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Transcription: bayoab Note: ( ) is usually commenting on the panel and was not said. 13:27:27 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Chris Mcdonald, Adam Sheehan, Guy From Harmony Gold, Guy from Del rey, Ed Chaves, Robert Napton 13:27:53 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> probably will be prefacing with first letter of last name 13:31:16 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> State of the anime and manga industry this time 13:31:20 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> We decided to put of them into one panel 13:31:31 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> All the press are happy about that? (Yay!) 13:31:44 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Chris Mcdonald, editor in chief of ANN and moderator.. 13:31:48 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Start with introductions 13:32:02 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Adam Sheehan, Senior events manager, FUNi 13:32:10 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Keven Mckeever, Worldwide marketing of robotech 13:32:23 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ali Kokmen, marketing manager of Del rey 13:32:39 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ed Chavez, Marketing director Vertical 13:33:07 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Robert Napton, market director bandai, and the manga division 13:33:03 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Two people from anime industry, two from manga, and one who can't decide 13:33:53 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mod: It's no secret that over the years, both industries have been having a hard time. At ANN, we've seen that sales for most products are down. Some may be selling more but they have more skus and titles. Do you agree with this conclusion? Can you provide your own thoughts. 13:34:23 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> N: I think generally I would agree with that assessment, I think overall looking at the DVD market in general not just anime, you've seen a downlwrad trend the past few years due to economy and other media sorta coming in and absorbing that 13:34:30 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> for anime specifically, obviously the packaged dvds have struggled a bit 13:34:44 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> I guess i gotta be the first person to talk about the pervasives illegal downloading being a huge problem which it continues 13:34:51 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> everyone is trying to counter that with legal remedys 13:35:05 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> but the downward spiral of DVDs and that are pretty equatable so i think that remain the major challenges 13:35:09 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mod: Want to add one thing that i forgot... 13:35:17 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> fanbase is growing.. 13:35:45 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> N: I think the fanbase is growing and steadily, but its not equating to sales, as far as manga, for us at least, our manga program has grown substiatioally 13:35:55 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> I've seen a trend in the other direction though we have been releasing more 13:36:13 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ch: we release more than manga, oviously we aren't anime, but last year, we saw a 35% growth which is pretty amazing giving the economy 13:36:25 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we did this even though the number of SKUs went down 13:36:41 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we weren't releasing as many manga titles... i think only 2 in the last 12 months, but there seems to be better awareness, not sure where that is coming from 13:36:57 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> especially regarding prose, but one thing ive noticed seeing you peopel at events like this and comic con and book events 13:37:03 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> just overall, people ar ejust mmore aware of asian pop culture 13:37:18 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> for a company like vertical, that's a significant... thing.. that people are aware outside 13:37:55 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> k: one thing that is pleasant for us in manga and books compared to anime, correct me if im wrong, but some of the retail component of it has been walloped over the past through years (bb, musicland), some of that is happen to a certain extent but it hasn't been dramatic yet 13:38:14 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> our main book customers, the drop hasn't been dramatic and devestating, we haven't lost any major retailers 13:38:25 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ch: Vertical actually picked up a bunch of vendors, people still want entertainment, 13:38:28 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> there are probelms with scanlations and fansubs 13:38:31 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> K: I'm not familiar with that 13:38:46 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ch: I might have just coined it... but people like you are going to keep us going.. .right? (applause) 13:39:22 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mck: Dvds sales overall are declining... all of them are decling.. our sales for robotech are great 13:39:37 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it is something that we as a company and we as an industry are concerned about and its something that hollywood has to worry about 13:39:45 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Sh: It's not just anime that is dealing with this. It's a global problem. 13:40:07 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> It's really about looking at trends and seeing what is working and adjusting as fast as possible 13:40:12 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> ex: singles to 13 ep sets switch 13:40:26 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> consumers and retailers both said they wanted it, so we saw this trend and jumped on it quick 13:40:34 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> not to mention the days of throwing out dvds to a store and people will buy it are gone 13:40:41 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> now its how we can get stuff in front of you 13:40:57 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> streaming, blu-ray, dvd, we're trying to get where you are and trying to get it to you in a format you will look at and purchase 13:41:15 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> and fans are growing... i think almost every con has 13:41:19 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> these new fans are coming in at a bad time... 13:41:41 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> there is a lot of education that needs to be hand because it's not like its easy to say where to get things 13:42:09 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mod: Takling about moving to SKUs as per eps per disc.. how is that affecting the overall revenue? 