Just entering may, the majority of gentlemen received a bad news. The well-known folk subtitle group Dadu subtitle Group officially announced that it would stop updating the monthly Lipan collection from May 2022. Many people were caught off guard. There are two reasons why the subtitle group of Fudu made this decision: first, it is forced by the general environment; The second is the lack of productivity caused by the loss of personnel.
Fortunately, the subtitle group of Yidu just stopped updating Lifan this time, and the normal Xinfan will continue to be published in relevant forums. Even in the statement, the subtitle group hopes that other organizations can take over the follow-up content, but I believe every rational reader knows that the era of subtitle group is gradually disappearing. The difficulty of obtaining "cooked meat" in Lipan is getting higher and higher.
I don't know when, people seem to have been used to it. One old subtitle group after another has undergone major changes, either disbanded or stopped changing.
On March 11 this year, the subtitle group of subpig pig Japanese drama announced that it would rectify, delete and close the website and all film and television related contents at the request of relevant departments and in accordance with laws and regulations. At the same time, the subtitle group will focus on information and news content in the future. This 20-year-old subtitle group is in a sad situation.
Over the past year, the folk subtitle groups that have encountered changes in China are not just pigs and pigs. In April 2021, the famous facial swelling and Sinicization group in the Lipan community suddenly disappeared. It is widely rumored that the head of the facial swelling and Sinicization group has been invited by relevant departments to "drink tea". Part of the staff of the Chinese group with swollen face posted farewell information on the Internet, which indirectly proved the difficulties encountered by the Chinese group. As for the real situation, we can only wait for time to give the answer.
Coincidentally, just after the accident of the facial swelling Sinicization group, another well-known subtitle group, the magic cherry subtitle group, urgently announced that the forum would be temporarily closed and new updates would be stopped. At the end of April 2021, the magic cherry subtitle Group officially confirmed that in the future, it will only send new links and no longer release videos. The reason behind it directly refers to the content "infringement".
In November 2021, the "hammer of Thor" that hit the subtitle group finally arrived. The third intermediate people's Court of Shanghai publicly tried the case of Liang Yongping suspected of infringing copyright. After audit and appraisal, there are 32824 unauthorized film and television works on the website of "Renren film and television subtitle group" and relevant clients, with a total number of members of about 6.83 million. From January 2018 to the crime, the total amount of illegal business was more than 12 million yuan. In the final judgment of the first instance, the defendant Liang Yongping, the founder of "Renren film and television subtitle group", constituted the crime of copyright infringement and was sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of three years and six months.
After the judgment was issued, Renren confirmed that it was impossible for Renren to resume or restart because they could not solve the copyright problem.
Perhaps, at the moment when Renren subtitle group withdrew from the stage of history, the death knell of folk subtitle group has been sounded. When the copyright issue becomes a big mountain in front of the subtitle group, the era of private subtitle group will only enter the dusk.
There is no denying that the emergence of folk subtitle groups is the unity of chance and necessity of history. Around 2001, American dramas became more and more popular in China. More and more American drama lovers gathered in the Internet content community to share American dramas and exchange experience.
At that time, the Chinese Internet had not formed a consensus on copyright protection, and free resources filled every corner. Therefore, for domestic audiences, the biggest threshold for contacting American dramas is only language. Even today, there are still not many viewers who can chew American dramas. In those years, the desire of many viewers for Chinese subtitles has become the voice of the times.
The folk subtitle group appeared in response to this voice.
The well-known American drama friends has become the fuse for the birth of subtitle groups. In 2002, the F6 forum was officially established. The F6 subtitle group responsible for producing Chinese subtitles of friends broke into the public's vision. At the beginning of its establishment, F6 subtitle group adheres to the concept of "generating power for love" and "free sharing", which continues to this day.
Now, domestic viewers can open membership services on several major video websites to watch the genuine friends - although only the first season
Taking F6 subtitle group as a starting point, TLF subtitle group, Eden subtitle group, broken bear subtitle group and other non-governmental organizations have emerged one after another, including Renren film and television subtitle group originally named YYeTs.
