Reborn Japan for entertainment

Chapter 7 Universal Music
December 2003, Tokyo, Universal Records.

Holding the DEMO and sheet music of "Close Your Eyes Lightly", the two came to Universal Records.

Why come to Universal Music?
Because Masaharu Fukuyama's music contract is with Universal, after all, there are people in the court who are easy to handle, so the first stop of the two is the famous record company-Universal Music.

Universal Music, UMG, is the largest record company in the world, occupying about 20.00% of the world record market[-].

Since 1998, Universal Music, Sony Records (SONY), EMI Records (EMI) and Warner Records (Warner) have been called the world's four major record companies.

It has superstars such as Mariah Carey and Eminem in Europe and America, and will also sign pop superstars such as Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber in the future.In the RB area, there are big-name singers such as Tokunaga Hideaki, Ono Lisa, Onitsu Chihiro, Fukuyama Masaharu, etc.It can be said that in the RB record industry, it is the dominant one.

So for the self-recommendation of coming to such a giant company, even if Kiyoshi Sakamoto has the combined experience and memory of the past life and the present life, it feels a bit vain.

After all, Kiyoshi Sakamoto in his previous life was just a fresh graduate who couldn't find a job. Although he was reborn, his personality didn't change much. .

"Teacher, are we really going to come to Universal Music to recommend ourselves? I'm a little cowardly..." At this time, Kiyoshi Sakamoto could only rely on his teacher, Mr. Fukuyama.

"Man, I'm here to protect you. Let's go, the music director is waiting for us in the conference room." After speaking, Masaharu Fukuyama walked into Sony's door before Kiyoshi Sakamoto could respond.

Kiyoshi Sakamoto saw the "big brother" who was covering him walk in, and he hurriedly followed up.

in the conference room.

Kiyoshi Sakamoto was sitting on a chair, next to his teacher Masaharu Fukuyama.The middle-aged man on the opposite side who was looking at the sheet music and listening to the DEMO with headphones was none other than Atsuaki Kinoshita, music director of the RB branch of Universal Music.

Kinoshita, who was looking at the score and listening to the demo, had a very subtle look on his face.

Kinoshita's mental activity at this time was "This is a song that will become a hit!! Such a song was actually written by a boy who is not yet 14 years old!!"

No matter how surprised Kinoshita was in his heart, Kiyoshi Sakamoto's thoughts at this moment had already drifted far away.

Sakamoto Kiyoshi has never thought about the issue of debut, he has long thought of going further afield, after his debut, how to develop, whether to act, and so on.

Just when Sakamoto was flirting, Kinoshita took off his earphones and put down the score. This action showed that the music director had come to a conclusion.

"You really wrote this song?" Although Kinoshita's question was well prepared, Sakamoto Kiyoshi was still a little upset, otherwise, it was either me or you, but I can only complain in my heart . .There's no way, who told him that he now has the attitude of asking others.

"Yes, Director Kinoshita." Kiyoshi Sakamoto replied.

"Director Kinoshita, this is a song composed by my disciple Kiyoshi Sakamoto. The copyright has been registered with the Song Association. Don't worry about plagiarism. Please rest assured." Fukuyama who was sitting on the side also chimed in.

"Well, how old is Sakamoto Kiyo-kun now? Are you 13 years old?"

Sure enough, age matters?

Before coming to Universal Music, Sakamoto Kiyoshi and Fukuyama Masaharu had a discussion. When the copyright of the song was not a problem, and the talent and appearance were impeccable, there was only one problem left-the age problem.

After all, Kiyoshi Sakamoto is just a 13-year-old kid now. A genius will be accepted, but a genius who is too outstanding may be paid more attention to by others.After all, Kiyoshi Sakamoto still wanted to keep a low profile.

But regarding this issue, Sakamoto Kiyoshi and Fukuyama Masaharu also said that there is no way, because age is not something that can be grown just by thinking about it.If this question is really asked, it can only adapt to the situation.

"Yes, I was born in 1990, and I will be 22 years old after the 14nd of next month."

"Are you 14 years old? How young!!" Kinoshita was surprised when he heard the correct answer. After all, he thought that he was still in junior high school at the age of 14 and didn't understand anything. Compared with Kiyoshi Sakamoto, he felt embarrassed.

"Well, I personally agree with Sakamoto Kiyo-kun's talent and appearance advantages, but I still have some concerns about launching a 14-year-old boy singer. I will report to the upper-level leaders first. Sit here for a while."

"Okay. We wait for the good news."

After finishing speaking, Kinoshita trotted out with the sheet music and DEMO.

Looking at Kinoshita who was going to ask the leader for instructions, Sakamoto Kiyoshi didn't quite understand why Kinoshita, the music director, couldn't make the decision. When he looked at Fukuyama Masaharu, he wanted to ask himself "a man in the court." Fukuyama also seemed to know that Sakamoto wanted to ask him, so he asked Speak up first.

"Do you know why Kinoshita can't be the master?"

The cute Sakamoto Kiyoshi shook his head.

