Chapter 349: Aid the White Vanguard!
The first CD player launched by Sony was a collection of classical music, although an album by the Eagles was later added.
But Shirakawa Kaede has already seen the facts clearly and knows that Sony can no longer be relied upon for content.
Although the public has not reacted much now, people will be surprised to find out after a while.
I bought an amazing device that beats tape recorders and record players in sound quality, but now I don’t know what to listen to?
So what use would I have for such a machine?
The fact is so embarrassing. After all, the public prefers more popular music.
Neither classical music nor American albums are mainstream aesthetics.
If the situation is allowed to continue to develop, the wave of CD players may quietly calm down before it even starts.
In order to prevent consumers from having no songs to listen to after his own CD player is launched on the market, Shirakawa Feng had to take action himself.
Like Sony, it wants to make its desktop CD player a high-end machine for playing classical music or Western music, but Shirakawa Kaede has no control over it.
However, Shirakawa Kaede is very clear about the positioning of his own portable CD player.
The price of 49,800 yen says it all; it targets the more affordable mid- and low-end market.
Young people are definitely the main consumers of portable CD players, which are music players that can be taken out of the house and onto the street.
So if you want to choose the best partner for your own CD player, pop music is definitely the best choice.
Shirakawa Kaede looks at portable CD players in the same way as walkmans.
They are both consumer products designed to make personal music enjoyment more convenient. The only difference is that the sound quality of the CD player has been greatly improved.
Of course, the working principles and some functions are also different, but this does not affect the similar positioning of the two.
Since it is a consumer-grade product and we want pop music to be the first release in terms of content, the only way to do this is to look for a record company.
Currently, Shirakawa Electric is not very involved in the entertainment industry. Apart from games, there are basically few other things.
Tokuma Shoten is currently communicating with Hirotomo Takei, and this is considered to be the vanguard of the future entry into the entertainment industry.
However, there is a blank in the field of music, which is why Shirakawa Kaede asked Seiko Matsuda about the information of the record company last time.
It was at that time that Baichuan Feng accidentally heard about the existence of the enemy in her life.
Of course, at that time, Seiko Matsuda did not regard Akina Nakamori as an opponent at all. In her words, she was just a newcomer with some potential.
After all, Akina Nakamori's "Girl A" has been a hot topic, and its completely different rebellious style forms a sharp contrast with Seiko Matsuda's "Girl of Light".
The students in the school and the teenagers on the street naturally divided into the "Son of God faction" and the "Akina faction" unconsciously.
Although this phenomenon has not yet become a trend, Seiko Matsuda has already heard of it.
However, in her opinion, Akina Nakamori is still just a junior, and the so-called "Son of God faction" and "Akina faction" are just wishful thinking of fans.
Seiko Matsuda now has enough confidence to speak out. Just look at whose era it is now.
The "Son of God's Head" that is scattered all over the streets and alleys outside is the best answer. Among her peers, neither Iwasaki Hiromi nor Kashiwahara Yoshie can be her opponent.
In the entire music industry, the only two new generation idol singers who can compete with her are Masahiko Kondo and Toshihiko Tahara.
However, Seiko Matsuda didn't care about Akina Nakamori's existence, but Shirakawa Kaede's eyes lit up.
Look at this portable CD player from Shirakawa Electric. Isn’t the popular record player they wanted to bundle with their promotional material here?
During this period, Akina Nakamori had just emerged, and it was incredibly easy for Shirakawa Electric to get both the advertising fees and the difficulty of being invited.
But her popularity is about to explode, and it would be a big loss if she doesn't take advantage of it.
Who is Baichuan Feng? He can even have his own woman for free, let alone a newcomer.
So after some consideration, he went directly to Warner Pioneer, the agency that held the record contract for Akina Nakamori.
As the name suggests, this is Time Warner's subsidiary in Neon.
However, because we entered Japan in the 1970s, overseas-owned record companies were not able to operate in Japan .
Overseas record companies can only carry out business activities if they have shares in Neon Company, that is, a joint venture.
Does this condition sound familiar to you? Yes, many overseas groups that want to settle in China also have to abide by this condition.
However, in order to protect local industries, China requires that local companies must hold more than 51% of their shares, but Japan does not have this requirement now.
Warner Bros. Pioneer Company was formed with Warner contributing 50% of the capital, Watanabe Office and Pioneer contributing 25% each.
Due to the withdrawal of investment by Watanabe Agency a few years ago, the current record company was renamed Warner Pioneer.
As for why Watanabe Office withdrew its investment, the story is even more complicated.
It is one thing that Watanabe Agency wants to set up its own record company, but the conflict between local factions and foreign capital is also one of the reasons.
But no matter what, because of the departure of Watanabe Office, Warner headquarters now has the dominant control over Neon Warner Pioneer.
Whether it is the local faction or the foreign faction, it doesn’t matter to Shirakawa Kaede.
Even the profit-seeking nature of the foreign investors makes it easier for them to cooperate with each other.
