Internet Video: The Poor Way and Turning Point of Private Subtitles Group

China's largest Chinese subtitle publishing platform, Shooter.net, has recently announced that it has shut down. At the same time, another domestic film and television subtitles website, Renren Film and Television, has also declared that the website will remove links to copyright-free resources and temporarily close them. The news that the two major domestic subtitle websites were closed at about the same time surprised the outside world. The subtitle group hidden behind the online video also came to the front desk.
For the subtitles group, netizens who love to chase foreign dramas will not be unfamiliar. Most of the subtitle groups are composed of people who have overseas life experiences and do not know each other. They are fluent in foreign languages. In addition to working and studying, they can upload and upload foreign film and television works into Chinese language subtitles through online contacts and collaboration. It is thanks to the work of the subtitles group that many ordinary people who are not good at foreign languages ​​can appreciate foreign film and television works without any obstacles. The subtitle group has existed for more than ten years. According to statistics, there are currently as many as 100 subtitle groups in China.
Most of the subtitles groups are composed of private people. Their working methods are similar to “crowdfunding” and have obvious “grassroots” characteristics. Take the weekly overseas play as an example. Whenever a new episode comes online, the subtitles group must download the film source and English subtitles on the foreign website at the first time, and then perform the task of listening and translating, making special effects, proofreading the subtitles, suppressing the video, and checking. Complete works, the final release of finished products. Take the translation of a 45-minute show as an example. It takes about 10 people to participate. The domestic audience can download the corresponding Chinese subtitles as soon as they wait a few hours. Members of the subtitle group do not get paid, and their motives are simply out of interest and hobbies.
It is based on this that the subtitles group will be labeled "non-profit". In netizens' opinion, the subtitle group is the "best" interpreter of the spirit of Internet sharing. However, this is not the case. With the increase in personnel, some subtitles groups established a special subtitle publishing site after they reached a certain scale. Some subtitle groups are not content to provide subtitle downloads, but also set up their own network video platform to provide video resource downloads.
The subtitle group website has attracted a huge amount of user traffic and is gradually being favored by advertisers. It keeps daily expenses by playing advertisements. Taking the film and television of everyone as an example, its predecessor was the YYeTs subtitle group. It was founded by Canadian students in 2004 and expanded into an independent forum in 2006. In the period when everyone’s film and television development was the most powerful, and at the same time serialized more than 70 US dramas, the cumulative number of US drama translations exceeded 130. As of now, the number of fans of the official Weibo movie has been close to 1.4 million. Before the movie was shut down for everyone, it was already blacklisted by the Motion Picture Association of America for alleged copyright issues.
In fact, if the act of abandoning copyright-free video downloads is not discussed, even simple subtitle translation and downloading will be torts. According to experts, according to our country's "Copyright Law," we must not translate and disseminate it without permission from the authors. In a sense, subtitles are also part of copyrighted video resources copyright transactions, and its effect and value are strongly attached to the video works themselves. On the Internet, subtitle websites intentionally or unintentionally become part of the piracy economic chain. Even if the subtitle group excuse is "non-profit" or "for the purpose of learning communication," it cannot be waived.

At present, domestic video websites are highly competitive and have spent heavily on the introduction of genuine overseas TV dramas. Naturally, they enjoy the right to translate foreign dramas. The practice of the private subtitles group playing "the time difference" obviously harms the interests of the copyright owners.
After the shooter network and everyone's film and television were shut down, the development of the folk subtitle group also reached a crossroads.

In fact, as long as the subtitles group and the copyright holders join hands, it is entirely possible to achieve a win-win situation. For example, after Ikie won the copyright in the Korean translation of "You From the Stars," the Phoenix Angels Subtitles Team was invited to undertake the translation of the subtitles. Allowing the civil subtitles group to “turn positive” can not only avoid the copyright issue, but also not result in the waste of private resources. This cooperation model is the future direction of development of the civil subtitle group.

Recommended reason:

After decades of savage development, the domestic Internet has entered a stage of sound development with quality. In other words, the simple idea of ​​"taking in" and "everybody for me, and for everyone" is contrary to the era of emphasizing the "copyright" and "original creation" consciousness, and may even lead to infringement and crimes. . The situation of the subtitle group is just a microcosm of these problems. These Internet companies or organizations that have walked in the legal grey area in the past should think more about their future and try to “turn positive” at an early date.