Madman in the house: understanding the role of distribution companies in sustaining culture

This paper is part of a larger research project looking at the role of Australian media companies in sustaining fan culture, and Australian investment in global popular culture. The specific focus is on Madman Entertainment—one of the most successful DVD and merchandise distribution companies in Australia, and the leading distributor of anime with over ninety percent of the market share. The paper explores the ways in which Madman has become a part of the simultaneous globalization and localisation of Japanese cultural products, and sets out to show how profiling such a company can also provide some insight into the changing role of fans in relation to their capacity to drive innovation and investment in popular culture.