13:42:32 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Sh: Absolutely, we have to sell more of the 13 ep things vs the 6 vols that we se e in a season, beacuse of that, we do timelines and price structure 13:42:39 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we have adjusted to that including the price that we pay for shows 13:42:46 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> so it is a jump of what and where we can put on disc 13:42:52 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> also what titles we pick up 13:43:00 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> if it doesn't fit in the new anime world, we will pass on it 13:43:18 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we will do whatever we have to to make it a stronger release 13:43:35 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> the good news is that we now have the money for 3 vols to do 1.. 13:44:04 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> N: we've started doing 9/10 eps per disc.. it's a challenge, in the japanese market, a dvd with 2 eps still sells well, so when you got to the licensors, its a tough sell to the licensors since its very different in japan 13:44:13 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> as well as adapting to that here and still making a series profitable 13:44:21 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> again, that goes back to what series you acquire, being a little more choosy 13:44:40 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> titles that mimght have been not-A titles that are unfrotunately getting passed on when before you would go after them 13:44:46 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> simply because you can't justify the expected returns 13:45:41 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ch: We do Omnibus's at vertical.. and it's a similar format.. and we do it for series that might be... B titles.. or older titles that there is a higher risk... you know, readers are not neccessarily familiar, as mentioned earlier, we make an effort to make the packaging and t/l really good and an appealing price point 13:46:09 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it would have been great to release a series in 6 vols, we'll condense it to 2, sales might not be the same, but if we can do it and spend less money, its 'rgeat 13:46:27 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mod: The manga industry does not seem to have as hard of a time as the anime industry in the past few years.. thoughts? Anything to add? You already slightly covered it 13:46:50 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> N; It seems to me from a generalized point of view that people like to read books as books vs the computer screen while you have a generation that prefers to watch tv on demand or dvds... 13:46:55 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> people still like to experience manga and novels... 13:47:13 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> with things like the kindle slowly gaining momentum, i think that will change, but i think thats part of the reason manga hasn't taken as big a hit 13:47:26 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ali made a good point about how massive chains of retail are gone which hasn't happened in manga.. 13:47:48 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> even bestbuy has been changing their patterns for how much space is dedicated to anime and i think that was a big part of the equation 13:48:12 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> K: It's also true that with book and manga... people want to consume manga... its not like with other media... 13:48:31 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> eventually, these other media will exist... i think with the undertone of the question, there is a big 'yet' 13:49:08 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ch: I think, in general, people still really love to read physical books. The portability isn't there yet. We will get the manga kindle eventually.... things will become more accessible that way.. I don't think i want to read monster on something that small... 13:49:12 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> I don't know what is lost in that... 13:49:18 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> I think also that the manga industry as a whole is pretty young 13:49:47 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> I think that while anime has had another decade to grow, i think that the manga industry is still.. getting to that.. saturation point in some way, but its still going. I think we also have different avenues to approach 13:49:59 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Vertical tries to go after comic and GN and literature readers with our titles 13:50:02 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> there is a lot more potential with the book market 13:51:04 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mod: Going to turn things around a tiny bit. For everyone here is a manga fan.. if you do it physically... put your hands up... if you do it on your computer, leave your hands up 13:51:20 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> (similarlly for anime... almost everyone hands up for both for anime, about 1/4 for manga) 13:51:41 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mod: What does that mean from changing expectations from consumers, what are your companies doing to addres these expectations. 13:52:05 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Sh: Overall, to satisfy everyone needs, we're trying new avenues, the online one is a scary one.. including the licensors at times.. with the region block things and other things 13:52:07 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> and as secure as possible 13:52:10 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we're still learning as wer're going 13:52:28 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we have some great licensors to work with that understand 13:52:37 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we're trying to get more and more venues 13:52:55 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> back in the days it was VHs, then LD, then DVD.. now its like cloud computing.. 