Publisher's Popularity (Con)Test bites their ass!

[ryuumajin]

Recently, the local publisher in my country made an announcement what would make their comics passable, but with UNDERSCORE and BOLD, so you know, implicitly, they want it done.

Fanbase.

Comments

[nseika]

Other than the non-licensed comic and several smaller publishers, mainstream comic industry in Indonesia is monopolized by a company. Even so, the market’s comic book consumption has been declining; production cost (and in extension retail price) has been rising while sales volume decreasing.

Like I said in the comment below, growth is tight. They have to please the stockholders so no doing crazy stuffs unless they want their carreer at stake when shit happens. So the management has been doing “better safe than sorry” position.

Promoting and educating the market is never something cheap. Translated titles can survive for now despite the very low promotion (and marketing effort) from local publisher is because the market is there (although declining) and because some titles had marketing effort abroad (such as anime version, or hype from mangascan communities).

To keep up with the demanded profit growth, the publisher have to cut off “risky and deemed unnecessary” expenses. Crazy ventures such as the trailblazer marketing projects is inside that risky category.
Imagine it like this, a tightrope walker performing live. This is the publisher in business. Will they do a sommersault without previous training, and without any safety measure ? That’s the manouver, and there’s no safety net so you fall, you’ll break some bone if you’re lucky enough. Having guts (with the skill and training to do it) and looking for trouble is different after all :)

BTW, it’s not the editors, they’re lowly salaryman in the structure. It’s the management that demand good number and make the executive orders, just like any companies.

On the market… well yeah, the market for local artist comic books sucks, at least in context of the volume needed by the publishers. Isn’t it a public secret that the sales is never as high as translated titles ?
I’d say, if they can get their niche market, better try to go international, to market that want to accept something daring and new. At least if you somehow returned, you could bring that nice CV about carreer abroad and the great acceptance you got there. So far, those going abroad doesn’t seem to be interested in returning, so should speak for itself about how the market here. :P