Businesses and charity
Ages ago I wrote that businesses weren't charities and they shouldn't expect fans to prop them up. This was in relation to publishers who blamed self-entitled fans ignorant of copyright for the decline in manga sales.
But now I think I was wrong. In my suburb, I have seen firsthand what happens when shoppers no longer shop local. The shops close down. The main street has so many empty premises with ominous 'closed by order of landlord' signs. The closure of a little French style patisserie brought it home to me. I used to buy pain aux raisins there once upon a time. I hadn't been back for many years, but I saw that the shop was still frequented by the odd customer. But many had flocked to newer, fancier, more heavily hyped shops...and eventually the old patisserie closed.
I felt bad about the closure. Maybe I should've shopped there more. Sometimes having one customer can be a magnet of sorts to attract others inside to take a look and buy. But I didn't, and I regret that now.
Businesses need customers. If we are happy with a good or service, we should go back and give them repeat business. If we don't do that, then they won't survive. It applies to online businesses too. And yeah, it applies to manga publishers as well.
The problem for manga publishers is that manga is a niche product. It had its boom in the early 2000s, and I get the feeling people are moving back to more accessible media such as novels and TV. Interest is on the wane. The decline of JManga, an official source for online manga, was a warning sign. Despite regular weekly series in a multitude of genres that would put a scanlation group to shame, they couldn't survive either.
Meanwhile, manga aggregators replicate online like rabbits, seemingly unstoppable. Is anyone still reading? The adbots don't care. C'est la guerre.
But now I think I was wrong. In my suburb, I have seen firsthand what happens when shoppers no longer shop local. The shops close down. The main street has so many empty premises with ominous 'closed by order of landlord' signs. The closure of a little French style patisserie brought it home to me. I used to buy pain aux raisins there once upon a time. I hadn't been back for many years, but I saw that the shop was still frequented by the odd customer. But many had flocked to newer, fancier, more heavily hyped shops...and eventually the old patisserie closed.
I felt bad about the closure. Maybe I should've shopped there more. Sometimes having one customer can be a magnet of sorts to attract others inside to take a look and buy. But I didn't, and I regret that now.
Businesses need customers. If we are happy with a good or service, we should go back and give them repeat business. If we don't do that, then they won't survive. It applies to online businesses too. And yeah, it applies to manga publishers as well.
The problem for manga publishers is that manga is a niche product. It had its boom in the early 2000s, and I get the feeling people are moving back to more accessible media such as novels and TV. Interest is on the wane. The decline of JManga, an official source for online manga, was a warning sign. Despite regular weekly series in a multitude of genres that would put a scanlation group to shame, they couldn't survive either.
Meanwhile, manga aggregators replicate online like rabbits, seemingly unstoppable. Is anyone still reading? The adbots don't care. C'est la guerre.