13:52:59 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> and hd and bluray and many ways 13:53:16 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> one things that i say is that anime fans are great because you guys will tell us blatently what the hell you are thinking 13:53:20 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we actually take your feedback to note and combine that with other data 13:53:28 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we compile what we think is the best plan out there and just go forth 13:53:32 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't 13:53:46 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> hopefully, we'll keep finding news ways and you guys keep telling us 13:53:57 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mc: The industry is in flux... the world has changed so much for US consumers 13:54:00 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> I"m sure most of you have ipods/itunes 13:54:05 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> you want to to watch/listen to things right now 13:54:21 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it used to be that if you wanted to listen to the radio, you had to rely on music programming directors 13:54:27 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> but now you can listen to any song you want and in most cases legally 13:54:41 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> for us in the anime world, you can watch any type of anime or programming you want, so we need to get it to you quicker 13:54:47 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> thats why we have things like hulu and youtube showing things legally 13:54:52 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> hulu is taking off for anime 13:54:57 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it's important that you find out for anime 13:55:12 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it's important that you as the consumer can choose so you can buy the materials for your play list 13:55:35 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> N: I agree that simultaneous i s the word of the day and that trend is going to contineu and all the companies are going to try and respond to the desire of the fans to get the shows when they are available in japan 13:55:52 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> the companies have to repond for legal means for that to happen 13:56:10 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we did a series that was simultaneous broadcast in korea, us and japan, and they wanted it dubbed 13:56:24 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> so it was quite a bit of work, so it was the types of thingns that we have to do for the fans 13:56:49 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> M: the word now is day and date... the whole territorial day restrictions are breaking down.. it used to be 6 months from mvoie->vhs... now its collapsed down 13:56:55 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> now its more day and date and more consolidated 13:57:08 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ch: As manga.. how are we day and date? 13:57:29 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ko: someone asked what it would take to do a simul release... and i had an anuerism... 13:57:57 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mc: It's not easy... it takes time... but now since you are losing money in essence, but now you are spending money to localize itt faster.... 13:58:09 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ch: I mean, it's been done.. Viz is doing vagnabond... 13:58:35 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> It takes a lot of coordination. You have to be close to the licensors in Japan. You have to be close to the authors, and I think viz works with them 13:58:56 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> In the case of ertical, we've been hearing from people like you that we want more manga.. .and i woudln't be on this stage if it wasn't for that 13:59:14 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> And what we're doing is we're listening.. we're on the internet, websites, blogs, attending more cons, having events.. 13:59:23 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> what we need to do iskeep getting more comments, questions, requests, 13:59:26 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we want to publish what you guys want 13:59:42 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mod: I think it's worth going through someone's history to understand someone's comments... 13:59:50 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ed was working in Japan on a peridocial manga in Japan 6 months ago. 14:00:08 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> If anyone knows of the challenges of doing day and date chapters, it would be him. 14:00:38 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ch: I worked at morning.. everything was day to day... in some cases we would have the artists finishing things up to go straight to the printer.. knowing that turn around makes it tricky, but it doesn't make it impossible 14:00:54 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> you have to have that dialogue, you have to have that accesss, right now vertical is in our infant stage as far as that is concerned, as far as manga. 14:00:59 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> with del rey and kodansha, maybe thats possible 14:01:04 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> K: All things are possible 14:01:27 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> As you said, it takes a lot of coordination, particularly if you are talking about an ongoing series, you have to get all the ducks in a row 14:01:38 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> doing a simul publication is a lot of work 14:01:38 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> all things are possible 14:01:58 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mod: Something worth pointing out from both industries, when you want to do something simultaneously, the process in japan has to change a bit right? 14:02:23 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Sh: Yea, absolutely. So we need to work wit them to get us to sync up. 14:03:04 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Na: The work with kurokami was facination and i'm glad i wasn't a part of that but it was creating a whole new process with the licensors in japan and approvals are an important part and you have to create the localized version and you send stuff to get checked 14:03:20 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> with something like kurokami, they had to adjust he approval process so they could release it simul 14:03:31 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Sh: The approvals are definitely a make or break situation... 14:03:48 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> It used to be that every two changes, would take 2 months... now we try and do it day and day... 14:03:52 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we're we talk 3 times a day 14:04:15 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ch: I think that leads to the manga too. For Chi's sweet home, we had to get a lot of approvals, flipped, etc 14:04:25 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> For pipoo choo, it's similar.. 14:04:29 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it takes time, but its also speeding up too 14:05:12 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Na; Just to add one more comment on approvals and why its a process. The licensors aren't being picky for thef fun of it. They have to report back to the committee and in japan there are moral rights, so the creators have a say, so its a long process... 