Chapter 355 Baichuan Interactive Entertainment
When Shirakawa Kaede heard the name "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind", he was stunned.
But Takei Hirotomo's face changed. As expected, he came after all. This guy Tokuma was simply stubborn to the extreme.
"Tokuma, let's talk about these things later. Shirakawa-san is still not very clear about the operating procedures of Tokuma Shoten and Daiei."
Although the signature has been signed, he and Tokuma Shoten have nothing to do with each other anymore.
But on the first day that Shirakawa Kaede acquired shares in Tokuma Shoten, he took out those money-losing goods, which made him feel ashamed.
Yes, in Takei Hirotomo's opinion, comics are money-losing products.
For example, the first volume of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" has sold less than 20,000 or 30,000 copies since its release.
According to the market rules of comic publications, the final number of copies will be at most 50,000.
This result is really average in the comics industry, and now they want to adapt it into a movie. Isn't this a money-losing product?
According to industry consensus, comic volumes must sell more than 100,000 copies to be worthy of being adapted into film or television.
The current "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" is obviously still far from this goal, which is also the reason for the recent quarrel between Hirotomo Takei and Yasuyoshi Tokuma.
But it was obvious that Tokuma Yasukazu had different ideas from his. In the face of Takei Hirotomo's attempts to smooth things over, he stubbornly insisted on his own opinion.
"Since Mr. Shirakawa is already the majority owner of Daiei, he has the right to know about the company's next film production."
Okay, although I can't change your decision now, you still respect my right to know, right?
Shirakawa Kaede was also a little amused and helpless when faced with Tokuma Yasukazu's honesty.
As for Hiroto Takei, he covered his forehead with a look of pain on his face.
Sure enough, it’s still a familiar recipe.
"Tokuma-san, if I remember correctly, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a manga that is currently being published, right?"
Shirakawa Kaede saw this name from the information in Tokuma Shoten just now, so he still has some impression of it.
"That's right," Tokuma Yasushi nodded quickly to confirm his guess, "In fact, this comic was created for film and television adaptation.
After internal discussions, we all thought we could try to adapt it into a film and TV show to see how it would turn out.”
Tokuma Yasuyoshi himself was actually quite interested in comics, and even established the "Animage" magazine under Tokuma Shoten, which was specifically used to publish comics.
This "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" was created by a man named Hayao Miyazaki, whom Yasukai Tokuma had met and admired his talent.
However, Miyazaki's reputation in the industry at this time was very strange.
How should I put it? Although Hayao Miyazaki is still a nobody in society, he is already a big name in the industry.
If you want to know how he became famous, it's because the companies that had cooperated with him have basically been in a state of decline since then.
For example, his previous debut film "Lupin the Third" cost 500 million yen to produce and grossed 600 million yen at the box office.
But this caused great trouble to Tokyo Film Shinsha, which was cooperating with him, and this matter is well known in the industry.
So after that movie, everyone avoided Miyazaki Hayao, and he had a three-year gap without any work.
Given his reputation, Tokuma Yasukai was initially hesitant about whether to adapt "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" into a film or TV series.
Later, after being persuaded by his subordinate editors Toshio Suzuki and Hideo Onoyuki, he agreed to the animation production.
However, since he had made up his mind, Tokuma Yasukazu no longer hesitated, but firmly implemented the previously set project plan.
It was also because of this "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" that Hirotomo Takei decided to get off at Tokuma Shoten.
There is no way, Miyazaki Hayao is famous, he can't just watch himself jump into the fire pit.
Tokuma Yasushi firmly believed in it, Takei Hirotomo chose to jump out of the car, but Shirakawa Kaede was very open-minded.
"Since Tokuma-san has made his decision, we should just follow the original plan."
He doesn't have any good ideas about Daiei now, so he just needs to follow Tokuma's original plan.
We'll talk about it later when we're familiar with each other. Besides, I've just promised them not to interfere with Daiei's operations.
After getting the approval from Shirakawa Kaede, Tokuma Yasukai smiled and felt relieved at the same time.
It seems that Mr. Shirakawa is easier to communicate with than I thought.
Hiroto Takei also looked at him with some surprise, wondering if Junior Brother Shirakawa didn't know the reputation of the money-losing guy.
Shirakawa Kaede still knew the name of Hayao Miyazaki. That was why he was relieved to let Tokuma proceed according to the original plan.
It doesn’t matter whether this cartoon makes money or not, let’s tie down this great artist first.
"Thanks to Mr. Shirakawa's care, Daiei will produce this year's film as originally planned."
Tokuma Yasukazu breathed a sigh of relief and stood up again to shake hands with Shirakawa Kaede.
The cooperation had been negotiated, and the two sides chatted for a few more words before preparing to leave.
Leaving the Tokuma Shoten office, Takei Hirotomo and Shirakawa Kaede walked side by side.
"Brother Takei, the other investor of Tokuma Bookstore is Mitsuo Muta?"
"Yes, to be exact, it's Yomiuri TV in Osaka."
"If you have time someday, please help me introduce one or two to Senior Brother Takei."
Takei Hirotomo turned his head and looked at him with a meaningful look, but Shirakawa Kaede remained calm.
"No problem, Shirakawa-san, feel free to ask me to come with you next time you go to Osaka."
This junior fellow is not as easy to deal with as he seems. This guy Tokuma will just have to fend for himself in the future.
To be honest, Shirakawa Kaede does not have any dominant demands on Tokuma Shoten right now.
