The encounter with Endo Minoru was an accident, but the benefits brought by this accident were real.
Apart from anything else, at least with Endo Minoru's introduction and recommendation, Cao Zhiqiang can more conveniently negotiate cooperation with Japan's Warner Pioneer Records.
Although without the help of Minoru Endo, Cao Zhiqiang is confident that he can make a name for himself in the Japanese singing world, but in that case, the progress will be slightly delayed and the process will be a little more troublesome.
Therefore, even if Cao Zhiqiang believes in "his" strength again, since there are noble people to help him and there is a shortcut, why not do it.
Naturally, it was actually Cao Zhiqiang's strength that aroused Endo Minoru's interest and recommendation.
If Cao Zhiqiang hadn't registered a hundred songs at once, he wouldn't have aroused the interest of Endo Minoru who happened to be here.
If it weren't for the fact that each of Cao Zhiqiang's 100 songs was a masterpiece, Endo Minoru would have just looked at it as a curiosity and wouldn't have gone out of his way to find Cao Zhiqiang, the "original author."
If it were not for finding the "original creator" Cao Zhiqiang, we would not have heard the demo of "As Long as You Are Here", and naturally we would not have discovered Cao Zhiqiang's singing talent.
If all these factors were added up, Endo Minoru decided to help a group of "foreigners" called Cao Zhiqiang.
Without him, in addition to loving and cherishing talents, there are also rare things to live in.
What Cao Zhiqiang doesn't know is that as a veteran in the Japanese music industry, Endo Minoru not only likes to support newcomers, but also likes to make money.
In fact, Minoru Endo is different from ordinary musicians. He doesn't have many real works, but he has a very good eye for judging people and recruiting apprentices.
Very early on, I liked to recruit disciples and support talented newcomers, and then relied on these disciples to reap huge rewards, which can be said to be both fame and fortune.
For example, Kazuo Funaki, Masao Sen, Kobayashi Asahi, Chiyoko Shimakura, and many other famous masters in the Japanese music industry are actually his apprentices.
These disciples can still be called by their names, but there are countless others who cannot be called by name, or who are nominal disciples.
Therefore, Minoru Endo's music creation ability is actually only average, but his vision for seeing and supporting people, as well as his method of utilizing people, are truly superb.
It was only through his apprentices that he could not even remember that he became the boss in the Japanese singing world, and he was a senior with great power.
If nothing else, after entering the 1990s, in addition to winning a bunch of medals and serving as presidents, he also founded the "Endo Minoru Music Promotion Foundation" on his own.
The "Endo Minoru Gayo Music Promotion Foundation" is similar in nature to venture capital. It invests in a group of potential singers and songwriters in advance, and then waits for these people to become famous, and then obtains returns through various cooperation methods.
That is to say, with these operations, although Endo Minoru's musical ability is average, his reputation is amazing and his energy is amazing. Even after his death, he received a "National Honor Award"!
The "National Honor Award" is not so easy to win. Endo Minoru's ability to win this award itself shows his strength.
In other words, Endo Minoru's kindness to a person has a purpose. Only the talent he likes and thinks he can succeed in the future will be kind to you.
If he doesn't like you, it's useless for you to recommend yourself.
This cannot be said to be a bad thing, at least he still insists on choosing talented people to invest.
From this perspective, it is not surprising that Endo Minoru likes Cao Zhiqiang.
Without him, just like Sada Masashi firmly believed in Cao Zhiqiang's awesomeness, Endo Minoru also understood Cao Zhiqiang's talent from those 100 songs and the demo of "As Long as You're Here", so he decided to find a rare commodity and provide help in times of need. A handful.
Not to mention, Cao Zhiqiang also intends to open a record company, so Endo Minoru wants to get involved.
This is the difference between Bole and ordinary people.
For example, Cao Zhiqiang went to JVC Records and Polydor Records before. Although they also thought that the demo of Cao Zhiqiang's "As Long as You Are Here" was very good, they only stayed on a good basis and only wanted to buy the song copyright. I have thought about investing in Cao Zhiqiang.
The reason is that Cao Zhiqiang is a mainlander and his 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's also because they didn't see Cao Zhiqiang writing a hundred songs in one breath.
If they also saw Cao Zhiqiang writing a hundred songs in one breath, they probably wouldn't be so hasty.
But no matter what, being able to bump into Endo Minoru can be regarded as a fate, and it can also be said that God is helping Cao Zhiqiang.
"Okay, no problem." Minoru Endo, who had just hung up the phone, said to Cao Zhiqiang and Masashi Sada with a smile.
"You have all heard that I just said hello to 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.
