, and to a degree it has worked. You will be hard pressed to find an uncut version of Gurren Lagann on the Internet that is of high quality. I payed $30-$40 for the entire series in stores, and I am happy with the quality they gave me.
Another problem is Japan's Industries themselves. Currently, the corporate culture there dictates little to no exports, when markets are becoming LARGER outside of Japan than the island nation itself. Why is Japan limiting exports? I assume that they don't want to take a risk, and that they don't want to stray away from "what has always been done". Looking at the current situation, it looks like "adapt or change".
Offer manga online. Look at what the music industry does: design a program to view only a certain type of file, which would contain the manga. I am sure people will try to crack this code, so entice people to pay for the service or good as well. What if they get discounts at certain retailers for paying for a manga viewing service? People will always find a way around the rules, but create a community where people continue to return.
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