Production Companies Compromizing Over Anime Downloads

Illegal online downloads might have started with music, but they certainly didn't stop there. It took longer for video technology to develop, but illegal anime downloads eventually began posing the same problem for anime distributors that song downloads did for the music industry, early in the century.

Once a few people had the digital files from any series, it was easy for these to be uploaded to fan sites, and soon people could watch anime free online, and download the files to their own computers, without any consequences.

Just as Bandai and FUNimation took their hard public stance against illegal anime downloads, another Japanese entertainment company, GDH/Gonzo, began to demonstrate the real road to the successful resolution of the problem.

By joining forces with a fan site that had been strongly criticized for streaming anime illegally, Gonzo allowed the streaming to continue, but made higher quality versions of those videos available for a fee. This might not have eliminated illegal downloads entirely, but it mitigated the problem to a great extent.

It is to FUNimation's credit that they either followed Gonzo's lead, or at least developed a similar plan to deal with illegal anime downloads. The company hasn't entirely abandoned its prosecutorial ways, but it did set up its own video portal, positively loaded with free streaming anime.

It streams vast chunks of its anime library for free, while fans can take advantage of a download-to-own option, one episode at a time. This approach has worked very well to make the company's fans happy, while providing publicity and extra revenue as well. Gonzo may have had it right from the beginning: "If you can't beat them, join them."

To read more Production Companies Compromizing Over Anime Downloads