Dōjinshi and other fanworks as an upcoming growth area for

transcultural cultural economiesNele Noppe

Fan practices can be powerful lens on contemporary cultural production (1)

"Fandom has provided a powerful lens for understanding important intellectual questions" (Henry Jenkins)

“If we fail to consider the derivative works of amateurs in favor of only the commercially manufactured projects and products, we will be unable to grasp the trends of otaku culture" (Hiroki Azuma)

Fan practices can be powerful lens on contemporary cultural production (2)• Media studies:

• How does participatory culture work• How does collaborative creation function as social activity• What is the cultural value of “derivative” works like fan fiction and (fannish) dōjinshi

• Law: • How audiences/fans understand copyright law in digital environments• How copyright law could be changed to better match contemporary “remix” culture

• Economics: • How fan creativity supports or harms existing business models around media

creation• How user-generated content like fanwork can or should be commercialized• What the successes of fanwork exchange models can tell us about contemporary

business models for media creation and exchange

What sort of economic innovation is happening in fan/dōjin culture?• Sales of dōjinshi continue to rise/stay constant in contrast to drop in sales of

commercial print manga (Yano Economic Research Institute)-> Why?

• Fanwork exchange involves some new business models for media exchange that are very well-suited to contemporary participatory media creation• Business models created by fan/dōjin culture • Business models inspired by fan/dōjin culture

• What business models exist, why do they work or fail, what can commercial systems for media creation and distribution learn from them?

• This presentation:• Attitudes towards fanwork monetization from English- and Japanese-speaking fans and

companies• Effects of these differences on business models for fanwork monetization• What could this imply and what can we learn from it?

Caveats

• Presentation takes existing research in a new direction; some speculation

• Huge generalizations about fan cultures and company attitudes coming up

• This presentation uses “dōjinshi” to mean “dōjinshi with fanworkcontent” (二次創作)

Very quick intro to fanworks distribution

• Japanese-speaking dōjin culture:• Dojinshi are the most central medium for fans

• Dojinshi are distributed/sold in print (and digital) form at• Dojinshi conventions

• Dojin shops (brick and mortar and online)

• Online auctions

• …

• English-speaking online fan culture:• Fan fiction is the most central medium

• Fan fiction is almost always exchanged for free through dedicated archives and social media

Fanfiction.net

Archiveofourown.org (AO3)

Different attitudes to “monetization” of fanworksin Japanese- and English-speaking fan cultures

• Many more similarities than differences between Japanese-speaking and English-speaking fan cultures (same motivations, same amount of fanworks)

• However, they developed separately from each other for a long time and have a different history when it comes to distribution of fanworks

• This has resulted in some very different ideas on how fanworks could or should be monetized (from fans and companies)

Fanwork sales from the point of view of fans

• Fanwork exchange is seen as “non-commercial” by many fans everywhere

• Japanese dōjin culture:• The exchange of dōjinshi and other fan-created media is worth a lot of money

• However, motivations of fans are non-commercial and most earn no money

• Most money being earned by dōjin shops,dōjinshi printers, and other related industries

• English-speaking online fan culture:• Free exchange of fan fiction online, no money being made by anyone

• Strong emphasis by fans and scholars on non-commercial nature of fan culture (“Fanworks must be free”)

Fanwork sales from the point of view of companies (copyright holders and others)Japan:

• The decline of the Japanese market for print manga is bucked by the “dōjinshimarket”

• Dōjinshi exchange is a source of income for many companies (shops, printers, …)

• The commercial potential of fan-made media is becoming evident in other areas of the popular cultural economy, such as Vocaloid and cosplay products

• United states:• Media companies do NOT tolerate sales of fan fiction or other fanworks

• Renewed interest in money-making potential of fanworks after commercial success of Fifty Shades of Grey

• Companies believe that only they, not fans, have the right to initiate and control fanwork sales

Results of different histories/attitudes

• Numerous business models for monetizing fanworks (especially in Japan)

• Business models’ structure and success depends strongly on local attitudes towards fanwork monetization

• A few examples of business models: • Amazon’s Kindle Worlds

• Japanese dōjin shops

Localized solution inspired by English-speaking fan culture: Amazon’s Kindle Worlds• Launched in 2013

• Sells textual fan fiction for properties that have been officially licensed by Amazon (currently 27)

• Fans submit stories for approval, stories are sold in Kindle ecosystem

• Amazon and copyright holders take a cut of sales

Localized solution inspired by Japanese-speaking dōjin culture: dōjin shops• Large and small brick and mortar

and online stores

• Fans sell second-hand dōjinshi to shops, who sell them on

• Some fans have shops sell their new dōjinshi on consignment sale

• Fans are free to distribute works elsewhere

• Shops take a cut of sales (copyright holders do not)