"That's because he's just a person on the stage." Faced with his ignorant disciple, Fukuyama had no choice but to help him popularize the faction relationship in Universal Music.

Where there are people, there are opinions, and when there are many different opinions, different factions will emerge.Companies, schools, and families all have different factions.Universal Music is no exception.

According to Fukuyama, the official, the RB branch of Universal Music is now divided into two factions: the president department and the director department.

Among the two major factions, the president's department that Kinoshita Toshiaki belongs to has the upper hand in the battle. Therefore, as a general under the president's department, Kinoshita has received obstacles from the board of directors in many places, even the right to sign a new person. No, Kinoshita can only sign Kiyoshi Sakamoto with the permission of the upper class.

After learning about Universal's internal power struggle, Kiyoshi Sakamoto felt tired.Hey, I didn't expect it to be so straightforward. It seems that I still have to follow in the footsteps of Fukuyama Masaharu and gradually understand the rules in the entertainment industry.

When Fukuyama was educating Sakamoto Kiyoshi about various things in the RB entertainment industry, Kinoshita was talking about Sakamoto Kiyoshi with his leader, President Yamazaki Ichiro.

"President, please sign Sakamoto Kiyoshi."

Ichiro Yamazaki, who was sitting on the other side of the desk, took off his glasses and put down the pen in his hand when he heard Kinoshita's words, and looked at Kinoshita, his eyes signaled to Kinoshita to continue talking.

When the president noticed his words, Kinoshita immediately said, "That's right, Sakamoto Kiyoshi is a talented singer, with impeccable appearance, and he can compose his own songs. If we sign him, he will definitely become a singer." A heavyweight singer in our company, this will help us a lot in fighting for a bigger voice on the board of directors. And we can also get the support of Masaharu Fukuyama.”

Yamazaki Ichiro listened quietly to Kinoshita's words, then looked at the information about Sakamoto Kiyoshi in his hand, and made a decision in his heart.

"Then sign him and study in the company for two years before debuting!"

"But, President, isn't he going to debut right away? Kiyoshi Sakamoto has already reached the level where he can debut!" Kinoshita admired Kiyoshi Sakamoto very much, and wanted to argue for him to see if he could make his debut right away, so in front of his leader retorted.

"Signing a 14-year-old rookie is completely different from launching a 14-year-old rookie. At this critical moment, if we launch such a young rookie, it will only let us give those people a handle on the board of directors. .” Yamazaki Ichiro took the most stable approach, which not only retained the genius, but also tied Fukuyama to his chariot.he thought to himself smugly.

"But..."

"Needless to say, that's it, you go down and sign with him."

"...Yes, President."

As soon as Yamazaki Ichiro's voice fell, and with a wave of his hand, Kinoshita Atsuaki who came out of the president's room knew that the genius Sakamoto Kiyoshi was getting farther and farther away from them, but there was still a glimmer of hope in his heart, thinking of Sakamoto Kiyoshi For Fukuyama Masaharu's sake, I will sign with Universal Music.

A moment later, in the meeting room, after hearing the news from Kinoshita, Kiyoshi Sakamoto and Masaharu Fukuyama were silent.

What Kiyoshi Sakamoto thought in his heart was that if he didn't make his debut soon, the good songs in his memory would be sung by their original masters, and then he would lose the advantage of foresight if he ventured into the entertainment industry again up.

So for Kiyoshi Sakamoto, the sooner he can make his debut, the better. After all, after 2010, the music industry will not be able to sell too many singles and albums. Only Arashi and AKB can reach millions. If we wait until then, Kiyoshi Sakamoto couldn't resist the impact of various boy and girl groups.

But Masaharu Fukuyama was thinking about something else.When he learned that Kiyoshi Sakamoto couldn't make his debut right away and had to wait a few years, he was very angry.Because in his opinion, Kiyoshi Sakamoto, who has reached the debut standard and has the advantages of talent and appearance, is a talented singer.Once it is launched, it will definitely be warmly welcomed. As for the age issue, it is acceptable for a genius to mature a little earlier.

Then, Kiyoshi Sakamoto knew his teacher's thoughts through his eyes. Like himself, he couldn't accept Universal's idea of ​​debuting in a few years.

So, after talking to Kinoshita, go back and think about it, and then Kiyoshi Sakamoto and Masaharu Fukuyama walked out of the conference room.

And Kinoshita looked at all this and knew that Kiyoshi Sakamoto was out of the game, and even Masaharu Fukuyama seemed to be offended.

President, you let go of a gold mine. . .

It's a pity not to mention Atsuaki Kinoshita. The two of them, Sakamoto and Fukuyama, who came out of Universal Music, are already talking about what to do next.

"Teacher, I didn't expect Universal to look down on me so much..." Kiyoshi Sakamoto said mockingly.

"That's because they have blind eyes and can't see how good your future is. Anyway, the current Universal is not suitable for you to come in. After all, the faction disputes are already heating up. If you sign a contract at this time, you will definitely be criticized by the board of directors." Suppress." Looking at his disciple, Fukuyama analyzed it for him.

"So what do we do next?"

"Let's go to another company."

(End of this chapter)