What Do Scanlations Mean For Manga?
It can be suggested that scanlations are helping to bring manga to a wider audience. Lee Hye-Kyung of the University of London, proposes that this may be a reflection of the globalization of Japanese popular culture. (Source: Japan Times) However the path of a scanlator is not a bed of roses, as this is an arguably illegal activity. But what does that mean for manga? If scanlators continue down this road, then it is possibile that manga & anime will follow the same path as the music & film industry. Napster originally made music free to download, through a peer-to-peer (P2P) music sharing service both popular and illegal. (Source: Huliq News) This promoted many companies to embrace the technology, as evident with Apples Itunes. However the UK once again find themselves at the rough end of the licensing stick. Only recently Youtube were unable to reach an agreement over royalties with the Performing Rights Society. The PRS said “We are committed to ensuring our 60,000 songwriter and com
