09-02-2002, 06:25 AM
I didn't want to bring music into this mix but JJ did it for me.
I will strongly agree that the labels screw the artists and that the prices of CDs are grossly inflated.
That being said, the city I grew up in used to have three record stores that did a thriving business. Now only one of them is still in business and even with the other two being gone his sales are down. Speaking with Dave (the owner of the record shop I grew up hanging out in) he says there are a lot of variables that have cut down on the sales of music. Number one on his list is CD burners, followed by online stores, and the huge mega stores that have opened just outside of town.
I don't know about other cities with independant music stores but it seems that I have more and more trouble finding quirky little music shops and my only options are cookie cutter stores in the malls, big box stores, online stores, or downloading and burning.
Now... we're talking about anime on this board. I'm going to put forth a hypothesis derived from music sales relating to anime sales. First, thanks to the internet, we know about a wider selection and can discuss more anime than ever before. DVD companies still screw the artists but at least the artists do get paid (try comparing 4 guys in a band to all those peoples names you see in the closing credits of a show)...
You know what... I've lost my train of thought here. It all seemed so crystal clear to me when I started typing now my head is all muddied.
I'm still going to continue buying HK DVDs until more anime distributors get the idea that charging too much is just going to alienate buyers.
Can you believe it costs Cn$40/episode to buy Blue Submarine No.6?
The same series with reasonable subs on a singel HK DVD only costs Cn$16... we're talking 1/10th the price.
On the other hand, Pioneer was able to release Metropolis for Cn$27 with an extra disc of goodies while the HK release is still Cn$15. I urge people to respect Pioneer's choice to release this at a reasonable price and support them with your money.
No offence to JunkieJoe but I wish there wasn't a need for people like him. Untill all the companies get more reasonably priced with their releases, I'm still going to buy the HK rips even though I'm torn about supporting the artists.
I will strongly agree that the labels screw the artists and that the prices of CDs are grossly inflated.
That being said, the city I grew up in used to have three record stores that did a thriving business. Now only one of them is still in business and even with the other two being gone his sales are down. Speaking with Dave (the owner of the record shop I grew up hanging out in) he says there are a lot of variables that have cut down on the sales of music. Number one on his list is CD burners, followed by online stores, and the huge mega stores that have opened just outside of town.
I don't know about other cities with independant music stores but it seems that I have more and more trouble finding quirky little music shops and my only options are cookie cutter stores in the malls, big box stores, online stores, or downloading and burning.
Now... we're talking about anime on this board. I'm going to put forth a hypothesis derived from music sales relating to anime sales. First, thanks to the internet, we know about a wider selection and can discuss more anime than ever before. DVD companies still screw the artists but at least the artists do get paid (try comparing 4 guys in a band to all those peoples names you see in the closing credits of a show)...
You know what... I've lost my train of thought here. It all seemed so crystal clear to me when I started typing now my head is all muddied.
I'm still going to continue buying HK DVDs until more anime distributors get the idea that charging too much is just going to alienate buyers.
Can you believe it costs Cn$40/episode to buy Blue Submarine No.6?
The same series with reasonable subs on a singel HK DVD only costs Cn$16... we're talking 1/10th the price.
On the other hand, Pioneer was able to release Metropolis for Cn$27 with an extra disc of goodies while the HK release is still Cn$15. I urge people to respect Pioneer's choice to release this at a reasonable price and support them with your money.
No offence to JunkieJoe but I wish there wasn't a need for people like him. Untill all the companies get more reasonably priced with their releases, I'm still going to buy the HK rips even though I'm torn about supporting the artists.
Gullible isn't in the dictionary.