In 2003, the Canadian Chinese student kid created the YYeTs subtitle group. Initially, the YYeTs subtitle group preferred a content sharing platform. Until it was renamed Renren film and television subtitle group in 2007, it began to recruit a large number of like-minded netizens and gradually developed into the largest subtitle group in China. The brilliant past of Renren film and television subtitle group needless to say, the subtitles of American dramas such as "game of power" and "big bang of life" produced by Renren film and television subtitle group are widely welcomed by American drama lovers. The existence of these Chinese groups opened a skylight for domestic netizens at that time to understand foreign excellent cultural products.
Some people once called the folk subtitle group "the revolution of translation". It can be said that in the past Chinese history, there has never been such a large-scale cultural translation behavior spontaneously formed by the people. In 2006, the New York Times published an article entitled "Chinese subtitle group breaking the cultural shield", which specifically introduced the popular soft subtitle group. At that time, the future of the folk subtitle group was like a vast sea and sky.
In addition to the development of American drama, Japanese animation and comics have also become one of the main battlefields of folk subtitle groups. The subtitle group in charge of the three "migrant workers" is one of the representatives.
I believe many fire movie fans remember that the pig subtitle group that once produced the Chinese subtitles of Naruto. In addition to classic animations such as Naruto, death and goblin's tail, there are pig subtitle groups. The Fengxue subtitle group, which is the same age as the pig subtitle group, is well known by the audience with the subtitles of the pirate king.
For quite a long time, there is no copyright of the three "migrant workers" and even many of the latest Japanese comics and animation in China. Due to the influence of the policy at that time, many TV stations in the mainland no longer introduced Japanese animation, and the official actually stopped the translation of Japanese animation. When the original simplified Chinese version of Naruto was released in Chinese Mainland, it was already 2009.
During this period, a large number of folk subtitle groups have sprung up, which are free resources for aidai power production, meeting the public's thirst for Japanese animation and comic works. The pig subtitle group, Fengxue subtitle group and other folk Sinicization organizations have also established deep emotional links in the hearts of many viewers.
Among many Japanese animation resources, Lifen has become an existence that can not be ignored.
Generally speaking, Lipan refers to the animation works of Japanese adults. Since the popularity of folk subtitle groups, subtitle groups specializing in the production of Lipan, or both Lipan and ordinary animation, have been emerging, opening the door to a new world for many gentlemen.
In addition to the subtitle groups that specifically translate Lipan, some "part-time" subtitle groups that translate Lipan have also made indelible contributions. Among them, there is the HKG subtitle group familiar to the audience.
The subtitle group of HKG has translated many famous works, including "riding a horse as a thousand", "gambling tacit record", "super electromagnetic gun of a certain science", etc. The works that made him famous in the first World War are also the classic youth love animation "school days". The Chinese translation of this work "day on campus" is written by the subtitle group of HKG.
It is not difficult to find that the vigorous development of folk subtitle groups is inseparable from two preconditions. First, the lag of laws and regulations on copyright protection; The second is the lack of commercialization in the corresponding field. In essence, it is closely related to the level of China's economic development. Due to the huge potential of the mainland market, people's demand for excellent foreign cultural products is increasing day by day, while the development speed of the domestic entertainment industry can not meet people's objective needs. Therefore, the folk subtitle group for love power generation has been pushed onto the stage of history.
Due to the lack of previous laws and regulations, even works such as "day on campus" and even more explicit animations and comics can be widely spread on the Chinese Internet. In addition, at that time, the domestic economy was still in the development stage. The public not only had no awareness of copyright, but also had no ability to pay for copyright. Enjoying "free lunch" is the limitation of the times.
Some people once used "I am not a god of medicine" to describe the original folk Sinicization groups. Although there are exaggerated elements, it is undeniable that the existence of these Sinicization groups brought immeasurable spiritual wealth to the domestic audience whose economy was still relatively poor at that time.
