| Subject: Re: You guys win >_< |
Author:
Jake
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 10:43:04 06/14/03 Sat
In reply to:
D0SBoots
's message, "Re: You guys win >_<" on 04:11:33 06/14/03 Sat
>You saying that you tried to
>respond but the forum ate it is like someone saying,
>"I've got this big secret but I'm not going to tell
>you what it is!" ^_~
Hehe true. Alright, here's a condensed version. Basically, I think your philosophy works fine as a way to guide your own actions because you end up buying the things you like anyway, but I don't think your philosophy can be applied to the world in general for a few reasons.
Your example about duplicating someone's chair isn't stealing because you steal neither the physical material the person owns nor any intellectual property (IP). However, if someone designed and patented the most comfortable chair in the world and you started mass-producing and distributing it, then you *would* be stealing; you'd be stealing his design. Without protection of IP, there is no incentive to innovate or create art because anyone can take it and start selling it or giving it away.
And your merchandise-driven model of anime production doesn't solve this problem because it's not profitable enough in most cases, it emphasizes the wrong aspects of anime, and it rewards the wrong people. You give the example of Megatokyo, but I think this is an exceptional case. Most people aren't lucky enough to have such a large and devoted fanbase for something that costs so little to produce.
So with every anime title competing in the merchandise market, there would be room for only a few to make a profit, and companies would only be willing to fund the production of those that were most merchandisable. To series like Hana Yori Dango, companies would say "No cute stuffed animals? No action figures? No thanks." And we'd be stuck with nothing but anime like Pokemon and Tekken.
But even if every anime title could make a good profit on just merchandise, it wouldn't matter without IP protection. Fred Gallager may be doing well now, but only because his IP rights are protected. If I were a big company who could afford to produce and sell my own Megatokyo merchandise that was superior to Fred's, he'd be screwed without IP protection. Maybe in his case, he could appeal to his fans' loyalty and get them to only buy his merchandise, but that wouldn't work for most people. So again, you're left with no incentive to innovate or create art.
I think that covers everything... Hehe, I guess it turned out to be not very condensed, which is why I'm tired of writing about this stuff. There's just no way to be brief. ^_^;
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 