The government steps in.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703315404575250063863666150.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines

Singapore, in its latest move to build a media hub, has collaborated with Hollywood Production Company to produce films for the Asian market.

Asia is apparently a huge growing market in terms of domestic movies being produced. However, trying to break into markets is never easy. In Singapore, MDA, a government authority has been actively participating in the exchange of skills and knowledge into the industry in the past few years. Collaborations like this are not something new.

Having increase trade in the creative goods has been seen as a booster to help the domestic film industries gain more technological knowledge and filming skills. This is definitely a good way in helping the domestic industry. However, will there be one day where too many firms set up base in Singapore but none serves the domestic industry? In the recent years, many of the producers have actually placed much focus upon the domestic market as well. But truth to be told, the money lies in global productions.

Globalization demands that multinational corporations should penetrate as far and wide as possible, and lord forbid that any land untouched should not be made a potential goldmine. The couture fashion industry, as Vogue represents, is fueled by extreme vanity so it really shouldn’t be all too surprising that elements from there are heralding Vogue’s potential presence in Africa to bring, in part, salvation to the country. Fashion binds us all together and all that.

But as the article rightly says, no matter now globalized, how rich the industry, how vain, how self absorbed it may be, the industry is still ultimately bound by the basic economics of demand. It is not feasible to bring Vogue to Africa simply because there is insufficient demand. And vain as couture may be, it is a business after all; till today, there is no Vogue Africa.

Not that creative juices are restricted. There are, as we see, time and money spent on creating ‘sample shots’. Vogue may be restricted by business economics but vanity will stop at nothing to parade itself, even at the expense of contempt and ridicule.

The article is saying that in 2006, total revenue from Japanese films surpassed foreign movies for the first time since 1985. Out of total revenue of 202.5 billion yen, Japanese movies took 53.2% and foreign movies did 46.8%. In 2005, the figure was 41.3% versus 58.7%, and that year’s Top 10 ranking of total sales showed 6 out of 10 ranks were occupied by foreign movies.  And after 2 years later on, in 2008, the number for Japanese movies even grew and the result was 59.5% versus 40.5%.

Positive effects seen in trades of creative products would be at least four. One, people can enjoy more variations. Today, we can buy music albums from different countries so easily at HMV. Two, with increased competition by foreign entrants, the quality of products can be higher. In the case of Japanese movie industry, high pressure from foreign movies might have motivated Japanese film makers to create better films. Three, trades of creative products can be a cultural exchange. People can learn overseas culture by reading, listening, watching, and using them. Four, thorough trades of creative products, there would be more chances for people around the world to enjoy the product, and it will be resulted in the producer’s great satisfaction. Creative industry producers often want international fame with their products.

There are also some negative aspects of trading creative goods. One is an erosion of cultural assets. In today’s global economy, it is said that people in different countries came to lead more or less similar lifestyle. Two is that free competition in global market of creative industry might not be always a benefit. Referring to an example of movie industry, some of the categories, such as small independent films and so-called avant-garde films need to be protected from competition in the market to survive and be passed down to future generation as cultural assets.

From the articles, we can see that Japanese films have been wining for several years despite the fact that more and more films have been being distributed in Japan. In Japanese movie industry, it had been said that Hollywood movies were threatening domestic films’ presence.　But, we might be able to see the result as a selection of good movies and bad ones. Even if more and more foreign movies come to be distributed in Japan, if Japanese movies’ quality is high enough to win the customers over foreign rivals, it might not going to be a problem.

In today’s global market, it is inevitable to coexist or compete with foreign products. So, considering a way to make avail of positive effects and eliminate downsides in trades of creative goods should be the way to make a presence in creative industry market.

Retrieved from:

http://hogacentral.blogs.com/hoganews/2007/01/its_official_ja.html

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200911050172.html

A few weeks back, we discussed in class, the controversy surrounding Intellectual Properties (IP) laws. IP laws is  relevant to creative industries, especially in the technological industries such as software and products.

While some favoured Apple’s decision to sue Gizmodo for “stolen property” crime, it is debatable whether something, that is lost and found, and then used by someone else who was not sure of the true origin and attempted to return it, is considered theft. Especially since this is a prototype, there is no patent or license to insure its confidentiality. Check out the comments from How Apple Lost the Next iPhone. One comment that stood out among the rest; it journalled a list of reasons why Apple should not sue bother suing Gizmodo.

Such is the dilemma of protecting products emerging from creative industries. Apparently, Apple has been involved in several lawsuits with regards to protecting its ideas/ software/ products. A friend and I briefly shared our views on this issue and the conclusion is: “You can’t blame Gizmodo.” Then again, when was the last time a MEGA-MNC lost a lawsuit against a smaller-in-comparison newswire site?

Steve Jobs sounds off on why Apple’s mobile devices don’t support Flash (developed by Adobe).

