Would you donate to an anime production studio?

[Zierlyn]

Currently, anime is being distributed via the internet. It follows that the people watching anime have internet access. If people had access to a company's site to donate a few bucks upon watching a really great episode, I think donation profits could make up for the loss of North American licensing. There would be virtually no advertising cost, as fansubbing groups would be more than happy to include donation links in their encodes. I don't think there's a fansub group out there that wouldn't want to promote fan donation. It could be easily done with a quick "If you liked this episode, throw a couple bucks over to Soandso Animation through paypal at someanimenamedonation dot jp!" or something to that effect, during transition splashes.

This would accomplish several things that are more effective than purchasing DVD's to support anime production. First of all, if you have the option of donating after watching a really great episode, you may be encouraged to donate more than you would if the effect has a chance to wear off. "Man! That episode was AWESOME! I'll give em $5 for that." Even if someone were to average $1 per episode, that's already $26 for a 26 episode season, and the people that buy anime DVD's for the reason of collecting would still buy the DVD's. I don't have any statistical research to back me up, but doesn't the logic of it seem to be likely? Wouldn't there be more people willing to donate a dollar or two after watching an enjoyable episode of anime, than there would be people willing to buy DVD's a year later?

Also, Anime Production companies would get immediate returns after just the first episode. They don't have to wait around to see if an American distributor picks up a show. Popular shows would receive a higher budget, entirely based upon quality. If you, as a fan, knew that after watching the first episode of a series that you really liked, could personally increase the budget allocated to that show by your direct donation... wouldn't you?! I certainly as heck would! The first episode of Shakugan no Shana was awesomely done! Had the opportunity been implemented, I'd have easily been influenced to drop $10 through paypal on the spot without thinking of the consequences.

It's a psychological fact that people are more willing to spend freely in smaller increments than in one lump sum. $2 a week, per episode, over the course of 6 months, directly to the production studio. No problem. $52 at the end of the season? Man... $52 bucks seems like a lot of money...

Anyways. Thoughts? I've seeded this idea in a couple community forums to see what kind of varied reactions I get.

[xenocrisis0153]

not a bad idea on the surface, but you're missing the biggest part of making money off a tv show... tv advestising!! Money tv networks bring in through selling ads more than makes up what is needed to pay the bills.

There already is a system like this set-up where people can buy single episodes via the internet (typical price is between $1.99 and $3.99). I'm not sure what kinds of numbers build up through this, but personally, I'd rather have the DVD so I can show off my collection.
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[du5k]

Ah, a local forum I've been has been trying to do something like that. Apparantely there wasnt enough interest to keep the idea going, but I still think it's a good idea and it will be easy to do this through fansubs. I look forward to see something like that... or maybe AS could even find a business deal with a studio?

VOD (Video on demand, buying episodes off internet), is still a bit uncommon, but I think it's very different from the donations method if you view it from... psychologically? VOD requires you to "buy" these episodes, and many downloadeds sin't attracted to this buying idea. however, although most won't, donations as a method of appreaciation are more, say, attractive to hardcore members of the anime community. if the fansubs that would be managing this donation system could possibly secure monthly donations to regulate the amount of money given to the studio, it would be a very attractive idea for them.

[animefanrk2k]

I think that while yes, it'd be nice to donate to the Anime Studios... wouldn't it be even better to get fans to pool their money to get the anime they want released faster? XD

And no, not to our nice little people over at Geneon, Bandai, and stuff, but like a kind of personal request from the fans to get an English release out on their own terms. XD

Of course, once again, implementation would be downright near impossible for this, but it's an idea.
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[kevinchaosvs]

[Itachi-kun]

I think there's a huge flaw in the plan. People are cheap. I for know from experience that people are damn cheap, economically speaking, these free riders kill business. It's basically the same thing as fireworks. You don't charge people to see them because you can see them for miles around and it's free. Why the hell would people pay to watch fansubs when they can get them for free. The basis of all this is that people will not pay for this. That's why anime companies send letters to boxtorrents to get them to take the latest licenses off their site.
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I just wanna be your light.

[Faraz]

Yes people are cheap but I also believe most people wouldn't mind paying for something if they thought it was worth it. That's the only reason the gaming industry is making so much money. You can pirate it, but then again you pay $60 and play for 40-100 hours which means $1 per hour of entertainment which most people find to be fair.

Anime on the other hand is overpriced. $30 for 4-5 episodes means about $20 per hour of entertainment. 20x more than playing a game and 4 times more expensive than going to a movie. That is the reason anime in north america isn't taking off. You get a full season of Lost for $50 while a full season of an anime show is two to three times more expensive at best.

Anyways, back to my original point. A lot of people who download fansubs would pay the general iTunes cost ($1.99) of an anime episode if they release it right after (within days at most) of the Japanese airing and with sufficient advertising; of course some shows will do better than others. That's where the anime industry needs to go. Lower prices on DVDs (and for the love god, stop selling 4 episode at a time; give me the whole season) and online sales.

They have to realise that North America isn't Japan. People do not buy shows unseen, they do not buy em 4 episodes at a time and they will not pay outragious prices. If they fix this stuff and stop charging overpriced licensing fees there will be no need for donations and we won't see North American destributors going out of business.

Also Xeno's point on TV advertising is dead on. In recent years the production companies have moved more and more into niche audience animes which has reduced their viewerships thus less profit from TV ads. Not everything in the world can be blamed on illegal downloads.

[red255]