Vivian, I'm curious. You say that âIf you want to watch it, buy it. If you canât buy it, donât watch it. I was simply giving you the only acceptable way I think the content should be consumed.â, and yet you're co-running this blog, on which you offer a free download of the musical? You don't think it's a tad bit hypocritical? I'd ask you on your own blog, but you have anon off, and I'd rather not get blocked for asking a simple question.
Itâs actually a very legit question. And the answer is yes, it is hypocritical.
But before going off, remember that we are a sub group. So we essentially create supplementary material that helps to expand the showâs fanbase and potentially encouraging more people to put real money into supporting the shows. But in the process of sharing this supplementary material, due to many reasons, we also expose the original content. We have tried our best to minimize that exposure (i.e. sharing sub files only, require proof of DVD purchase, only share privately upon request, etc) but sometimes we just run out of effective ways to do that.
Nami once explained eloquently on why we cannot accept donations:
âThe concept of fansubs in general is morally and legally grey.â
âFree fansubs do nothing to financially support the production or the industry, especially if you are downloading or streaming video from an unrelated third party. Fansubs create hype, and make the fan base accessible to more people, but as with most things in the world, the industry will not hear us unless we speak through DVD/ticket sales and surveys.â
So bottom line is, yes we know we are essentially doing something that does not totally agree with what a lot of us believe(almost everyone from this group buy their own DVDs and are uncomfortable with blatant free sharing) but it is also our sincere wish for the shows to gain more traction, and to do that we walk on very fine lines. We wish we have more options, hell if there are official English subtitles available, why would any of us bother with this laborious task? But we also firmly believe that the only way to SUPPORT the shows, like actual, practical, measurable support, is to BUY whatever they make. We want to encourage such support through what we do here.
And since you addressed the question to me personally, I understand why you are confused but like I said on my personal blog, the act of sharing itself is at times inevitable. I cannot control other people from sharing, and unfortunately I also donât have better means to distribute our subs without sharing the show itself. But what is within our ability is to:
1) encourage people to take the extra step to support the shows, which I do all the time on my personal blog to the degree of assholery;
2) minimize exposure when sharing becomes inevitable, but at the same time always remember to reinforce 1).
Thatâs why experienced and well-organized fansub groups write long disclaimers and never miss a chance to remind people to purchase legal copies, that is essentially what a lot of Chinese anime fansub groups did before anime series are being mass-purchased and subtitled by local streaming sites. But again, you can still see me or my group or any fansub group as hypocrites, because in a certain way, that is fair judgment.Â
I believe that you should always pay for creative content, and sometimes free sharing does help make that content more accessible but people who did not pay for it should not expect others to make it free available to them. If offered, feel free to accept the offer. If not offered, leave them alone because they are not obligated to share what they paid for. I did not offer on my own blog, therefore I refused. And giving your real money remains the ONLY WAY to legally, appropriately consume and support the shows. What we do here does not dispute that.
