As an animé fan I was surprised how low the "Manabi Line" is. Less than 3000 sales is about break-even, and that's for a production that was the work of many people (the Japanese model is (generalizing broadly) to sell more expensive products to dedicated fans; CDs can be around $30 (but are often "deluxe" versions with lots of special features) and in the case of animé a single DVD can be $60 and a series will be spread across 4 or more volumes).
So I think there is a sustainable business model where, rather than trying to go mass-market, you sell a specialized product to a much smaller number of very dedicated fans.
The article even says, "ONLY" 1,000 true fans which seems to be a way of making the idea within reach of the everyday layman/procastinating wantrepreuner.
I would argue that to get 1,000 true fans your work has to be brilliant to a point of gaining a kind of religious zeal within a small number of a much larger audience.
This is just my opinion though.