14:05:19 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it would take an evolution on their side of the street to get answers quickers 14:05:46 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ko: We joke about what the approvals does to us, but we always want to be good partners for the creative vision of the thing we are blessed to work with so we remind ourselves 14:06:13 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mod: One more q then Q&A, regarding online streaming.. over the last year and a half, things like hulu, funi, CR have been growing and exploding... two questions here, one for anime and one for manga.... 14:06:34 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> For the anime companies, what is online streaming? Revenue ? marketing? will it ever replace diminishing box media sets? 14:06:48 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Na: I think the legal online streaming oppotunities have not been monitized enough ... 14:07:09 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> as a monitary thing, I don't think they are there yet, I ithink it's an important thing to do so that there is a legal alternative for a show being released in japan 14:07:20 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it definitely creates a great marketing opportunity if you are doing it in advance of the dvd 14:07:38 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we did an experiment with kannagi putting the streaming up simul with the dvd in response to the changes in the market place 14:07:38 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> give the consumer the choice 14:08:18 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> so that's... that's something we did, but on a monetary scale, i don't think online is there yet, but all companies are looking for ways to monitize.. Chris anderson just wrote a book that talks about the online model giving away everything for free and then paying a premium that funds things 14:08:35 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mc: Online is just starting out. It was only a year ago that hulu and legal streaming came into existance.. the monitaztion isn't there 14:08:35 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it's an evolving things 14:08:52 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> when vhs was first coming into the mainstream consumer world... the studios sued the VHS makers thinking it would hurt 14:09:04 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> eventually the studios co-opted it and turned it into a huge moneymaker 14:09:06 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we're just starting out with the streaming 14:09:10 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> everyone is slowing co-opting it 14:09:21 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> whether we are achieve the same monitzation as dvd and home video remains to be seen 14:09:37 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Sh: There is monitzation to be made but DVD and bluray and disc is still god and will be for a while 14:09:57 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> When it comes to streaming, it's like there wasn't enough anime on tv but there never was, but in the end of the day, there is so mcuh anime out there... 14:10:19 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> getting it out there in good chunks and samples so you can take a look at it and then look at it from there.. its a great marketing tool and we're getting kickback here and there... 14:10:21 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> hopefully it will grow 14:10:51 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mod: On the manga side, what can manga companies do in the digital space? Are their opportunties there ... in a digital format? 14:11:03 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ko: I think the promotional opportunities are there... 14:11:29 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> in terms of just monitzing the potentail for the digital sales of books, we're still waiting for the killer ap, the kindle isn't quite there but its better than whats before 14:11:34 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it isn't a paradaigm shifting thing 14:11:45 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> the ipod is the most adopted piece of hardware since .. i dunno.. 14:12:05 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we're waiting fhat thing that will shifte everything... and when that thing develops... we're waiting for that.. ways to take advantage.. that fair to say 14:12:15 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ch: You have to use the interwebs for marketing, putting up samples, promotion, other stuff 14:12:26 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> We'ved worked with CR in the past and we've put up samples and we're looking to partner with other people 14:12:29 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> whether its prose or manga 14:12:39 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> but there are other little details that are behind that and all that needs approval again 14:12:42 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> but its not quite as easy as you would think 14:12:56 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> particularlly with the licensing element 14:12:57 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it's going to take some time 14:13:15 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> when i was with kodansha, they were putting up whole issues of the magazine i was working with, morning 2 online 14:13:18 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it would be up for a month for free 14:13:32 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it actually improved the sales for the magazine... the magazine sales weren't that significant to begin with 14:13:39 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> even in japan where stuff is saturated, it's hard to monitize manga 14:13:46 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Q&A now... 14:14:20 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Q: You were saying DVD and other content was king... (couldn't hear) 14:15:11 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Sh: Most people aren't walking around with DVDs, they get the digital version and walking around. Even if its the same person, it's a diferent consumer. They might buy the DVD... they might buy the DVD but won't watch on the iphone.. there are people who are buying for the dvd and (lost) 14:15:28 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Q do you think the digital push, on the one hand, i see that you guys have gotten a lot of material out there but not a lot of marketing for that materials... 14:15:36 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> is the push to digital taking away the collector spriit? 14:15:57 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Na: In terms of marketing, I think thats a fair statement. Marketing in general for anime is a tricky business. 