Rebirth of Siheyuan, starting in the 1980s

Chapter 476 A Good Song Has Dignity!

The encounter with Mito Endo was an accident, but the benefits brought by this accident are real.

Among other things, at least with Endo Minoru's introduction and recommendation, Cao Zhiqiang can negotiate cooperation with Japan's Warner Pioneer Records more conveniently.

Although without the help of Mito Endo, Cao Zhiqiang is confident that he can still make a name for himself in the Japanese singing industry, but in that case, the progress will be a little later and the process will be a little more troublesome.

So, even if Cao Zhiqiang believes in the strength of "himself" again, since there are noble people to help and shortcuts to take, why not do it.

Naturally, it is actually Cao Zhiqiang's strength that can arouse Endo Minoru's interest and recommendation.

If Cao Zhiqiang hadn't registered a hundred songs at one time, Endo Minoru, who happened to be here, would not have been interested.

If it weren't for the fact that each of Cao Zhiqiang's songs is a masterpiece, Endo Minoru would be surprised at most, and would not come to Cao Zhiqiang, the "original creator".

If he hadn't found Cao Zhiqiang as the "original creator", he would not have heard the demo of "As long as you are there", and naturally he would not have discovered Cao Zhiqiang's singing talent.

If so many things add up, it is decided that Mito Endo decides to help Cao Zhiqiang, a "foreigner".

Without him, in addition to loving and cherishing talents, there is also a rare commodity to live in.

What Cao Zhiqiang didn't know was that Minoru Endo, as a senior in the Japanese music industry, not only likes to support newcomers, but also likes to make money.

In fact, Endo Minoru is different from ordinary musicians. He does not have many real works, but he has a strong eye for people and apprentices.

From a very early age, he liked to accept disciples and support talented newcomers, and then relying on these disciples, he reaped rich rewards, which can be called both fame and fortune.

For example, Kazuo Funaki, Masao Masao, Akira Kobayashi, Chiyoko Shimakura, etc., and many other famous masters in the Japanese music industry are actually his apprentices.

These apprentices can still be called by name, as for other apprentices who cannot be named, or who are in name, there are countless.

Therefore, Mito Endo's music creation ability is actually average, but his vision of seeing people and supporting them, as well as the means of using people, are truly superb.

Mito Endo relied on his apprentices who he may not even remember clearly to become the boss in the Japanese singing industry, and he is a senior with great power.

If nothing else, after entering the 90s, in addition to receiving a bunch of medals and becoming a bunch of presidents, he also set up an "Endo Mikayo Music Promotion Foundation" by himself.

The Endo Mikayo Music Promotion Foundation is similar in nature to venture capital, which is to invest in a group of potential singers and songwriters in advance, and then wait for these people to become famous, and then obtain returns through various cooperation methods.

That is to say, with these operations, although Mito Endo's musical ability is mediocre, his reputation is astonishing and his energy is astonishing. Even after his death, he won a "National Honor Award"!
The "National Honor Award" is not so easy to get. Endo can actually win this award, which in itself shows his strength.

In other words, Mito Endo's kindness to a person has a purpose. Only the talent he likes and thinks will be able to stand out in the future will treat you well.

If he doesn't like you, it's useless for you to recommend yourself.

This cannot be said to be bad, at least he still insists on choosing talented people to invest.

From this point of view, it is not surprising that Endo can really take a fancy to Cao Zhiqiang.

Without him, just like Masashi Sada firmly believed in Cao Zhiqiang's awesomeness, Mito Endo also understood Cao Zhiqiang's talent from those songs and the demo of "As long as you are there", so he decided to live in a rare commodity and send charcoal in the snow a handful.

Needless to say, Cao Zhiqiang still intends to open a record company, so Mito Endo wants to get involved.

This is the difference between Bole and ordinary people.

For example, Cao Zhiqiang went to JVC Records and Polydox Records before. Although they also thought that Cao Zhiqiang’s demo of "As long as you are there" was very good, they only stayed on a good basis and only wanted to buy the copyright of the song. I thought about investing in Cao Zhiqiang.

The reason is that Cao Zhiqiang is a mainlander, and the visa is still a business visa. The situation is complicated, and there is a high probability that he will not be able to stay in Japan for too long.

Of course, it was also because they didn't see Cao Zhiqiang writing a hundred songs in one go.

If they also saw that Cao Zhiqiang wrote a hundred songs in one go, they probably wouldn't be so hasty.

But no matter what, it can be regarded as a fate to let Endo meet, and it can also be said that God is helping Cao Zhiqiang.

"Okay, no problem." Mito Endo, who had just hung up the phone, said to Cao Zhiqiang and Masashi Sada with a smile.

"You all heard it too, I just greeted President Yamamoto of Warner Pioneer and briefly explained your situation.

President Yamamoto is very interested in you and decided to meet you at their club immediately.

