Cork’s strategy on reforming manga

　Mr. Yohei Sadoshima founded “Cork” after leaving the editorial department of the manga magazine Morning. I think the editorial system of publishers is responsible for the development of Japan’s manga to this magnitude. Can the agent be modeled that made the system independent? Cork shows an innovative challenge.

　Cork produces and distributes paper manga, digital manga, and animations “simultaneously.” It breaks the existing model that is based on paper. Manga is animated from the volume one of the book. It shatters the business order of Magazine à Book à Video. And it distributes the contents in Japan and overseas at the same time. It breaks the existing model that is based on domestic distribution.

　Mr. Sadoshima says he will create a structure that decides the value of contents by its details in order to charge a fee, instead of the material of the packaging or the type of media. This is an important point.

　For example, a music CD was priced the same regardless of the artist. The prices of one CD for Yo-Yo Ma and Shonen Knife are about the same. The price was decided by the packaging and distribution cost. The Internet caused a price destruction, and the business model is migrating to live and sale of goods.

　Will the model shift in manga as well? Artworks such as paintings differ in price, depending on the quality of contents. It would be interesting if such a model can be done.

　Cork’s system that connects manga artists and publishers to create and edit original works is similar to the model that is being promoted in South Korea by Mr. Youn In-wan, who is a graduate student at our lab. He is distributing paper manga in Japan and digital manga in South Korea simultaneously. It is energizing when a challenger like him pushes a structural reform.

　According to Mr. Sadoshima, manga industry is not large enough. It is smaller in scale than the communication industry by two digits. The Japanese government calls the overseas deployment and industrialization by collaborating with other industries as “Cool Japan.” We need to create case examples first. Let’s create a successful example.