14:16:09 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> I think we attack it by attacking the core group and try to make people aware. 14:16:27 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> I think the point you made about the collectors mentality, but the drop in the DVD sales has taken away the ability to be doing the cool deluxe packaging... 14:16:33 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it isn't affordable for that, frankly, nont enough sales are there 14:16:37 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it's simple artihmatic... 14:16:48 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it's always a chanllenge to think of a plan that makes sense 14:17:21 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Q: One of the things i noticed is who isn't on the panel.... that gets back to the whole.. who are you marketing too issue... where are viz and tp... are you also marketing where they are? 14:17:21 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ch/Ko: OF couse 14:17:39 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ko: I find tit that the underlying permise.. that because the others aren't here.. they must be doing something better... 14:17:55 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> i'm not saying that viz doesn't love you.. but nobody loves you more than del rey 14:18:08 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Q: my poing is the marketing, because o the cuts, are focusing on a diffefrent part of the things 14:18:27 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> CH: Let me say that vertical puts almost all of its money toward diamond.. most of our readers are diamond.. 14:18:53 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> i was actually hired to approach you guys, the manga and anime fans... the sad state for us, the manga fans weren't buying our books 14:19:06 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we were putting ads in previews, time, ,the village voice, wizard 14:19:10 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we've been trying to get everyone else in, and now we have to get the core back in 14:19:28 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ko: I think the generally philosphy... you need to have your core audience taken care of before you can expand 14:19:34 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> CH: Our biggest was.. you... 14:19:49 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ko: DR is part of RH, but coming here is much more fun than Book expo 14:19:53 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ch: We love to go there but yea. 14:20:17 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Q: You've talked about the fanbase is growing, but at the same time, there is many people going to cons for 10 years... how is the fanbase aging affecting the companies.. 14:20:53 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mc: With the fanbase aging, you have to change along with the fanbase. ANime is entering a new phase... It used to be 15-20s... now you are seeing people in your 30s and 40s... 14:21:06 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> you start thinking about other financial things at those ages 14:21:18 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> we as marketer and industry have to think about how to get anime to you in a 30/40 mindset 14:21:24 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> what appeals to a 15 yr old is not going to appeal to 30 yr old 14:21:31 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> you can't market to the audiences in the same way 14:21:37 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> you gotta bring it to them in the same way 14:21:44 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> in america, despite the growth, its still a niche market 14:22:09 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> you have to look for new avenues and new ways to bring out anime 14:22:24 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mod: Would anyone like to address the core mistake in the question 14:22:42 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> (The average fan is becoing younger... disagree?) 14:22:49 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> (Ali makes a math joke) 14:23:05 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mc: I'll disagree... the fanbase is getting older but the con attendees are getting younger 14:23:18 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> 20 years ago, it was star trek conventions that ruled the world and where are they now 14:23:25 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> i'm seeing more and more anime fans 14:23:38 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> who are "look, i go to a convention i see this stuff, andn i walk out because it isn't appealing to me 14:24:17 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> there are younger fans coming in, but we cannot assume there will always be a wellspring of young fans and we will suffer horribly 14:24:21 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> star trek thought that and it hurt them 14:24:56 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Sh: I think the one thing that needs to be taken.. the fanbase got older but didn't leave.. we have a fanbase that got older, and we are adding new people... but the fanbase which is large and out there 14:25:07 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> That market is still there, so you have an influx, but the older fanbase isn't to be ignored 14:25:10 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Our bread and butter is 18-34 14:25:23 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> that means we won't pick up something that a 15 yr old will like, or something an adult will like 14:25:51 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Q: Thoughts on the recent downfall of ADV and CPM? 14:26:18 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Ko: If you want a comment, it's "That's unfortunate" 14:26:38 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> what happens to any individual business is specific to that business.. just some guys got into some bad luck 14:26:52 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mod: I'd like to point out that both companies had financial situations that lead to their undoing. 14:27:14 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Sh: ADV is still around.. it's just like voltron's got 5 lions... everything is still specific... 14:27:21 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> each company has their own story... 14:27:28 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> the industry is too complex to explain simply 14:27:44 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Mc: the anime industry was here before.. this happened in the 90s, most little companies went away 14:27:58 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> it's not the end of the world, is it a challenged because of the economy? yes, is it the end of the world, no. 14:28:01 <bay\|NYAF\|SotI> Thank you for coming.
Notes: None