So, you can go directly now, President Yamamoto will meet you directly and promise not to treat you slowly. "

"Thank you very much." Masashi Sada bowed happily, "Senior Endo, thank you very much!"

"Hahaha." Mito Endo waved his hand boldly, "Cao Sang is strong enough, and Sada-san has great vision, the two of you together will definitely make things happen, I'm just adding fuel to the flames.

Alright, while it's still early, don't waste time with me, hurry up and see President Yamamoto.

Decide on the cooperation matter early, and the next work will start, hahaha. "

"Hi!" Masashi Sada bowed again, "Senior Endo, let's go right away, regardless of success or failure, we must personally come to the door to thank you!"

"Let's go!" Endo Minoru waved his hand impatiently again, "Go, there's so much nonsense!"

After bowing again, Masashi Sada dragged Cao Zhiqiang away.

During this period, Cao Zhiqiang was also a little embarrassed. After all, Masashi Sada bowed at every turn, which made him, who just nodded, very uncomfortable.

Alas, how about saying that the Japanese love to bow is really tiring.

After leaving the headquarters building of the Japan Music Copyright Association, Masashi Sada excitedly said to Cao Zhiqiang: "Cao Sang, that's great. With the help of Senior Endo, this time Warner Records will definitely be able to negotiate a deal. I have this hunch." .

Let's go, let's go to Warner immediately, instead of taking the subway, take a taxi, and I will pay for it! "

"Can you rest for a while before going?" Cao Zhiqiang shook his right arm and said, "I wrote too many words before, and my arm is sore."

"Yes, yes, yes." Masashi Sada smiled, "I forgot, just now you wrote so many songs in one go, you really need to take a break.

Well, let's find a coffee shop nearby and have a cup of coffee before we go. "

Cao Zhiqiang nodded, agreeing.

After drinking coffee, eating some snacks, and resting for a while, Cao Zhiqiang followed Masashi Sada, took a taxi, and went straight to the headquarters of Warner Pioneer Records.

Although Warner Pioneer Records is an American-funded company, after all, Warner Corporation holds 50.00% of the shares and is the largest shareholder of Duodu.

But in fact, the people who manage this company are basically Japanese.

There is no way, do as the Romans do, even though Japan has a high degree of modernization, at least in the early 80s, it was actually a very conservative society, and many traditional things are difficult to change in a short time.

Therefore, regardless of the fact that Japan is actually a colony of the United States, in fact, at least in the early 80s, the penetration of American capital into Japan was not obvious, and it was not as aggressive as it was later.

Of course, no matter what, Japan is the younger brother of the United States after all, so Japanese companies with a US-funded background will basically not be subject to special suppression in certain industries, such as the entertainment industry, or the so-called entertainment industry.

Yakuza organizations like the Yamaguchi-gumi dare not go to companies like Warner Pioneer with unappealing methods.

Not to mention the giant Warner Corporation behind it, even Pioneer Electronics, another major shareholder, is not something ordinary people in Japan would dare to make trouble for.

To put it bluntly, Warner Pioneer Records of Japan in the early 80s, although in terms of fame, is far inferior to JVC and Polydo, but in terms of strength and background, it is not far behind.

And in Japan in the 80s, if you want to be in the entertainment industry without any background, it's useless to have strength.

For example, Deng Lijun, although she worked very hard in Japan in her early years, it was actually the Chinese-speaking circle that made her truly famous.

As for the Japanese circle, Deng Lijun was okay when she was in Japan in the early years, but since Deng Lijun left Japan, she has long since disappeared, and not many people remember her.

The reason is very simple, that is, the competition in the Japanese record industry during this period is indeed very fierce, and singers emerge in endlessly, and if you don't pay attention, they will disappear.

Therefore, singers who can break through the siege in the 80s are really not ordinary people.

It is also because of this that whether it is Akina Nakamori or Kyoko Koizumi, they are all real masters.

Cao Zhiqiang's so-called contempt is just that he doesn't understand this period of history.

After a while, Cao Zhiqiang and Masashi Sada came to the headquarters building of Warner Pioneer and went straight inside.

Because they had made an appointment earlier, the two soon met Tokugen Yamamoto, the president of Warner Pioneer.

Yamamoto Tokugen is a man who looks to be in his early fifties. He also wears a decent suit, but he looks more serious and stable. Compared with Endo, he is more majestic. He looks like a big boss.

Unlike Mito Endo, he looks more like a well-dressed and smiling old man next door.

Although Tokugen Yamamoto was a bit unsmiling, it was introduced by Mito Endo after all, so he listened very carefully to Masashi Sada's introduction of Cao Zhiqiang's situation and some of his cooperation demands.

After listening to Masashi Sada's introduction of his reason for coming, and after listening to the demo of "As long as you are there", Tokugen Yamamoto nodded lightly: "Not bad, Endo-san didn't lie to me, he really sang very well, and The song is well written, very good, I fell in love with it as soon as I heard it, and it has the potential to become a big hit.”

