Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

Chapter 164 One Yen

"But the paid download price for "I Once Thought of Ending It All" is one yen..."

"What... one... one yen?!"

The staff member said with a complicated expression, which made Akimoto Manjiro's smile freeze.

"Impossible, you must have seen it wrong!"

He took out his phone and refreshed the music library, and found "Once I Thought of Ending It All" was listed...

The paid download price is 1 yen, tax included.

"Their staff must have set the wrong price!"

"Quick, file a complaint to the platform as an ordinary user and remind them of this!"

Akimoto Manjiro gave instructions to the staff anxiously.

"When we saw it, we complained..."

"The platform customer service said that the price of "I Once Thought of Ending It All" was set correctly, which was one yen."

"Not only that, judging from the song details, they have also opened up 'non-commercial use authorization' for this song."

The staff shook their heads helplessly and gave out more important news.

"What? Open non-commercial license. Is Bethesda crazy?"

Akimoto Manjiro's face turned pale in an instant.

Non-commercial use authorization means that anyone, any company, and any media can play the song in public places, even on non-commercial programs.

For a new song, this means that consumers may listen to the song elsewhere and cancel their decision to pay for download, resulting in a halving of sales.

"For a song of this quality, and the last song of top singer Yayoi Tsuki, instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to make a quick buck, Bethesda set a price that's like giving it away for free, and opened up the copyright to non-profits. What on earth is Bethesda thinking?!"

He glared at the phone, his eyes gradually becoming bloodshot, but he still couldn't figure it out.

Not to mention the copyright issue, the price alone does not conform to "market logic".

In the 11th district where inflation and rising prices are rampant, even a hundred yen is not enough to buy a bottle of Coke, let alone one yen.

"I Love You the Most" has additional peripheral activities, so the paid download price is a bit expensive, at 120 yen.

In other words, it is one hundred and twenty times as much as "I Once Thought About Ending It All".

"According to the theory of supply and demand, and the invisible hand self-regulation law of the market economy, songs of this quality, coupled with the additional spiritual value given by the background story..."

"If it's only one yen, wouldn't the number of paid downloads break the historical sales record..."

"No, this is not just a matter of breaking the record. The entire new song market price system will collapse because of this..."

"By doing this, are you trying to completely destroy the existing market order and start over?"

Akimoto Manjiro's brain was working rapidly, his eyes were dull, his face was expressionless, his mouth opened and closed mechanically, and he muttered words that no one else could understand.

"Hurry up, give us a discount on our songs, 20% off, no, 50% off!"

Not knowing what terrible consequences he had in mind, he turned around and yelled at the staff.

"No, Director Akimoto!"

"We invested too much extra 'hidden costs' in the release of this new song. The council has long set a red line of selling at full price and no discounts."

A deputy nearby grabbed his trouser waist.

"That's right, Director Akimoto, calm down!"

"If Bethesda wants to run a loss-making business, that's their business." "Our costs are too high and we can't afford to lose money."

Upon hearing this, several other work representatives in the meeting room gathered around and began to persuade him frantically.

The number of members in "Tetsudo AK" is twenty times that of Yayoi Tsuki, and they are all popular idols who have debuted for a long time. The labor cost alone is a considerable expense.

In order to promote the new song "Tie Dao AK" and the live broadcast of the press conference that was temporarily added, the production committee has already invested a huge amount of publicity and promotion expenses...

Not to mention, in order to boost song sales, customized peripherals, handshake sessions, meet-and-greets, group photos and other follow-up activities also took up a huge budget.

According to economic calculations, even if the song is sold at full price, there must be a high volume of paid downloads so that the entire new song project can reach the break-even point.

"But, without the discount, our sales volume..."

Akimoto Manjiro picked up his phone and refreshed the real-time sales chart of his new song...

“…It’s too late to offer discounts now. Sales are about to be overtaken!!!”

As he expected, within just a few minutes of its release online, the paid download volume of "I Once Thought About Ending It All" had already caught up with "The One I Love Most Is You".

"These...worldly people...who have no faith...only care about price..."

"My idol economy... in the face of basic economics and market laws..."

"Is it so insignificant?"

Watching the rapidly rising paid download volume of "I Once Thought of Ending It All", the battle-hardened Akimoto Manjiro's eyes gradually became confused...

He never thought that the "idol economy" that he had carefully built for many years would be vulnerable to the most basic "good quality and low price".

……

The next day, Shinjuku, B Company Music Club.

In the early morning sunshine, Minister Yamazaki's office was filled with the aroma of tea as usual.

"Mr. Xia, please take some time out of your busy schedule to come here today. There's nothing special to do, I just want to chat about my work experience."

"I heard from President Dongye that apart from studying, you have been filming commercials and TV dramas recently, and you are also planning to participate in a talent show later..."

"I've been there before, so I understand..."

"Young people have many interests and hobbies, and their minds are full of thoughts. It's inevitable that they prefer jobs that put them in the spotlight, and they think writing songs in front of a computer is too boring."

Yamazaki Hiroshi carefully poured water, washed the tea, brewed the tea, and then handed it to Xia Fan who was sitting opposite him.

"When I graduated from Waseda University, I didn't want to live a boring life in the workplace. I walked around Tokyo bars with my guitar, introducing myself one by one, and finally only one 'Muscle Man Bar' agreed to let me perform as a resident singer."

"Later, after escaping from the temptation on the edge of forbiddenness and nearly starving to death in the rented house, I decided to find a stable job and sent my resume to Company B..."

"I remember that I had specially marked on my resume that I hoped to be assigned to a department that knew many female artists and had sufficient reception funds...but in the end I was assigned to the music department..."

After making himself a cup of tea, he shared his "work experience" with Xia Fan in a kind and calm tone.

"But after working in the entertainment industry for decades, I realized that for a talented person like you, music creation is actually a good job to make money without doing anything."

"Look, no matter if they are idols, singers, actors, models or comedians, they all work very hard before becoming famous, while others rely on their image, talent, personality, background and resources..."

"After becoming famous, I have to run around for announcements, appear on TV shows, and perform. I also have to spend time and money to maintain my image. I can't date or go to nightclubs. I will be recognized by fans wherever I go. There is also the risk of being stabbed to death by sasaeng fans at any time..."

"Look at the producers in our office and the masters in the studio next door. They are a bunch of fat nerds who don't care about their appearance. They are late and leave early every day. No one complains even if they don't come for a month. No one cares if they go out to collect materials in the red-light district. Even if they lie down and rest for a few years, the royalties from a few hit songs can guarantee them food and clothing..."

"Even if we compare income and industry status, music producers are at the top of the entertainment industry pyramid..."

In his words, he skillfully described the hardships of being an "artist" and touted the benefits of being a music producer.

(End of this chapter)