It has some interesting insights on the importance of an “open” system, and the need for the system not to be “too open” in order to maintain security etc. But it also highlights a new kind of standards war between Adobe and Apple: Apple’s mobile devices can’t view websites of videos encoded with Flash – and Apple has no intention to remedy this.

So ultimately it is Jobs telling Adobe ‘thanks for the memories, but your technology is antiquated.’

Net Neutrality is essentially no limitations on an internet users experience on the internet. This mainly applies to ISP’s who have recently been filtering and choking the bandwidth of those that they suspected were downloading illegally or just downloading more than they considered normal.

While the ISP’s might be doing good by preventing the illegal download of illegal media files, when you pay for unlimited access at high speeds you expect unlimited access and HIGH SPEEDS.

While some courts in the US have stated that the FCC doesn’t have the power needed to enforce the guidelines, they are currently working on a counter-case to get the power to do so.

In a time where the internet provides soo many with so much, and has become an integral part of our lives, i tihnk we need to take a good look at how it is regulated. The group regulating it should not be doing so based on rules that wre created before the internet was even invented.

This affair is a bit old but still makes me think about creator-company relationships in creative industry.

McQueen’s Givenchy showcase is scuttled by striking seamstresses

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/mcqueens-givenchy-showcase-is-scuttled-by-striking-seamstresses-703178.html

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However the fashion cognoscenti singled out a fit of pique in the highly unionised French clothing industry, specifically that the Petits Mains (Little Hands), the seamstresses who make the outfits, were unhappy with their pay, and had inconveniently gone on strike.

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In particular, he was said to feel creatively constrained by the parent company, the luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, and its boss, Bernaud Arnault.

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McQueen, who recently sold 51 per cent of his company to rival fashion house Gucci, is due to fulfil his contract with Givenchy until October, when he will walk away from the company.

This growth has been fueled largely by increase in the number of casual gamers rather than full time gamers. Mobile gamers are able to connect to almost anyone else playing in the world right from their phones or portable consoles.

http://www.edge-online.com/news/study-online-game-revenue-to-fuel-market-growth

Success of the gaming industry attributes largely to the high influx of talented gaming artists, programmers, producers and the massive number of staff behind these games and consoles. Some of the games might differ ever so slightly but a change in the buttons of the game or even just a slight twist to the story might appeal to a whole group of different people and market.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/maggieshiels/2010/04/lunching_with_gaming_luminarie.html

Human resource has always been a big key to creating games. Most of the great creators of games are in fact the players of games. As the saying goes, “it takes one to know one”. At the same time, they really relish what they work on and create for the public. When ideas clash, they might simply take an exit and develop from scratch at their own.

http://www.edge-online.com/news/25-now-out-at-infinity-ward

The Visual Kei (VK) music industry has been gaining momentum in recent years, not only in Japan, but all over the world. Popularized by by band X-Japan in the 80s, Visual Kei, or what is more commonly known as J-rock in the western world, has become one of the cultural exports of Japan.

Of course there’s no music sub-industry without a back-scene to it, and a recent English blogger managed to score an interview, more of an exposé, really, with an ex-industry insider.

The article is awfully long, and only those interested in the VK industry will go through the whole thing, so here’s a summary of sorts:

The interview doesn’t reveal much of what we don’t already know, deep inside. The VK industry, for all its sparkle and glamor, is really no different from other popular music industries, marked by creative clashes, greedy opportunism, and monopolies.

So the gist of the article is that the VK industry, as we know it, is really all an illusion. There are countless VK bands out there, all seemingly under different companies, but in truth, there are really only 2-3 large companies. The other smaller companies fall under their gigantic umbrellas. One of these companies is owned by the famed Yoshiki of X-Japan.

Its a man-eat-man world. What most bands want is to be signed under a mainstream label and break out of the ‘indies’. This way, they get higher income. Thereafter, band members will aspire to retire and and form their own label one day, so that they can produce music to their individual liking, rake in the cash, and live the cushy life.

This is not the case, apparently, because ‘independent’ labels are often owned by the mainstream labels. The interview says that even if ex-band members manage to create their own labels, and recruit new bands under them, these labels will still ultimately belong to the larger companies because start-up costs will be financed by them. It’s not possible for the small labels to have that kind of money. And for any music produced under these labels, the rights will go to the parent company. So what often becomes the case is that music producers work almost 24 hours, producing music for several bands, and the ones raking in the cash are a select few. Like Yoshiki. Often, creative production, including music and image-creation, will be controlled by the larger organizations.

So VK music is usually called the ‘indies’ and bands are often perceived to have their own ‘style’, each catering to a certain niche audience, but it is the elites who own and control everything. Just, I suppose, like most other industries out there. Ultimately, even creativity must be top-down.