When it came to this, Ye Zhao didn't turn around in circles, and said straightforwardly, "Miss Fujiwara has also seen it before, in addition to BEING, I have also received business cards from many companies, including Universal, Sony, Warner and other big companies, since you want to sign me, you have to come up with some conditions that can impress me, right?"

Fujiwara Kaoru said cleverly: "Since Mr. Ye has given priority to negotiating with BEING from so many companies, then I think, at least there is something about BEING that impresses you, right?"

Ye Zhao secretly praised in his heart and said, "I won't tell you, a while ago, a brokerage company wanted to sign me into its subsidiary, and I listened to their contract, which was too harsh." Speaking of this, Ye Zhao and Fujiwara Kaoru both smiled.

"In the final analysis, if I have to unconditionally obey the company's arrangement just because I signed a contract, even if they let me go to a late-night trick show, this kind of thing is too unreasonable. I'm a person who eats off music, and music is the foundation of my footing, and as for things other than music, I want to have the freedom to choose what to do and not to do, and how to do it. That's why I chose BEING, which can produce good music without tying singers with a brokerage contract, as my first choice. ”

Fujiwara Kaoru was not surprised by Ye Zhao's words, after all, there were many musicians who had the same idea as Ye Zhao, and since she knew the biggest advantage of their company from Ye Zhao's mouth, she naturally wanted to amplify this advantage to convince him.

"I can understand Mr. Ye's thoughts, and it is natural that musicians do not want to be disturbed by the outside world. As you said, our company is a record production company, and all we have is the record contract of its singers, as for the brokerage contract, although we can also introduce them to the brokerage company with which we have business dealings, but many singers' brokerage contracts are in our own hands, and we do not force this aspect. Again, we are a record production company, and the majority of the money comes from record distribution, not the singer's share, so these problems you worry about will not happen in BEING. ”

"In that case, when are we going to talk about contracts?"

"President Nagato has instructed me that as long as Mr. Ye has the intention to sign a contract, he will be waiting at the company at any time and personally discuss the specific details of the contract with you. Fujiwara Kaoru said.

To be treated so well for a newcomer at least proves that Nagato Daiyuki values him very much. Since he attaches importance to it, there must be a lot of things he wants to do. Ye Zhao knew this, but he still said calmly: "Then I'll go over to visit tomorrow, Miss Fujiwara, and I have to ask you to say hello to President Nagato in advance." ”

……

Since the 1990 B.B.QUEENS theme song for "Cherry Maruko" became a big hit, BEING's development has been like riding a speeding rocket, from a little brother who begged for a living under the hands of a big record company to a high-profile upstart in the music industry. But as the head of the company, Nagato Daiyuki's heart is shrouded in a cloud of hidden worries.

The 45-year-old Nagato Daiyuki has experienced the rise of European and American music, new folk songs, and idols in RB, and has also witnessed their decline.

1994 has passed the halfway point, compared to last year's heroism, this year's BEING's best single, B'z's "Don't Leave Me", although it has successfully sold more than one million, but on the annual list of singles, but ranked fourth, in the top ten of the annual list, compared to last year's exclusive six, this year there are only three groups of B'z, Big Black Moji, and WANDS, of which Big Black Moji's "Only Staring at You" The actual release date was December 1993, but because the ORICON list ends in early December every year, it is counted as this year.

Opposite to the declining BEING is the rise of Tetsuya Komuro, on the singles chart, the singers produced by him even occupy three of the top ten, and there is a tie with BEING! You know, BEING is the power of the whole company, and Tetsuya Komuro is just one person. What's even more terrifying is that in the contest between BEING and Tetsuya Komuro, a band called Mr. Children was born and won the sales championship so far this year in one fell swoop!

The rise of these two groups of characters made Nagato Daiyuki foresee a signal: after experiencing several years of bombing by the BEING department, the RB people who like the new and hate the old began to experience hearing fatigue.

BEING up to now, the two composers who rely on the most are Tetsuro Oda and Seiichiro Kuribayashi, except for a few singer bands that can create independently, most of them are singing songs written by the two of them, so most of the singers under BEING sound the same taste, before the audience liked this taste, they became popular together, once the audience began to get bored, the fate of BEING can be imagined. In order to avoid a situation where it would end without Tetsuro Oda, Nagato decided to take precautions and start bringing in some new creative talents, even if many of them were short-lived.

At this time, he saw an underground singer named Ye Zhao and his single "Summer Color" on "CDDATA", after listening to the two songs in this single, Nagato Daiyuki was keenly aware of Ye Zhao's huge potential, and this talent even reminded Nagato Daiyuki of Oda Tetsuro when he was young - when he met Oda Tetsuro, the latter was also 19 years old.

Maybe this teenager will be like Tetsuro Oda and hold up BEING for a new decade. Thinking like this, Nagato Daiyuki immediately contacted Apollo Records, obtained Ye Zhao's address and information, and dispatched Fujiwara Kaoruko, one of the most capable agents in the company, and instructed her to include this person under her command at all costs!