However, it must be recognized that the existence of folk subtitle groups is on the edge of laws and regulations. Even though many subtitle groups will solemnly declare that the resources they share are only for personal learning and communication, users need to delete them within 24 hours of downloading, and the subtitle group will not bear any legal responsibility. But in fact, the act of making subtitles and sharing resources by the subtitle group has involved infringement.
This kind of infringement is not only sanctioned by domestic laws and regulations.
On September 29, 2016, two members of a Chinese subtitle group were arrested in Kyoto by the Japanese police on suspicion of illegal infringement of the spread of animation works because of the production of Chinese subtitles for animation such as "the wind and dust dance in the war of yarsland" and "the magical girl ☆ Elia". Subtitling may not be illegal in the public's subconscious. However, in Japan, even for the sake of generating electricity for love and not involving interests, the production of subtitles still violates the translation right of Article 27 of the Japanese copyright law.
It was later confirmed that the two subtitle members belonged to the subtitle group of Chengkong School Park. Before that, some Chinese people had been arrested by Japanese police for illegally spreading the Chinese cartoon "pirate king".
In China, copyright protection has also attracted more and more attention, and the corresponding laws and regulations are gradually improving. Originally, the domestic law stipulates that it is not illegal for overseas film and television works to be used as non-commercial communication for exchange and learning. However, after domestic video websites have gradually entered the era of big copyright and overseas cultural products have become the object of competition among websites, even if they spread overseas film and television resources in the name of love power generation, they will face great infringement pressure.
In April 2021, the account number of station B belonging to MCE Sinochem Group was permanently banned because of the new "reincarnation shrem diary" in April of the same year. In fact, station B has bought the copyright of reincarnation shrem's diary. However, because the animation adopts the way of trial before broadcasting, the update progress of station B lags far behind the release speed of reincarnation shrem's diary in Japan, and domestic viewers can't see the latest episode of animation at the first time. Based on this, MCE Sinicization group made the resource link of reincarnation shrem diary.
Station B, which has formal copyright, obviously can't be indifferent to this and quickly banned the account for publishing resources. Station B did not take MCE Sinicization group to court, but the "thunder pool" belonging to the folk subtitle group has become extremely clear. As long as the heavy pressure of copyright exists all the time, no subtitle group can go one step further.
In addition to the heavy pressure of copyright, the pressure from regulatory authorities also increases the risk of illegal subtitle groups.
Animation works involving pornographic and violent content have always been the object of severe crackdown in China. As early as June 2015, the Ministry of culture has launched a large-scale campaign to eliminate many violent and pornographic animations on many domestic websites. More than 40 animation works have been added to the blacklist. "The attacking giant", "dating battle", "day on campus" and other works are impressively listed. Therefore, as many as 8 illegal websites have been shut down.
It is undoubtedly easier to step on Ray's high-risk animation works than ordinary ones. This explains why the subtitle group of kaudu has broken the arm of the heroes of Lipan, but still retains the update of ordinary Xinfan. As long as it does not involve commercial profits and copyright disputes with domestic video websites, the subtitle group can survive in the cracks within the scope permitted by law.
Nowadays, the biggest persistent problem that puzzles the folk subtitle group is commercialization. Although the original intention of the folk subtitle group is to generate electricity for love, when a subtitle group gradually develops and forms a scale, commercialization has become an inevitable way back. However, it is a pity that after more than 20 years of development, the domestic folk subtitle group still has not explored a more feasible commercialization road. The core contradiction is that once the subtitle team uses the translation resources for profit, it will face severe legal sanctions. In the era of big copyright, even Renren film and television subtitle group, which was once at its peak, is unable to solve the copyright problem.
