The Industry - Lifestyle and Wages

[gdpetti]

Perhaps this goes with the above? https://vigilantcitizen.com/latestne...arent-suicide/

K-Pop Star Jonghyun Found Dead at 27 of Apparent Suicide
December 18, 2017

Jonghyun, the lead singer of the popular K-Pop group SHINee, sent troubling text messages to his sister shortly before he was found dead in Seoul.

Kim Jong-Hyun, better known by his stage name Jonghyun, was found unconscious in a residential hotel in the upscale Gangnam district of Seoul on December 18th. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Police rushed to Jonghyun’s apartment after receiving an emergency call from his sister stating that he sent a series of troubling text messages.

According to local reports, Jonghyun’s final message to his sister was: “It’s been too hard. Please send me off. Tell everyone I’ve had a hard time. This is my last goodbye.”

Investigators found coal briquettes burnt in a frying pan inside Kim’s apartment, leading them to believe that he died from carbon monoxide intoxication.

Jonghyun was a prominent figure in K-Pop. He was the lead singer of the popular group SHINee (who were dubbed the “princes of K-Pop”) for over a decade. Jonghyun then launched a solo career in 2015 and published a book entitled Skeleton Flower. Kim’s last public appearance was at his solo concert named “Inspired” on Dec. 10 in Seoul.

In 2010, I’ve published an article about SHINee’s video Lucifer which indicated that K-Pop was infiltrated by the agenda of the occult elite. The song described the singers being “under the spell of Lucifer”. A line from the song aptly described the fate of K-Pop stars stuck in an oppressive industry:

I feel like I’ve become a clown trapped in a glass castle


Kim was made to do the one-eye sign throughout his career, indicating that he was at the service of the occult elite. Here he is on the cover of OhBoy! magazine in 2016.

Jonghyun and his entire former group SHINee doing the one-eye sign.

Jonghyun was signed with SM Entertainment, a Korean company that was often accused of abusing and exploiting K-Pop artists (read my article about K-Pop group Red Velvet for more details). SM Entertainment released a statement saying:

“This is SM Entertainment. We are sorry to be the bearer of such tragic, heartbreaking news. On December 18th, SHINee’s Jonghyun left us very suddenly. He was discovered unconscious at a residence in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul and was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead. Our sadness cannot compare to the pain of his family, who had to say goodbye to a son and a brother, but we have spent a long time with him, and the SHINee members along with the SM Entertainment staff are all in deep mourning and shock. Jonghyun loved music more than anybody else and he was an artist who did everything to perform his absolute best on stage.

It breaks our heart to have to bring this news to fans who loved Jonghyun so much. ‘Please refrain from reporting on rumours and guesswork so the family of the deceased can honour him in peace. ‘As per the wish of the family, the funeral will be held quietly with his relatives and company colleagues.”
– Metro, Jonghyun’s talent agency releases emotional statement as SHINee star dies aged 27

Jonghyun is one of several South Korean stars who took their lives at a young age. In 2009, actress Jang Ja-Yeon killed herself by hanging. She left a suicide note explaining how she was beaten and forced to entertain and have sex with several program directors, CEOs and media executives. Several other celebrities committed suicide including singer and actor Park Yong Ha, model Daul Kim and actress Jeong Da Bin.

Jonghyun’s death at age 27 makes him the latest addition to the infamous 27 Club, the group of late singers who died at the young age of 27. The 27 Club includes Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse. Nearly every one of them died in bizarre circumstances.

==============

{there were links on that site as mentioned regarding other artists... the 'One Eyed' club usually, the Satanic occult club essentially)

[Nivek von Beldo]

Illuminati...yeah, he have issue but again that is just fishing upstream, they should not push their agenda with other people tragedies

[AnimeFan188]

Family Assistance is the Lifeblood for Half of
Young Animators in Japan:

"Seasonal anime output is at an industry high but the novice animators toiling away
each season are barely surviving. The non-profit organization Hōjin Jakunen-sō no
Anime Seisakusha o Ōen suru kai (The Association to Support Young Industry
Animators, AEYAC) released the preliminary results of a survey it conducted to get a
better understanding of animator working conditions. The results were startling, as over
half of the respondents revealed they receive financial assistance from their families on
top of working."

See:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/int...-japan/.125503

[gdpetti]

$27,689 (US) in 2013 in that other study of 759 animators was most likely more experienced animators, not the 'newbies' of "less than three years of industry experience"... and then, if I remember it right, most end up in gaming or elsewhere than anime work due to the pay. I thought someone here or elsewhere mentioned a study that agreed with this $13K /yr pay for 'newbies'... though I think they said a little over $11K/yr... either way, it seems to be the training ground for beginners... maybe like interns here in the States? some of whom don't get paid at all (summer or one semester, 1 year tops that I remember hearing of)... though the goal is to get F/T afterwards... after making connections, getting some experience etc... not that it always or even mostly works.... but that has usually been the stated goal... though 3 years is a long 'internship', no? It still seems to me that these problems are an overhang of not dealing with the way this industry operates since the heydey of the 80s and the end of the easy times for the economy there.... same process of keeping the zombie banks/corporations alive with free money from the govt is in effect here in the States as well... been around a long time, but like most issues of any importance that make the system look bad, it's kept off the nightly news.... the MSM don't talk about it.... remember the bailouts in Reagan's time with the S&L's... one of the Bush clan was involved with that... then the so-called monetary crisis that the public was told we needed to bail out Russia, Mexico, Thailand etc... which like Greece and Germany in recent years, was just another bailout of the big banks... the 'too big to fails'... same in Japan... and as long as the big boys have access to free money, the game goes on and on.. zombie style..

That seems to be the problem... not considering anime as a main market product in itself, instead of a byproduct to sell other stuff, thus the committee system... to sell songs/records/manga/LNs etc. It seems to me that this zombie financial setup is part of the problem, one that keeps the industry 'kicking the can down the road'.... China seems heading in the same direction... build that Belt/Road and start exporting jobs to cheaper countries as Japan has been doing, USA, etc... the 'hollowing out' process that marks the end of any empire.

[AnimeFan188]

Inside The Manga Industry with Felipe Smith, American Mangaka:

"PEEPO CHOO, which follows a Chicago otaku who travels to Japan in hopes of at last
living in the “geek's paradise” manga seems to have promised. Reality confounds his
wishful expectations to darkly humorous effect, of course, and numerous pages see
older fanboys and young otaku shout out respective misconceptions into each other's
faces. The manga is a pointed cross-cultural conversation piece on its own, but the
circumstances of its creation make it all the more of a discussion starter.

Smith put PEEPO CHOO out through Kodansha, making him one of the only American
creators to have ever worked in Japan's manga industry. The experience making the
series taught him much – about culture, audience expectations and the logistics of
producing art on schedule – that's all fed into his next series, Death Metal Zombie Cop.
Speaking with Smith reveals a life countless American otaku have only dreamed of
living, and surprising lessons about manga he's now putting into practice."

See:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/int...angaka/.126661


Part II:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/fea...art-ii/.126852

[IceHism]

https://blog.sakugabooru.com/2018/02...-is-no-savior/

netflix is not what the anime industry needs

[Nivek von Beldo]

Originally Posted by IceHism

https://blog.sakugabooru.com/2018/02...-is-no-savior/

netflix is not what the anime industry needs

Is the same but better that nothing

[AnimeFan188]

Japanese Government Hopes Drawing Software Standard
Bolsters Anime Production:

"Due to the widely known poor working conditions among animators and studios'
financial struggles, industry members have begun to propose more alternatives to
current systems that could revolutionize the making of anime. Many people see the
production committee system as a key source of the industry's issues. Yaoyorozu's
Yoshitada Fukuhara, who served as producer for the studio's Kemono Friends anime,
conducted a presentation earlier this month that proposed a solution. Fukuhara believes
a new partnership system could help restore power to anime studios, leading to overall
improvement in the industry's success."

See:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/int...uction/.129416

[AnimeFan188]

"Helping the Industry": Otaku Coin, The Flying Colors Foundation & You:

"In recent months, a whole bunch of new initiatives have popped up, all claiming to help
you support the industry directly in a variety of creative ways. They range from things
that seem perfectly trustworthy - like legitimate crowdfunding initiatives by trusted
creators - to things that seem to raise more questions than they answer, like the Flying
Colors Foundation's recent data-gathering survey. Even cryptocurrency is being invoked
as a solution for the anime industry's problems, if only you'd buy in. It can be confusing
to know which avenues will support creators, which will support the anime industry at
large, and which ones will only support whoever's asking you for money (or data) in the
first place.

In this editorial, we're going to examine a few of these recent initiatives – some of which
are still ongoing, some of which have already shut down – in order to help illuminate
some of the questions we should consider asking any organization claiming it needs our
money, data, time or resources to help “save the industry”."

See:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/edi...nd-you/.133749

[AnimeFan188]

Erotic Manga Artist Who Left Company Describes Poor Pay, Rejection:

"Erotic manga artist Canned Beef took to Twitter this week to describe their work
environment's difficult circumstances. In an exasperated series of tweets, they said, "I
want to quit manga and quit living."

Canned Beef said an editorial department would only pay them 80,000 yen (about
US$719) a month. Also, the editorial department would not pay anything after rejecting
200 pages of storyboards. The artist further described what they believe were
unreasonable demands for Comic Market imposed on them by editors.

Additionally, Canned Beef mentioned pay of 7,000 yen (about US$63) per page every
other month. In the same tweet, the artist said the could not live on such low pay, so
they asked about working for another company to supplement their income. However,
editors told them they were not allowed and also told them they were not popular
enough to add on work for another magazine at the same company."

See:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/int...ection/.135841

[AnimeFan188]

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Character Designer Expresses
Disappointment in Anime Industry:

"In the midst of news that animation Studio Madhouse worked a production assistant to
collapse, members of the anime industry are discussing their thoughts and feelings on
social media. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable and Knights of the
Zodiac: Saint Seiya character designer Terumi Nishii shared her thoughts in English on
Twitter on Monday, going so far as to dissuade anyone hoping to enter the animation
industry due to the poor working conditions."

See:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/int...dustry/.146007

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Character Designer Expresses
Disappointment in Anime Industry:

"In the midst of news that animation Studio Madhouse worked a production assistant to
collapse, members of the anime industry are discussing their thoughts and feelings on
social media. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable and Knights of the
Zodiac: Saint Seiya character designer Terumi Nishii shared her thoughts in English on
Twitter on Monday, going so far as to dissuade anyone hoping to enter the animation
industry due to the poor working conditions."

See:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/int...dustry/.146007

"This is a job you like. Do not complain about running out of money."

Same argument people use to defend crap wages for scientists, photographers, artists etc around the world smh

[Nivek von Beldo]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

Same argument people use to defend crap wages for scientists, photographers, artists etc around the world smh

And that always mean envy, a job should not kill you but seems the ego of some people always trump over welfare

[serenade_beta]

Tatsuki talked about how he wasn't even payed for the scriptwriting or something a while back.
And according to TV Tokyo's producer's secondary account, it is very likely.

It is sad when trash treat the creators (more important than they will ever be) like expendable tools.
Hmm, well, maybe that is why the anime industry is on a thin thread?
I mean, except companies that use Unlimited Budget Works.

[ArrowSmith]

Maybe animators need a union?

[dragon1412]

It's very hard for union to happen in Japan though, but the problem is more deep rooted, not just Animations, if you try to look into life of programmers and office workers you would get the same stories, Japan was during it's miracle growth, growth too fast and leave too much hole to be exploited during that time, their labor laws is very much behind the conditions of workers. And those that is on top only thinking of making money. In fact, the current outsourcing trend is what really strike it the most.

In my eyes, though, the exact same thing is happening in CHina, the same speed of growth, the same growing bubbles and people driving wage as low as possible of those underneath.

There need to be actually interruption from governments at this point, since the cost and price already dug too much into the industry.

[ArrowSmith]

Also companies are way too quick to respond to even the hint of unionization in the workplace. They identify the culprits, fire them and threaten the rest.

[dragon1412]

Originally Posted by ArrowSmith

Also companies are way too quick to respond to even the hint of unionization in the workplace. They identify the culprits, fire them and threaten the rest.

Threaten is one thing, but the biggest problem is that Union is hinder by the network of those in the industries, it is 1 of the bad side of the group thinks that Japan is characteristics of. Companies tend to graviate towards others. And the cost of price of animations, discs, ... have been driven down long enough to make a lasting effect on consumers and the entire economic system. Like i said, the only ways is government intervention to clean the entire slate.

All in all, as worse as situation in Japan is, it is still better than China, in Japan, corporate interest often clash with governments, but in china, corporate interest is many times linked to government. Making changing the system even harder.

[SeijiSensei]

17% of the Japanese workforce is unionized, the same as in Germany. The US comes in at a measly 10%.

https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TUD

[ArrowSmith]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

17% of the Japanese workforce is unionized, the same as in Germany. The US comes in at a measly 10%.

https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TUD

Yeah but those are older industries that had unions going back decades. Programmers, animation artists and other creatives were never in unions and are not going to allowed in the 2020s.