Local attitudes -> localized solutions

Amazon’s Kindle Worlds

• Centered on textual fiction and online exchange

• Fanwork sales cannot happen except when strictly legal

• Copyright holders control contents of fanworks sold and get a piece of the profits

Dōjin shops

• Centered on manga dōjinshi and print exchange

• Fanworks sales are tolerated by rightsholders in legal gray zone

• Copyright holders have no control over contents of fanworks sold and get no direct financial compensation

Some other business models originating in or inspired by fanworks distribution

Solid basis in law

• Kindle Worlds

• Dōjin mark

• Hatsune Miku

• Tōhō Project

• Crunchyroll

• Digital Manga Guild

Legal grey zone/illegal

• Dōjinshi conventions

• Dōjin shops

• Fansub/scanlation distribution

• Commercially published dōjinshianthologies

• Fan fiction/fan art commissions

Can these business innovations from fan/dōjinculture work in professional cultural production?

• YES? They are often well-adapted to current realities of media creation and distribution:• Participatory creation without strong separation of “pros” and “amateurs”

• Online distribution and remix

• NO? Many thorny problems:• Existing solutions are often highly localized and would be difficult to export

(dōjin shops/dōjinshi conventions/dōjin mark very Japan-specific)

• Making them exportable would require making them legal (very hard)

• Companies have difficulty setting up systems that fans want to use (they often approach creation of business models from the idea that they have the right to dictate terms of fanwork sales, fans take this badly)

Problem 1: Commercialization of fanworks on an international scale is fraught with legal issues

• Copyright-related issues:• Japan: General assumption that fanworks are not legal (loophole in copyright law)

• U.S.: General assumption that fanworks are not legal (but some scholars argue it is)

• Lack of clarity (for fans and companies) about what is legal, no case law

• Content-related issues:• Japan: Laws on content restrictions, child pornography

• U.S.: Not clear yet how content restrictions could affect fanworks

• Legal uncertainties make developing business models risky for all involved:• Individual fans have no leg to stand on when they get in trouble

• Companies have no wiggle room to try new things

BUT: Uncertain legal status is often what enables fan/dōjin culture produces these business models

• What motivates fans to innovate? Few fans are motivated by ideology; most want to continue their practices and find whatever solutions they need, legal or otherwise

• Fans are more nimble than companies when it comes to using new technologies and adapting them to their needs

• Fans are capable of operating outside legally prescribed boundaries:• Policing everybody on the internet is impossible• Digital rights management (DRM) and other technologies to let companies control

media distribution and remixing are easily circumvented

• This makes some fan practices controversial, but also highly efficient and innovative (fansubs!)

• Fact that fans can operate outside of legal boundaries is a key aspect of why they can innovate -> how would this change?

Problem 2: Some companies want to make “exploitative” systems the norm for fanwork sales

• Amazon’s Kindle Worlds is seen as a flop: only about 600 stories submitted

• Company-controlled fanwork monetization systems in the U.S. are based on maximizing copyright holder profits by squeezing as much money and rights out of fanworks as possible -> fans perceive this system as exploitative, unfair, and disrespectful of their works

• U.S. companies are trying to export their copyright laws (TPP)

• Amazon may be considering exporting their (legal!) model for fanworkmonetization• Amazon trying to establish template for fanwork monetization • “In the future we hope to include illustrations or images in the body of the story, as

well as comics, graphic novels, and manga.” (Kindle Worlds FAQ)

BUT: Fans refuse to participate in such exploitative systems• Fans see their aims as non-commercial and are sensitive to attempts at

“exploitation” of fanwork by companies who do not give back:• Japan: dōjinshi printers/shops could develop because they supported fan practices

• Amazon Kindle Worlds failing because it adds no value to fan practices

• Fans can refuse to play along in systems they perceive as unfair:• Fans use technology to route around/avoid exploitative systems

• Systems fail because of lack of participation from fans

• Exploitative systems kill innovative energy that makes fanworks valuable:• Make fanworks “harmless” to please copyright holders (no BL, no controversy)

• Tension between normalization of some fan practices and demonization of some others (only fans who play by the rules are rewarded with money)

Conclusions

• Most fans involved see fanworks not as commercial and have non-commercial goals

• However, fanworks do function as commercial goods from the POV of many companies involved (and some fans too)• Japan: dōjinshi shops, dōjinshi printers, media companies

• U.S.: Amazon, media companies

• Fan/dōjin cultures have produced/inspired numerous business innovations, and will continue to do so (fans and companies are motivated to try)

• For now, these solutions originate from radically different international understandings of fanwork commercialization and are still locally specific

Whether these models will end up helping the manga/pop culture industry in general may depend on:

• Whether commercial actors can adapt fannish mechanisms for business innovation to their situations

• Whether international-level solutions for copyright issues can be found

http://nelenoppe.net/dojinshi

nele.noppe@gmail.com

@unjapanologist (日本語OK)