Did Anime Producers Go From Embracing Fansubbers To Blaming Them?
Petréa Mitchell writes in to point us to an “open letter” to the anime industry, that is apparently struggling economically, with anime producers starting to blame its biggest fans outside of Japan for creating “fansubs”: copies of Japanese anime with the fans adding their own subtitles. The editorial is a good one, highlighting many of the economic points we raise here concerning the dangers of sticking to obsolete business models and blaming your biggest fans for your unwillingness to change your business model. While I disagree with the description that anime has become “worthless,” it is accurate to say that pricing pressure is driving down the price (that doesn’t mean it’s worthless, as “value” and “price” are two separate things): “Anime that has been fansubbed is effectively worthless. It’s being given away for free. In terms of supply and demand, there is an infinite supply, and therefore the product is worthless regardless of how many people want it — it’s like trying to sell