After praising Cao Zhiqiang's song, Tokugen Yamamoto frowned again, then nodded to Cao Zhiqiang and Masashi Sada and said, "Well, I probably understand Cao Sang's situation, although he is not Japanese, he is from mainland China, and he is also a businessman. Visa, a bit of a hassle, but it's not a big deal.

After all, this is a period of friendship between China and Japan. As long as we are willing to help out, the visa issue can be easily resolved.

The real problem is that your conditions are too harsh, and you only want to cooperate with us on this song, which is not good. "

After thinking about it, Yamamoto Tokugen said: "Well, for the sake of Senior Endo, we are willing to sign a sincere artist contract with Mr. Cao Zhiqiang.

Originally, our artists here usually get a fixed salary, but I guess you are definitely not happy about it.

How about this, I also think that Cao Sang's talent is very good, as long as Cao Sang writes and sings songs by himself, he can get % of the wholesale price, how about it?
By the way, I'm afraid Cao Sang still doesn't know what % of the wholesale price means. Let me give you a brief explanation. "

After finishing speaking, Tokugen Yamamoto introduced what % of the wholesale price means.

To put it simply, when Warner Pioneer releases a record, it will produce the record itself, release the record itself, and then sell the record to some wholesalers at a wholesale price.

These wholesalers usually include some retailers or music publishing houses.

Generally speaking, the retail price of a single record in Japan is yen, which is generally a flat price.

The wholesale price of a record with a retail price of yen is generally around yen.

Of course, the specific wholesaler is different, and the price of the goods is different. Anyway, roughly speaking, the retail price is , and the wholesale price of the goods is about .

If the original copyright of a song is in the hands of the artist's management company and not in the hands of Warner, then the management company can get % of the wholesale price.

For example, if the wholesale price of a single record is 2000 yen, then the artist's agency can get three percent, which is 60 yen.

This ratio is already high.

If it is an album, the price will be high, usually between yen and yen, and for a particularly good singer, the price can be as high as yen per piece.

Generally speaking, when newcomers want to sign with a record company, they have to sell the copyright of the song to the record company, and then the sold record, the copyright fee belongs to the company, and the artist can only get % of the wholesale price, or only % of the wholesale price. a fixed salary.

Don't be disgusted, in fact, as a newcomer, even if you are willing to sell the copyright of your songs to the company, they don't necessarily want it, and they don't necessarily want to sign you.

To put it bluntly, in terms of the current Japanese record industry, there is never a shortage of singers, but a good platform.

Warner Pioneer is a very good platform. Only when you sign a contract with a big platform and the platform is willing to support you, can you have a chance to become famous, and only when you become famous and a star can you make money.

Looking at it this way, Warner Pioneer was willing to sign Cao Zhiqiang as soon as he came up, and he was willing to give a % share agreement, which is already very sincere.

The only problem is that Warner Pioneer has to sign Cao Zhiqiang's five-year contract, and within five years he can only act as an artist of Warner Pioneer.

In other words, within five years, all songs written by Cao Zhiqiang can only be published by Pioneer Warner, and are not allowed to be sold to other record companies, even if the copyright is your own.

This is called copyright restriction.

In other words, Warner Pioneer does not demand copyright ownership, but there must be copyright restrictions. For five years, Cao Zhiqiang will be the exclusive artist of Warner, and the songs composed and sung by Cao Zhiqiang during this period can only be published by Warner.

Of course, if Cao Zhiqiang doesn’t want to sing it himself after writing the song, he can sing it for others, but it can only be released by Warner, and he is not allowed to hand it over to other companies.

This kind of copyright restriction, there are some, how should I put it.

Although it is true that the regulations are much more relaxed than other record companies, Cao Zhiqiang still feels very restricted.

Because this is equivalent to selling oneself for five years.

In the past five years, all the songs that Cao Zhiqiang wanted to release, no matter whether he sang them himself or sang them for others, could only be handed over to Warner Pioneer for release, and no one else was allowed.

It's like if you are an online novelist of later generations, you sign a contract with Qidian, and the contract stipulates a five-year copyright limit, and then within the contract period, you can only publish books on Qidian, and you are not allowed to publish books on other websites.

Even if your work has been written long ago, the copyright belongs to you, and even the pen name is different, so it is not allowed to post on other sites.

It seemed fair, but Cao Zhiqiang was not happy to be subject to this restriction.

Without him, it means that he will sell many famous songs at a low price within five years, unless he deliberately suppresses them for five years and waits until five years later to release them. This is something he cannot bear.

Cao Zhiqiang plagiarized, no, the songs he created are all really good songs, the essence of another world.

A good song also has dignity!

Cao Zhiqiang didn't allow himself to sell these good songs easily, and he didn't want to make wedding dresses for others.

Therefore, a small number of solo collaborations on a few songs are fine, but if you want to buy out his copyright distribution rights for five years, no!

(End of this chapter)