The project "People's License" or the Russian crowd-funding in the flesh

Good Tuesday, habrasoobschestvo!

Time after time we stumble upon blunders of filmmakers, crap copywriting and the lack of a golden mean between mediocre official localizations and more meticulous, but less technical works of amateur release groups.
Some wonderful things in Russian are not published in principle, and some (such as, for example, the once popular game Icewind Dale) are waiting for the official Russian release for 5-6 years!

Today I would like to discuss not these negative cases, but the Russian project, which can become a pioneer in the world of operational and at the same time high-quality localized publications.
Or it may not be - we decide.
')


So, a certain Voronezh Company (in order to avoid accusations of advertising, I can do without names and references), known to Russian anime lovers for its very high-quality translations, launched the first crowdfunding project in runet to localize the fresh animated film Makoto Sinkay - Hoshi o Ou Kodomo , released on screens in japan and a half weeks ago .

- How is the project built?

Anyone can buy in the online store personal certificate of the participant of the action. The price of one such certificate is 1000 rubles.
From the money paid for the certificates, the sum that the company pays to the filmmakers is made, as an advance payment for the license.

If the money collected before August 1 of this year is not enough for an advance payment, by October 1 (oddly enough, of the same year) the amount paid by the user + 10% will be returned to his account in the online store.

If the action is successful and the required amount is collected, the company pays an advance payment, takes the further licensing costs on itself, transfers the film and releases it in Russia.
The certificate holder receives either a “limited edition” of a localized film, or 1000 rubles already mentioned above + 10% at his own expense.
...
PROFIT!

- Where is the guarantee?

First of all - the reputation of the people behind the project. It is there that crowdfunding projects around the world are held.

Secondly, the contract offer when buying a certificate. The company is officially registered in Russia, and the conditions under which the buyer invests money in the license are clearly stated. So, in the case of any bases, they can be sued, and practically guaranteed to win it.

- And how many are trying to collect?

Good question. Most interesting :)
For legal reasons, the amount of the transaction can not be disclosed, so only a percentage counter hangs on the company's website. At the time of writing the topic (exactly one week has passed since the launch of the project), it shows the following picture:

- What are, in principle, the advantages of crowd-funding licensing?

The localizer / publisher is motivated to do good quality work. Otherwise, he simply will not get the next one.
In addition, he will have to seriously gnaw exclusive materials from the creators of the film / series to justify the amount that people invest.

In the future, buyers will be able to fully influence the choice of product for licensing. If, as a result of voting on the forum, it turns out that N hundreds of people are ready to throw themselves into licensing and translation, for example, Pokemon, no one bothers the publisher to undertake precisely their localization.

As a result, the first to see the light are the films and series that people really want to watch.

- Obviously, there are downsides?

With not a very large number of people and the high price of the license - time. I have little idea of ​​the size of the advance payment and, as a result, the number of people who must throw off a thousand in order for the project to go to work.
But if it is recruited, say, in a month, it turns out quite reasonably.

Of course, the inevitable delay between the payment and the receipt of the finished purchase is upsetting: “Money in the morning, in the evening in 3-4 months - chairs”.
But even if we consider only the financial aspect, + 10% of the profit to the invested funds in a few months is not bad at all. No bank will offer this :)

- What would I add personally?

"People's license", like any other crowdfunding project, is essentially similar to a startup with a large number of very small investors.
So, it would be interesting if everyone who invested in the license had the opportunity to monitor its status, starting with fees, ending with the localization process and sales progress.

Ideally: so that each holder of such a license gets some bonus points from each of the copies sold afterwards. Even if it will be a penny - it is still nice!

In addition, 1000 rubles, after all, a rather big amount. Perhaps it was necessary to provide for the graduation of donation, with their bonuses in each case?

Obviously, the project has much to strive for and is rather a trial balloon than a serious crowdfunding platform.

But in the current form for the Russian practice, the phenomenon, in my opinion, is unique.
What do you think,% username%?

upd. 05/24/2011: That is, in fact, the funds raised. Two weeks and the project leaves from a fundraising stage in direct production: http://aideminaer.livejournal.com/21832.html