Pretty much THIS. The point about buying the TV shows on DVD withing two weeks actually made me laugh. Putting all the responsibility on the consumer isn't the right solution to the problem ANYWAY, because you're never going to get everyone to do it this way, not to mention the materialistic pressure to constantly be buying more stuff. I'm never going to buy all the music I want right away and I'm never going to be able to see every movie I want to see in theaters, much less immediately after its release. And what's the point of even owning a DVR if we are now morally obligated to watch everything live?
The problem is with the companies that are being allowed to cheat the artists in the first place and that's where the reform is really needed and where it will make the most difference. This is just... a little bit silly, actually.
Well, that's the thing: we've been listening to the endless litany of how the record labels in particular, but also other companies, have been scamming artists for so long that I don't know how much we think that the money we spend on culture actually goes to artists anyway. But yeah, the blockbuster mentality that leads the music and movie industry to only care about the first few weeks of receipts (unless it's an indie with limited distribution) is really tiresome. And then the artists mostly just are constantly trying to tell you how to buy so they get the most cut, which for every artist is different.
But yeah, I can't single-handedly save the manga industry.
What if I wanted to be, say... environmentally conscience? Am I then allowed to purchase music online? Not that I'm the type to get particularly worked up over the manufacturing waste or plastic wrapping or whatever for the CDs I buy, but my point is that not only is the expectation for the consumer to be 100% responsible for the state of the industry ridiculous and probably futile, but it really only reflects one interest. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, but I just don't understand the authoritarian tone of it all. It makes me want to shake people and tell them that there are other opinions than their own. Valid ones, even.
What I want to say sounds sarcastic, but I mean it completely earnestly--can you just not feel bad about how you chose to shop and consume media? Because I think you can chose not to care what those people think or what they're upset about. You're generally very compassionate and empathetic though so maybe it's not something you can do, or something you can do easily. And yeah that's a big headache. I just hate to see you upset about this sort of thing because you are an awesome person.
Well, I mean, how do you respond, generally, when people wonder why you get upset about the things you get upset about?
Anyway I've limited my exposure to this as much as possible by not following the LJs and/or twitters of people I personally know who are in the industry because the guilt trips and the sales pitches are pretty constant! And when I sense an LJ tipping from being a journal to being a merchandising machine I usually defriend or at least filter, though not without a good deal of guilt as I do like those people. I just don't like being treated as just a consumer by friends.
A good friend of mine is a writer and she has two facebook accounts, one for her pen name that's about her books and for fans, and one for her real name that's about her life and for friends. I think that's a good set up.
I think it depends on what I'm upset about and if it's something I can just let go of or not. Somethings I really can chose to not be upset about and others hit too close to home and it would take more energy than I have to not be upset about. Of course now that I am saying this I have to think about whether or not that is always true for other people. Maybe it's not? Sorry if I stepped on your toes, so to speak.
Oh, yeah. I would also not like being treated as a consumer by friends--I didn't realize that was what you were talking about. My brain is a little extra misfirey today. i showed up for an appointment this morning that isn't until next Tuesday! D:
No, it's not misfirey; I wasn't specific. Most of the book examples are from people I know. The other stuff is from the industry. It's like, it's not enough to buy rather than steal, you also have to buy in the right way, because they're only paying attention to some of it
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Re: And never purchase used CDs in the basement of Houston Hall?jlhJanuary 14 2011, 19:24:01 UTC
Was that where that record store was with the huge listening bar where you could listen to anything you wanted to if you were a member, and with membership you got a 7% discount and 14% more money from them to sell used CDs? I loved that place! That's where I bought my copy of Madonna's Sex book. It might just have been my favorite record store ever. Very clever of them keeping all the stock behind the counter, as the loss reduction and the stocking time saved must have helped them keep the costs down.
I'm not sure if this is an adequate response to your thoughts (I really like this post, btw) . . . but my God! IMO, the burden of consumerism is on the shoulders of the creators. Like, if they want me to consume their product (and, for me, this would be in the way that *I* choose to do so), then they'd better fucking earn my loyalty and interest by producing a kick-ass product. I'm sorry, but if a band that I traditionally love puts out a very poor album at some point, I am not obligated to purchase said shit music, and I won't do it. But I would probably still go see that band in concert because I really love them in general and they would likely be playing live a majority of songs that I truly like. Statistically, that should be borne out. But what is this idea of media creators deigning to provide their product based on how a fan interacts with it? Frankly, they should be grateful they are experiencing success in such hotly competitive and unlikely careers. I feel that the creator should cow-tow to my demands, as a consumer, not
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Well, I guess I feel emotionally obligated to people I know, and the people I know (mostly through Ali) are often manga/comic artists or translators, so then I feel guilty that most manga and independent comics don't really appeal to me, and so I didn't buy them, and then when they post about how hard it is to get a job or how a book contract was canceled I feel super guilty. Stuff like this post which I was linked to the other day. I mean, I don't really know what to do with that, and authors make posts like that all the time. All the time.
And there's the way people constantly talk about supporting things that you liked, and it's like: how much support? Just watching the show or seeing the movie is never enough!
Apparently it's that the drop off from the first week is so steep that there aren't really "sleeper hits" anymore, very very few things that grow after that first week. But whatever, it sucks, because it implies that if you don't buy in that first week you might as well just torrent the thing
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The problem is with the companies that are being allowed to cheat the artists in the first place and that's where the reform is really needed and where it will make the most difference. This is just... a little bit silly, actually.
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But yeah, I can't single-handedly save the manga industry.
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Anyway I've limited my exposure to this as much as possible by not following the LJs and/or twitters of people I personally know who are in the industry because the guilt trips and the sales pitches are pretty constant! And when I sense an LJ tipping from being a journal to being a merchandising machine I usually defriend or at least filter, though not without a good deal of guilt as I do like those people. I just don't like being treated as just a consumer by friends.
A good friend of mine is a writer and she has two facebook accounts, one for her pen name that's about her books and for fans, and one for her real name that's about her life and for friends. I think that's a good set up.
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Oh, yeah. I would also not like being treated as a consumer by friends--I didn't realize that was what you were talking about. My brain is a little extra misfirey today. i showed up for an appointment this morning that isn't until next Tuesday! D:
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And there's the way people constantly talk about supporting things that you liked, and it's like: how much support? Just watching the show or seeing the movie is never enough!
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