Therefore, you can just go directly now. President Yamamoto will see you directly and promise not to treat you lightly. "
"Thank you so much." Masashi Sada bowed happily, "Senior Endo, thank you very much!"
"Hahaha." Endo Minoru waved his hand boldly, "Cao Sang is still strong enough, and Sada-san is also very discerning. Together, you two will definitely succeed. I am just adding fuel to the flames.
Okay, while it's still early, don't waste time with me and go see President Yamamoto as soon as possible.
Decide on the cooperation as soon as possible so that the next work can be carried out easily, hahaha. "
"Hi!" Masashi Sada bowed again, "Senior Endo, let's go right now. No matter whether we succeed or not, we will definitely come and say thank you in person!"
"Let's go!" Endo Minoru waved his hand impatiently again, "Go quickly, there is so much nonsense!"
After bowing again, Masashi Sada pulled Cao Zhiqiang away.
During this period, Cao Zhiqiang was also a little embarrassed. After all, Masashi Sada always bowed, which made him, who just nodded, very uncomfortable.
Alas, otherwise, the Japanese people's habit of bowing is really taxing on their necks.
After leaving the headquarters building of the Japan Music Copyright Association, Masashi Sada immediately excitedly said to Cao Zhiqiang: "Cao Sang, that's great. With the help of Endo-senpai, we will definitely be able to negotiate a deal with Warner Records this time. I have a hunch." .
Let's go to Warner immediately. Instead of taking the subway, we'll take a taxi. I'll 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 arms are sore."
"Yes, yes." Masashi Sada smiled, "Forgot, you just wrote so many songs in one breath, you really need to take a rest.
Let's go to a nearby cafe and have a cup of coffee. "
Cao Zhiqiang nodded and agreed.
After drinking coffee, eating some snacks, and resting for a while, Cao Zhiqiang took a taxi with Masashi Sada and went straight to the headquarters of Warner Pioneer Records.
Although Warner Pioneer Records is an American-owned company, after all, Warner Corporation holds 50% of the shares and is the largest shareholder.
But in fact, the people who manage this company are basically Japanese.
There is no way, just do as the Romans do. Although Japan is highly modernized, at least in the early 1980s, it was actually a very conservative society, and many traditional things are difficult to change in a short period of time.
Therefore, despite the fact that Japan is actually a colony of the United States, in fact, at least in the early 1980s, the penetration of American capital into Japan was not obvious, nor was it as arrogant as it was later.
Of course, no matter what, Japan is the younger brother of the United States, so Japanese companies with US-funded backgrounds will basically not be subject to special suppression in some specific industries, such as the entertainment industry, also known as the entertainment industry.
Yakuza organizations like the Yamaguchi-gumi would not dare to use unscrupulous methods to find companies like Warner Pioneer.
Not to mention the giant Warner behind the scenes, even Pioneer Electronics, another major shareholder, is not something ordinary people in Japan would dare to cause trouble for.
To put it bluntly, Japan's Warner Pioneer Records in the early 1980s was far inferior to JVC and Polydor in terms of fame, but in terms of strength and background, it was not far behind at all.
In the 1980s in Japan, if you wanted to get involved in the entertainment industry without some background, it would be useless if you had the ability.
Take Teresa Teng, for example. Although she worked very hard in Japan in her early years, it was actually the Chinese-speaking circle that made her famous.
As for the Japanese speaking circle, Teresa Teng was fine when she was living in Japan in her early years, but since Teresa Teng 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 recording industry during this period was indeed fierce, and singers emerged in endlessly, and they would disappear if they were not careful.
Therefore, the singers who were able to break through in the 1980s were truly extraordinary.
It is precisely because of this that both Nakamori Akina and Koizumi Kyoko are truly great people.
Cao Zhiqiang's so-called disdain is just that he doesn't understand this period of history.
After a while, Cao Zhiqiang and Masashi Sada arrived at the headquarters building of Warner Pioneer and entered directly.
Because they had made an appointment before, the two of them quickly met Yamamoto Tokugen, the president of Warner Pioneer.
Yamamoto Tokugen is a man who looks to be in his early fifties. He is also wearing a decent suit, but he looks more serious and steady. He is more dignified than Endo Minoru, and he looks like a big boss at first glance.
Unlike Minoru Endo, he looks more like a well-groomed and smiling neighbor.
Although Yamamoto Tokuhara was a bit stern, it was Endo Minoru who introduced him, so he listened carefully to Masashi Sada's introduction to Cao Zhiqiang's situation and some of his cooperation demands.
After listening to Masashi Sada introducing his purpose and listening to the demo of "As Long As You're Here", Tokuhara Yamamoto nodded gently: "Not bad, not bad, Endo-san didn't lie to me, he did sing 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 hit."
