Chapter 34: A horse cannot grow fat without night grass, and a man cannot become rich without unexpected wealth
“Regarding this song “Dragonfly”, it is undoubtedly a good song. Both the melody and the lyrics are very simple and easy to empathize with. When I first heard it, I even thought of the scene when I first arrived in Tokyo.”
Contrary to what Shirakawa Kaede expected, Yamamoto did not deliberately belittle the song because of the business talks, but praised it highly instead.
"It's a pity that Mr. Shirakawa can't sing it, but we respect Mr. Shirakawa's choice. So, what does Mr. Shirakawa think about the copyright of this song?" Yamamoto looked at Shirakawa Kaede with burning eyes.
When it comes to business, Yamamoto regains his shrewd appearance. Although he praises the merits of the song, he does not make a price first. Instead, he throws the question to Shirakawa Kaede to find out his bottom price.
As long as you can find out the other party's idea, it will be easy. Whoever bids first will be in a passive position.
If Shirakawa Feng was the only one who was so young and ignorant this time, maybe he would really do what Yamamoto wanted. When asked like this, he would probably reveal his true colors.
Unfortunately, this time, a professor from Meiji University came to the rescue , and Obayashi Maki took the lead. "Mr. Yamamoto, I wonder if your company is going to buy out the copyright, or just pay a song usage fee, and the subsequent royalties will be paid according to the market price?"
Before Baichuan Feng could answer, his follower spoke first. Yamamoto looked at him in surprise. However, when he saw Baichuan Feng's expression, he realized that he was also knowledgeable.
"So Mr. Shirakawa is also an expert in this field. I'm sorry for being so rude." Yamamoto bowed and then tapped the tip of his pen with his fingers. "In that case, let's get straight to the point."
Yamamoto gestured to the people next to him, and then his assistant stood up and handed a document to each of Shirakawa Kaede and the others.
“These are two acceptable options that we have discussed internally. Please review them.
Copyright buyout, one-time payment of 10 million yen.
For copyright use, an initial payment of 3 million will be made, and the subsequent royalties will be paid according to the current market price.”
Baichuan Feng looked at the series of "0"s on the document in his hand , and his breathing became slightly rapid.
To be honest, 10 million yen is enough for him to pick up trash for two or three years.
However, he was not dazzled by the immediate benefits, but turned around cautiously and discussed in a low voice with Teacher Dalin.
Copyright buyout, as the name suggests, means that after signing the contract, this song will have nothing to do with him anymore.
Whether it is the subsequent record share, or the fees incurred by radio stations, karaoke, television stations, future networks, etc., he will not get a penny.
In layman's terms, it is a one-time deal, and Baichuan Feng only takes the money this time.
The use of copyright is a bit like a record company asking a composer or lyricist to write a song. In addition to the initial fee, there are various shares generated by the song.
The advantages and disadvantages of the two types of royalty income are very obvious. The former is a one-time payment of a large sum of cash, while the latter has a much smaller first payment, but there are subsequent dividends.
After listening to the explanations of Mr. Obayashi and Professor Takeda, Shirakawa Kaede had a general understanding of the ins and outs of copyright trading.
As for how to choose, it's very simple. It depends on the prospects of the song.
If he is confident about the song and feels it is destined to be a hit, he can choose the latter, that is, participate in the royalty sharing.
If you are unsure about the future of a song or are in urgent need of money, you can just take the money and leave.
Shirakawa Kaede is not sure whether the song "Dragonfly" became a big hit later and how many sales it achieved.
But he knew that this song was still being sung by people decades later. Various videos of the concert can be found on the Internet, not to mention the Little Tigers' adaptation in China.
So in Baichuan Feng's opinion, the prospects of this song can't be too bad. And he is not in a hurry to use the money, so he can wait.
Obayashi Maki nodded to show that she understood Shirakawa Kaede's idea, and she took over the subsequent negotiations.
Shirakawa Kaede was only responsible for deciding how to handle the song, while the details and specific terms were left to Mr. Obayashi and Professor Takeda.
He is very confident about the two teachers at the school. The employment rate of Meiji University graduates has always been among the best in all universities in Tokyo.
A big part of the reason is that teachers provide one-on-one career guidance to students. The employment direction, contract signing, etc. are all within the scope of the school's care.
Because of this good reputation, and the fact that the school took into consideration his inexperience and took the initiative to contact the teacher to help him, Shirakawa Feng was very grateful to Meiji and truly felt a sense of belonging to his alma mater.
At the negotiation table here, Obayashi Maki and Yamamoto also went back and forth, and finally the copyright fee was raised to 5 million yen, but the royalty share was slightly lower than the market price.
In addition to composing the music and lyrics, Shirakawa Kaede can get about 3% of the royalties, which means that for every record sold, he can get 3% of the sales price.
The market price for composing lyrics and music is close to 4% in total, and some famous composers and lyricists can even get 5%.
However, considering that Baichuan Feng is just an unknown newcomer, such a share is not too harsh.
With Obayashi Maki's implicit hint, Shirakawa Kaede also understood that this was almost the bottom price of Polydor Records.
After a little consideration, he readily nodded in agreement. Today's business was a complete surprise, not to mention that there were two teachers helping him, so he was not an ungrateful person.
After the two parties agreed on the basic terms, Yamamoto's assistant reprinted a formal contract.
Professor Takeda put on his glasses and took the contract, carefully checking it word by word, occasionally pausing to communicate with the other party's legal counsel.
It was not until more than half an hour later, at his nod, that Baichuan Feng picked up the pen and signed his Chinese name on the contract and stamped it with his personal seal.
Yamamoto glanced at the contract with satisfaction, then gently closed it and handed it to his assistant, "Shirakawa-san, it's a pleasure to work with you!"
"It's a pleasure working with you!" Baichuan Feng also stood up and shook hands with him. The task was completed smoothly and he relaxed.
"If you have other works in the future, please give priority to Polydor Records. If you have the idea of making a debut, please come to Polydor for consultation."
"Sure." Baichuan Feng smiled and nodded to the other party.
The first copyright royalty was 5 million yen, which was paid in cash by Polydor Records in one lump sum. It was packed in a brown paper bag, and Shirakawa Kaede squeezed it. It was thick, about 5-6 centimeters, and it was all the noble Prince Shotoku.
The bag was heavy, but Baichuan Feng felt light-hearted.
After the work was done, everyone said goodbye to each other. When Bai Chuanfeng opened the door of the conference room, he ran into a middle-aged man in his forties wearing glasses.
"Sorry," Baichuan Feng nodded politely.
The other party was slightly stunned when he saw Shirakawa Feng and Tanaka Yuko behind him, and then nodded in return.
The middle-aged man looked at the back of Shirakawa Kaede walking away in the corridor, and said thoughtfully, "Oda, go check which artist the young man just now is from. It would be best if you can get his contact information."
"Hayi" the assistant nodded respectfully in agreement.
"Mr. Hirayama, sorry to have kept you waiting." Yamamoto in the conference room immediately came up to greet the middle-aged man warmly when he saw him outside.