However, the management of Tokuma Bookstore was too loose. From the information just learned, the other party's business scope far exceeded Shirakawa Kaede's expectations.
In addition to the main businesses of publishing, newspapers, movies, music, broadcasting, etc., other businesses that are close to the media are also fine.
Tokuma Shoten actually has businesses such as trade, tourism, and industrial development. Are you serious about doing these as a publishing house?
What Shirakawa Feng could not understand the most was the above. At least it seemed like a legitimate business, but what the hell was Tokuma Ranch?
Looking more closely, I found that it was a place where racehorses were raised.
Tokuma Bookstore, horse racing at the ranch...
He simply couldn't understand how the two were related. Was Tokuma really as familiar with these areas as he was with the publishing industry?
Baichuan Feng was deeply skeptical about this, but it was not his style to make decisions after just getting the shares.
He will not interfere with the operation of Tokuma Shoten for the time being, but he can frequently visit the shareholders behind it.
In addition, regarding Tokuma Shoten, he does not expect it to bring him much dividends now.
What Shirakawa Kaede values more is the copyright of a series of publications held by Tokuma Shoten, such as the "Animage" magazine which publishes comics.
It has a large number of comic IPs, and the animations developed from these IPs will most likely be produced by Daiei.
In addition, the peripheral products surrounding these animations account for the bulk of the revenue, such as original soundtracks, peripheral toys, game adaptations , etc.
Shirakawa Electric's CD factory, Guide Toys, and HAL Research Institute are their best partners.
This is also the reason why Shirakawa Feng specifically wrote "give priority to cooperation with subsidiaries of Shirakawa Holdings" into the contract just now.
It can be said that with Tokuma Shoten, there is IP content, which also makes up for the shortcomings of Shirakawa Holdings.
In the future, as long as it is used well, the entire industrial chain can be revitalized.
In this comparison, the profits of Tokuma Shoten itself are not that important.
Shirakawa Kaede's plan is very clear. He will use Tokuma Shoten to integrate the subsidiaries of Shirakawa Holdings and then deepen development in the entertainment and media field.
As for the controlling stake in Tokuma Shoten, we can do it slowly in the future, at least until we have a certain level of strength in this industry.
In order to integrate related entertainment industries, Shirakawa Kaede will establish a new company, Shirakawa Interactive Entertainment, under Shirakawa Holdings.
According to the plan, Shirakawa Interactive Entertainment will include related subsidiaries such as HAL Research Institute, AutoNavi Toys, Daiei, and Tokuma Shoten.
In addition to these, he will also establish a dedicated record company under Baichuan Interactive Entertainment to make up for the last missing link of Baichuan Holdings in the entertainment industry.
That’s right, Shirakawa Kaede is preparing to take action in the record industry.
Although there was an invitation from Warner Pioneer before, and later the record company under Tokuma Shoten invested in it.
But after much consideration, Shirakawa Feng decided to set up his own record company.
Whether it is Warner or Tokuma Shoten, he cannot take control, so don't expect Shirakawa Holdings to make any achievements in this regard.
Since I will be involved in this industry sooner or later, I might as well enter the market early.
It doesn’t matter if you have no experience, no talent, and no artists. Money can solve everything.
But we have to take it one step at a time. Once the influence of the CD is greater and Tokuma Shoten is in order, it will be time to take this step.
Baichuan Feng sees it clearly that if one wants to grow into a giant, manufacturing alone is not enough.
Walking on two legs, Shirakawa Electric is responsible for the manufacturing industry, and Shirakawa Interactive Entertainment is responsible for the entertainment industry.
This "one soft and one hard" posture is the correct posture for healthy walking.
Of course, Shirakawa Electric will have more and more products in the future, and Shirakawa Interactive Entertainment will not be just its current scale. The computer software field will be one of its goals.
“Qingzi, if possible, please learn more about Daiei’s operation process in the future.
I'll go say hello to Tokuma-san. From today onwards, your work will not be limited to the acting career.
You can pay attention to production, supervision, distribution and other links, as they will be useful in the future. "
Matsusaka Keiko, who had been walking beside him, paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."
Keiko Matsusaka is an artist under Daiei, which is why he brought her here today, and it is also one of the starting points for him to buy Daiei.
She is not young for an artist anymore, and within his ability, Shirakawa Feng doesn't mind considering their future.
Besides, Daiei is so cheap that you will definitely not lose out if you buy it.
In fact, Tokuma Shoten is not expensive, but some things cannot be bought just by money.
If it weren't for the relationship with Hirotomo Takei, it wouldn't have been so easy for Shirakawa Kaede to acquire shares in Tokuma Shoten.
But overall things went smoothly. The remaining imperfections will be left for later.
…
As November approached, with the sales of Shirakawa Electric CD player rising steadily after its release, more and more companies in the record industry announced the release of their own CD records.
Baichuan Feng welcomed their decision with open arms.
The more CD records you have, the easier it is to sell your own CD players.
After all, there are only CD players from Sony and Shirakawa Electric on the market, and other manufacturers have not yet come out.
Oh, that’s not the case. In early November, Philips, far away in the south of the Netherlands, also launched its own CD player.
Like Sony, they also have desktop computers, but they were first launched in Europe and do not pose a threat to Shirakawa Electric.
The last two months before the New Year will be the stage for Shirakawa Electric and Sony, but of course the spotlight on Shirakawa Electric will have to wait a little longer.
However, in addition to CD players, Shirakawa Electric has made another big move recently.
After nearly two years of construction, the headquarters building of Shibuya Shirakawa Denki is about to be put into use.