After praising Cao Zhiqiang's song, Yamamoto Tokuhara frowned again, then nodded to Cao Zhiqiang and Masashi Sada and said: "Well, I have a general understanding of Cao Sang's situation. Although he is not Japanese, he is a mainlander, and he is a businessman. There is a bit of trouble with the visa, but it is not a big problem.
After all, this is a period of friendship between China and Japan, and the visa issue can be easily solved as long as we are willing to help.
The real problem is that your conditions are too harsh and you only want to collaborate with us on this one song, which is not good. "
After thinking for a while, Yamamoto Tokugen said: "Let's do this. For Endo-senpai's sake, we are happy to sign a sincere artist contract with Mr. Cao Zhiqiang.
Originally, our artists here usually get a fixed salary, but I guess you are not happy.
Well, I also think Cao Sang’s talent is very good. In the future, as long as Cao Sang writes and sings his own songs, he can get 3% of the wholesale price, how about that?
By the way, Cao Sang probably doesn’t know what the three percent of the wholesale price means. Let me explain it to you briefly. "
After speaking, Yamamoto Tokugawa introduced what the three percent of the wholesale price means.
To put it simply, when Warner Pioneer releases a record, it will produce and produce the record itself, and then sell the record to some wholesalers at wholesale prices.
These wholesalers usually include some retailers or music publishers.
Generally speaking, the retail price of a single record in Japan is 3,000 yen, and this price is generally a flat price.
For records with a retail price of 3,000 yen, the wholesale price is generally around 2,000 yen.
Of course, the specific wholesalers will have different prices for purchasing the goods. Anyway, roughly speaking, the retail price is 3,000, and the wholesale price for purchasing the goods is around 2,000.
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 3% of the wholesale price.
For example, if the wholesale price of a single record is 2,000 yen, then the artist's management company can get 3%, which is 60 yen.
This ratio is already very high.
If it is an album, the price is high, usually between 6,000 yen and 8,000 yen. For particularly good singers, the price can be as high as 10,000 yen.
Generally speaking, when a new artist wants to sign a contract with a record company, he or she has to sell the song copyright to the record company. Then, for the records sold, the copyright fee goes to the company, and the artist can only get 1% of the wholesale price, or simply only 1% of the wholesale price. A fixed salary.
Don't be dissatisfied. In fact, as a newcomer, even if you are willing to sell the copyright of your songs to a company, they may not necessarily want you, and they may not be willing to sign you.
To put it bluntly, in the current Japanese recording industry, there is never a shortage of singers, but a good platform.
Warner Pioneer is a very good platform. Only if you sign a contract with a big platform and the platform is willing to support you can you have a chance to become famous. Only if you become famous and become a star can you make money.
Judging from this, Warner Pioneer was willing to sign Cao Zhiqiang as soon as they came up, and they were also willing to offer a 3% agreement, which is already very sincere.
The only problem is that Warner Pioneer has to sign a five-year contract with Cao Zhiqiang. 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 and distributed by Warner Pioneer, and they 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 require copyright ownership, but there are copyright restrictions. Within five years, Cao Zhiqiang will be Warner's exclusive artist, and the songs Cao Zhiqiang wrote and sang during this period can only be published and distributed by Warner.
Of course, if Cao Zhiqiang writes a song and doesn't want to sing it himself, he can still sing it for others, but it can only be distributed by Warner and is not allowed to be handed over to other companies.
There are some copyright restrictions, how should I put it?
Although it is true that the rules are much looser than those of other record companies, Cao Zhiqiang still feels very restricted.
Because this is equivalent to selling yourself for five years.
In the past five years, all the songs that Cao Zhiqiang wants to release, whether he sings them himself or sings them for others, can only be handed over to Warner Pioneer for distribution and are not allowed to be released to others.
It's just like you are a future Internet expert and you signed a contract with Qidian. The contract stipulates a five-year copyright restriction. During the contract period, you can only publish books on Qidian and are not allowed to publish books on other websites.
Even if your work has been written long ago, the copyright still belongs to you. Even if your pen name is different, you are not allowed to publish it on other sites.
It seems fair, but Cao Zhiqiang is not happy to be subject to this restriction.
Without him, this would mean that he would sell many famous songs at low prices within five years, unless he deliberately hid them in the snow for five years and then take them out after five years. This was something he couldn't bear.
Those songs that Cao Zhiqiang copied, no, created, are all really good songs, the essence of another world.
Good songs also have dignity!
Cao Zhiqiang does not allow himself to easily sell these good songs at a low price, and he does not want to make wedding clothes for others.
Therefore, it’s okay to collaborate on a few songs individually, but it’s not okay to buy out his copyright and distribution rights for five years!
(End of chapter)