In December 2019, Wang, the person in charge of the Sinicization group of rat painting, was arrested according to law on suspicion of illegally spreading the cartoon of the pirate king and making profits from it. In April 2020, the court sentenced Wang to three years' imprisonment, suspended for three years and fined 80000. For the domestic ACG circle, the warning effect of this event is self-evident.
Source: microblog "Beijing headlines"
During this period, some subtitle groups were "recruited" by the video website and transformed from non-governmental organizations into regular army, so as to strive for living space. However, the subtitle group and the platform often fail to reach an agreement on the labor income of translation work. In 2016, Tencent won the copyright of "game of rights" and intends to cooperate with the wardrobe subtitle group. However, Tencent paid only 200 yuan to 300 yuan for an episode of translation, which was far lower than the expectation of the wardrobe subtitle group. Moreover, due to policy restrictions, Tencent needs to broadcast in foreign countries for a whole season before it can go online in China. During this period, the wardrobe subtitle group shall not release cooked meat resources without permission. In the end, the cooperation between the two sides failed due to different ideas.
In the field of ACG, accepting Zhaoan is also one of the choices of many subtitle groups. In August 2020, station B recruited 35 Sinochem groups and translated 166 genuine Riman. In the era of big copyright, many Riman have been divided up by several major platforms. Even if the subtitle group wants to generate power for love, it will encounter the reality that there are no works that can be translated into Chinese. Choosing to cooperate with platforms such as station B has become a helpless move. At least, with the protection of copyright, the work of the subtitle group is no longer illegal, but can be protected by law. Members of the subtitle group can also get a reward. Many viewers who support the genuine version can also benefit from it.
However, some disadvantages brought by this also hurt people's eyes. First of all, the lag brought by the introduction of genuine has become the current situation that the platform and subtitle group cannot change. Viewers who choose to watch genuine resources can only passively accept the delay in the release of official resources. Due to the stricter copyright protection, the difficulty for the public to obtain cooked meat from other channels is increasing significantly.
Secondly, compared with the working methods of folk subtitle groups in the past, with the objective restrictions of the platform side, translators can no longer translate and polish as recklessly as in the past, which will affect the quality of translation to some extent. At the same time, due to the influence of relevant policies, some contents may be deleted, or some lines may be harmonious. What is finally presented to the audience is not the original content.
Previously, due to the generally low translation quality of the genuine comics in station B, they were even roast by the outside world as machine translation. One of the representative events is the well-known character PavA in the chainsaw man, which was originally translated as "Dali", which caused a group of ridicule. Generally speaking, the translation level of folk subtitle groups can be more recognized by the public. The joining of these subtitle groups has indeed improved the translation quality and reputation of station B to a certain extent.
Now station B has changed its translation into a commonly accepted PavA
However, after accepting the subtitle group of Zhao'an, can it still be called the subtitle group of "generating electricity for love"? What is the difference between them and traditional translators?
To be sure, the era of big copyright has become an irreversible historical trend. Compared with 20 years ago, the domestic public's awareness of copyright protection is steadily improving, and people's willingness to pay for copyright is becoming stronger and stronger, which is a good thing. At the same time, the protection of copyright by laws and regulations is also improving. Copyright owners can protect their own rights and interests according to law. Cruelly, the golden age of folk subtitle group has become a thing of the past. In the increasingly fierce copyright competition and the failure of commercialization, Renren film and television subtitle group and pig subtitle group can only come to a bleak end in the end.
However, works that cannot be broadcast through formal channels in the mainland, including some minority animations that video websites will not buy, and Li Fan, may also fall silent in this torrent of copyright. Even if the public wants to pay for these works, there is no chance at all.
In the future, there will only be more and more subtitle groups following in the footsteps of the subtitle group of Yidu.
Perhaps we are witnessing the end of an era. History will give a fair answer whether the times no longer need subtitle groups, or whether subtitle groups cannot adapt to today's times.
reference material:
The rise of "subtitle group" and the dusk of translated films -- surging news
Exploring a way out in the cracks and the rise and fall of subtitle groups -- Southern People Weekly