At nine o'clock in the morning of the next day, Ye Zhao came to the headquarters of BEING in Minato-ku, Tokyo, relying on the trend of recent years, BEING, who had made a lot of money, moved out of the shabby office building rented before two years ago, and had a building of his own in Minato Ward, where every inch of land is valuable. After putting his name on the front desk, the young receptionist took him directly to Nagato Daiyuki's office.

Nagato Daiyuki is of medium stature, the white hair on his sideburns is faintly visible, after seeing Ye Zhao, a hint of surprise flashed in his shrewd eyes, I didn't expect him to even have such a brilliant appearance, he is simply a natural artist!

"Mr. Ye, please take a seat. Nagato pointed to the long leather couch near the door.

"I'm not yet 20 years old, so I can't be called 'sir', so President Nagato will call me by my name. After Ye Zhao sat down, he took the initiative to say to Nagato Daiyuki.

Ye Zhao's modest attitude made Nagato Daxing very satisfied, and he said with a smile: "Since this is the case, I will sell you an old man and call you Xiaoye." ”

The female assistant in the suit tube skirt served two cups of coffee, and Nagato Daiyuki did not touch the coffee cups, but cut directly to the point: "Fujiwara must have told you about some of the company's situation, and of course, she has also conveyed some of the problems you mentioned to me one by one." You can rest assured that our company has always respected the wishes of its artists, and will not bind them with too many treaties, and of course, will not arrange jobs for them without the consent of the artists. ”

"I was relieved when President Nagato said that. In that case, can I take a look at the contract first?"

"Absolutely. Nagato got up and returned to his desk and pulled a contract out of a drawer. "You take your time, if there is something inappropriate, bring it up, and we will discuss it. ”

Ye Zhao nodded, took the contract and looked at it carefully.

This contract is a music contract, which clearly states that during the contract period, the company will pay Ye Zhao a fixed salary of 100,000 yen per month, and Ye Zhao's published music works must be distributed by BEING, and Ye Zhao has the right to refuse in advance of the job offer, but he shall not be absent without reason; during the contract period, when Ye Zhao holds concerts and participates in commercial performances and advertisements contacted by the company, the company will take eighty percent of the income, and the published music works, lyrics and royalties shall belong to Ye Zhao; if the songs are provided for others, the remuneration of the singers in the company will remain unchanged, and if it is for singers of other companies, the company will take a one-time 60% of the lyrics and music purchase remuneration and radio usage fees, but does not participate in the distribution of royalties.

During the contract period, the company provided professional courses for Ye Zhao for a fee, and the expenses incurred were directly deducted from the income. The first contract is for three years, and BEING has the right of first refusal to renew it if there are no special problems.

As far as the general environment of the RB entertainment industry is concerned, this is a very sincere contract, neither too ruthless in the sharing, nor any clauses that restrict his personal freedom, what is even more rare is that the lyrics and music royalties are the majority of the musicians' money, but this piece of BEING is almost not touched, as for the commission of commercial performances, advertising concerts, etc., Ye Zhao doesn't care much, after all, the contract gives him the freedom to refuse, so whether these activities can be carried out depends on his wishes.

Nagato Daiyuki said at this time: "If you are not sure, you can take this contract back and study it." You're not yet 20 years old, and you should discuss this kind of important matter with your parents. ”

"No need. Ye Zhao gently put the contract on the coffee table, "I can make my own decision on this matter." ”

"Oh?" Nagato looked at him expectantly.

"I have no objection to the contract issued by President Nagato, and I agree to join BEING. However, I wonder if I will make my solo debut after joining, or will I form a band like the rest of the company?"

"For a singer like you who can do the lyrics and songs, it doesn't make much sense to make your debut in a team, after all, you have done everything your teammates can do. Of course, if you are worried that it will not be easy for male SOLO to open up the market, I can also help you find a few musicians and form a one-man band like ZARD. ”

The RB market is not very friendly to male SOLO, compared to the 50 million sales of Ayumi Hamasaki, the first place in female SOLO, Masaharu Fukuyama, who is the first male SOLO, is only in his early 20 million. However, although the female SOLO is strong, she can only bow down in front of the band, and in the top ten of the RB record sales list, the band and group occupy six seats, and if you count the one-man band ZARD, it is seven. The effect of 1+1>2 is particularly evident in this regard.

"I still want to make my solo debut. Ye Zhao thought about it and decided.

"That's not bad," Nagado laughs, "Our company has launched many successful bands so far, and there are also Daikoku Moji who is the sole leader of the female SOLO, but there has never been a precedent for a male SOLO to succeed." I hope you can create a miracle and become a gold medal male SOLO who does not lose to Masaharu Fukuyama. ”

Masaharu Fukuyama was mentioned again...... It's not easy to be a popular artist, and they are pulled out as targets at every turn.