[News] Popular Boyband Arashi posts concert videos on Facebook, violates copyright laws
In an unprecedented move by Japanese national idols Arashi, videos of their latest Tokyo Dome concert were posted online onto a Facebook group website "iL0v3AraShI". Industry experts, fans and JE staff were flabbergasted; why would Arashi blatantly violate anti-piracy laws, especially when the music industry was already reporting losses in Japan?
Unbeknownst to the majority of Japanese fans, Arashi has been posting regular snippets of news, English translations of their Japanese works and PVs. Satoshi Ohno, in particular, demonstrated a surprising aptitude for English and even knew words like “predatory” and “countless”. Contrary to popular expectations, Keio graduate Sho Sakurai displayed a tendency to write in internet slang and emoticons.
Ohno, Arashi Discovery translation
Sho, in response to a fan's request to take down videos of the Popcorn DVD
When fans questioned the veracity of the Facebook group, the group moderator (presumably an Arashi member) responded as follows:
Given the pervasive use of non-native English in many comments by the Facebook user called "Arashi", fans were thus convinced that it was indeed the boys who were behind the Facebook group.
END OF SNARK, all of which is mine.
The Worrysome Situation regarding the iL0v3AraShI Facebook page
On to the serious stuff, and because it affects you as a member of this fandom and this LJ.
Initially, the FB page mainly consisted of comments by fans with pictures grabbed from the Google Image search. As iL0v3AraShI's popularity grew and their resources broadened, they started re-posting material from Weibo and LJ. Until recently, "Ohno" was responsible for penning their regular posts of Arashi Discovery, when in fact it was twosen who had been tirelessly translating the radio show day in and out. It should be noted that after reposting twosen's translations on FB for a few months, they have taken to crediting her only recently.
An old Arashi Discovery FB post with no credit
The admins of iL0v3AraShI are also not adverse to taking images without permission. I first noticed their existence when they took an image collage I made of Arashi from my LJ and reposted it without permission or credits. If they should credit, it will be written as "fans for the share with us".
Lately, the admins of iL0v3AraShI have decided that it was acceptable to share a Weibo user's leak of the Popcorn DVD onto Facebook. Right before Popcorn's release, they posted clips of Popcorn performances onto their Facebook page, whilst proudly declaring that they were untouchable by fandom. When a fan kindly tried to talk sense into them, she was banned from commenting on their Facebook page.
What this means for you and me
I am not sure about how you feel as you're reading this, but as a fan who wants sources to stay viable for as long as possible, I am very much turned off by this childish and ignorant behavior. This is also why translators and subbers hardly move to Tumblr or Facebook, rules are almost never respected in those social media, it's all too easy and tempting to break them without suffering from any consequences.
As I've mentioned in a previous post, actions by a few ignorant fans can really harm the fandom. In this case, the Weibo user who shared her Popcorn video is no longer going to upload anymore videos, and I have started to keep selected translations locked.
In a show of fandom solidarity, I am going to do the following:
- Delete links to existing videos here at Transitions101
- Close the community indefinitely to future applicants
What you can do as a fan
- Ask the moderators of iL0v3AraShI to take down material which they have not posted with permission or properly credited.
- Report this group to Facebook. Click HERE to find out how.
Unless fandom as a whole takes a stand against certain outrageous behaviors, I don't see how I want to be a part of this anymore. It's been a horrid week for the world in general with shootings, earthquakes and bombings, the last thing I need to come home to is to find that 2 or 4 teenage girls can't be bothered to keep proper internet etiquette.
GIF: ohshianno@tumblr
Please note that the contents of this post are my personal opinion and does not necessarily represent the views of Arashi fans in general. I welcome people who would like to engage in the content of this post. I will admit that I'm not the most informed in this matter, so I greatly appreciate any other information on this issue which any one of you might offer.
Credits: screencaps taken from iL0v3AraShI's Facebook page