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Manga Planet: Ahh, I see. So scanlation can be incorporated into your portfolio. Since you worked on the industry side, has your opinion of scanlation changed?
Beverly: I’d say my opinion of scanlation since my teenage years has definitely changed, but when I actually got into it, I was already of the mindset that it wasn’t a good thing for the industry. I was really upfront with my group about the fact that I was basically doing it for practice and they were really accepting and just happy to have another translator on call. I’m really happy with the things I worked on with them because it is an artist I love dearly, but it is a double-edged sword because I do love that artist, and I want them to get an official English release, and I know I’ve hurt that chance for her now.
Manga Planet: What you mean that it “hurt that chance for her now?” Many readers and other scanlators tend to argue that having scanlations could help the artist since it would build an audience for them.
Beverly: It may not be so common knowledge on the other side of the circuit, but when an artist already has well-known scanlations out for some of their work, that can actually become a reason for people not to get a license.
Because scanlation is not new to the scene, companies are already aware that the hit to sales is already there. Since like only 5% of people who read scans actually buy, your target market is people who have heard of the title but haven’t read scans.
It is a big catch-22. If something is already scanlated, then you want if to be popular enough for people to know the artist name, unpopular enough that people will actually buy it. There are even some scan groups whose reputations ruin it for the artist.
I won’t name names, but basically, the ones that are known to still release chapters once the official license is announced, or actually hear about the license and purposefully release everything instead of stopping.
It’s actually a lot more common than you think, and licensors know who these groups are. I can say that when I worked at the manga company, we tried to reach out nicely and warn some people we were going to license something and get them to find a nice stopping place, and people burned us. That sticks with you. Anytime you get the chance to release something that you know that group did— you DO double think it. And it’s absolutely awful to think about as a fan.
Manga Planet: So “double-thinking” leads to series not being picked up?
Beverly: I think it relies heavily on where you are as a company and your corporate outlook though. Like we went through with the (one scanlated series) we did it because it was a very popular title and we expected traffic for it. (Also, the freelancers were jumping at the bit for it.) Had we gotten a license to another work that scanlation group was doing down the line, I probably would have turned it down.
Manga Planet: This is definitely something we have thought about even at Manga Planet-the scanlation status of an artist’s work. So in this regard, you would say that scanlation hurts the industry, specifically artists, more than it helps?
Beverly: I would say so. As a fan, I understand wanting to share your favorite artist with people. And not to get all grandma up on this interview, but back in my dayyyy (haha), you shared the official print. Even in the digital age, you can share the official digital release. The problem with scanlation is that it’s spoiled us. I actually saw something the other day. Someone was posting a top 30 shojo manga list—and something I worked on was on it. I was over the moon! So I click to see what the comments are, and there it was. “Ugh, this cost money. Can someone pay and put it up on an illegal website so we can read it for free?” (I’m not kidding—they typed illegal!) Not only does that hurt the artist, the industry, and the people who DO do this stuff officially’s paycheck, it is the most indescribably serrated knife stab in the back of everyone trying their hardest for this industry. And the problem is, and I know people don’t want to hear it, this is not the minority.
Beverly: I’d say my opinion of scanlation since my teenage years has definitely changed, but when I actually got into it, I was already of the mindset that it wasn’t a good thing for the industry. I was really upfront with my group about the fact that I was basically doing it for practice and they were really accepting and just happy to have another translator on call. I’m really happy with the things I worked on with them because it is an artist I love dearly, but it is a double-edged sword because I do love that artist, and I want them to get an official English release, and I know I’ve hurt that chance for her now.
Manga Planet: What you mean that it “hurt that chance for her now?” Many readers and other scanlators tend to argue that having scanlations could help the artist since it would build an audience for them.
Beverly: It may not be so common knowledge on the other side of the circuit, but when an artist already has well-known scanlations out for some of their work, that can actually become a reason for people not to get a license.
Because scanlation is not new to the scene, companies are already aware that the hit to sales is already there. Since like only 5% of people who read scans actually buy, your target market is people who have heard of the title but haven’t read scans.
It is a big catch-22. If something is already scanlated, then you want if to be popular enough for people to know the artist name, unpopular enough that people will actually buy it. There are even some scan groups whose reputations ruin it for the artist.
I won’t name names, but basically, the ones that are known to still release chapters once the official license is announced, or actually hear about the license and purposefully release everything instead of stopping.
It’s actually a lot more common than you think, and licensors know who these groups are. I can say that when I worked at the manga company, we tried to reach out nicely and warn some people we were going to license something and get them to find a nice stopping place, and people burned us. That sticks with you. Anytime you get the chance to release something that you know that group did— you DO double think it. And it’s absolutely awful to think about as a fan.
Manga Planet: So “double-thinking” leads to series not being picked up?
Beverly: I think it relies heavily on where you are as a company and your corporate outlook though. Like we went through with the (one scanlated series) we did it because it was a very popular title and we expected traffic for it. (Also, the freelancers were jumping at the bit for it.) Had we gotten a license to another work that scanlation group was doing down the line, I probably would have turned it down.
Manga Planet: This is definitely something we have thought about even at Manga Planet-the scanlation status of an artist’s work. So in this regard, you would say that scanlation hurts the industry, specifically artists, more than it helps?
Beverly: I would say so. As a fan, I understand wanting to share your favorite artist with people. And not to get all grandma up on this interview, but back in my dayyyy (haha), you shared the official print. Even in the digital age, you can share the official digital release. The problem with scanlation is that it’s spoiled us. I actually saw something the other day. Someone was posting a top 30 shojo manga list—and something I worked on was on it. I was over the moon! So I click to see what the comments are, and there it was. “Ugh, this cost money. Can someone pay and put it up on an illegal website so we can read it for free?” (I’m not kidding—they typed illegal!) Not only does that hurt the artist, the industry, and the people who DO do this stuff officially’s paycheck, it is the most indescribably serrated knife stab in the back of everyone trying their hardest for this industry. And the problem is, and I know people don’t want to hear it, this is not the minority.
https://mangaplanet.jp/scanlation-speaks-scans-hurt-trans lator-beverly-maynor-interview/
What do you guys think?