After all, what they care about is profit, not traditional practices.
Shirakawa Kaede's cooperation request to Warner Pioneer was very simple, which was to make Akina Nakamori's third single into a CD record and sell it.
The single's release date coincides with the launch of Shirakawa Electric's portable CD player.
Warner Pioneer's first reaction after hearing this request was to refuse.
Why? Because now singers promote their records in the form of LPs, that is, vinyl records.
But what are CD records? Although the music industry has heard of them, this new technology is still somewhat unfamiliar to them.
Sony's CD player was promoted before it was released, and the same was true for Shirakawa Electric.
However, for record companies, this is completely new territory.
The production and playback of CD records are completely different from those of vinyl records, which means that previous experience may not necessarily be useful in the production process of singles.
The most important thing is how the public accepts it and whether they can adapt to this new music player?
Before there were any relevant industry results or experience, record companies were very cautious, except for Sony's own record company.
The same is true for Warner Pioneer, although Akina Nakamori is just a newcomer who has just debuted.
But with the second single selling 400,000 copies, it looks like the third single will perform well.
If they chose CDs and the results were dismal, not only would Akina Nakamori's career be ruined, but Warner Pioneer itself would suffer a huge loss.
The profit from hundreds of thousands of vinyl records is as high as hundreds of millions of yen. Such a large amount cannot help but make Warner cautious.
In the face of Warner's concerns, Baichuan Feng's solution to the problem was quite simple and crude.
That is to use money to pave the way and directly sign a bet agreement with Warner.
If Akina Nakamori's third single is released in CD format, but the final sales volume within six months is less than 300,000 copies, Shirakawa Denki will make up the difference.
In other words, Shirakawa Denki is supporting Akina Nakamori's third single.
No matter what the final result is, 300,000 copies is her guaranteed sales volume.
This not only ensures Akina Nakamori's fame in the pop music scene, but also ensures the interests of Warner Pioneer.
Of course, if the market sales exceed 300,000 copies, Shirakawa Electric will not have to make any additional expenses, and Warner will be responsible for its own profits and losses.
This is the condition that Shirakawa Electric offered to Warner Pioneer. To be honest, the latter had no intention of rejecting such an agreement.
300,000 copies, that's a lot of money. The cost alone is close to 100 million yen, not to mention the guaranteed sale price of several hundred thousand copies.
Sales of 300,000 copies is a watershed in the music industry. The Japanese entertainment industry certifies a record as a gold record if it sells more than 200,000 copies.
If it is 300,000, then the record company or agency can directly write the word "big seller" in its external announcement.
Similarly, if a singer achieves this sales volume, it means that you are the most popular pop singer at the moment.
If the sales of several consecutive singles exceed 300,000 copies, then you will be the top star and the hottest star in the entertainment industry.
Akina Nakamori already has a single that has sold 400,000 copies. If her next single can sell 300,000 copies, her popularity will have a qualitative leap.
Whether it is status or qualifications, they will receive initial recognition from the entertainment industry, which is a valuable step.
Shirakawa Electric is guaranteeing the sales of this CD, which is definitely a win-win situation for Warner.
The artist's fame has been improved, and he himself can also make a profit of several hundred million yen.
With such conditions , what reason does Warner Pioneer have to refuse?
The avant-garde faction within the company was quite dissatisfied. They did not want Shirakawa Electric's portable CD player to be launched on the market so smoothly.
Because Pioneer also makes CD players, but due to progress issues, it may not launch its own products until next year.
But despite this, it is instinctive to trip up your competitors.
Unfortunately, the one who now dominates Warner is the foreign-funded faction from the headquarters, and when faced with the gambling agreement with Shirakawa Electric, they signed it without even thinking twice.
With such conditions, Warner is sure to make money, and only a fool would not sign it.
Therefore, Akina Nakamori's third single, which was originally scheduled to be released in early November, was immediately brought forward to mid-October.
Warner was responsible for the digital mastering of the single, but Shirakawa Electric had to figure out the pressing of the record itself.
Now in the whole of Neon, except for Sony's CD factory that can officially start operations, no other publishing house has such a factory.
Even Shirakawa Electric's own CD factory is under intensive construction, and it will take until the end of the year at the earliest to officially start production.
However, this was not a problem for Shirakawa Kaede. Under his leadership, the pressing of Akina Nakamori's CD records was directly handed over to the Sony CD factory in Fukuoka.
Will Sony accept this order? Of course!
The CD factory has been in operation for half a year, but apart from the classical music collection and the Eagles' album some time ago, they have never started production again.
Now that an order has finally come, there is no reason not to accept it.
Not only that, Sony's CD factory also cooperated very well and worked overtime to press the album, striving to distribute the album to record stores throughout Japan before mid-October.
Sony has never disappointed anyone when it comes to aiding Belarus.
Shirakawa Kaede can pat his chest and say that Sony is Shirakawa Electric's old friend and big brother!
