old events in tokyo

Chapter 142 Invitation to Song

On Sunday, Akiyama Kazuki let Mato and the other young people go with them, but left a phone call for them to contact.

But it is estimated that they have nothing to worry about at this time and are thinking about where to go to play. Tomorrow is their second entrance examination, and they must be busy reviewing their homework in the hotel at this time.

And Kazuki Akiyama himself had a few colleagues in the industry to meet today, and he and Yoshitaka Watanabe came to a high-end coffee shop in the port area after [-] o'clock in the morning.

Enter the hall in a corner by the window, and see several guests who are going to meet on this trip.

"Good morning Iijima-san, sorry for the long wait." Kazuki Akiyama bowed and shook hands with Iijima Santomo.

"Where, we came early, this time I will be taking care of Akiyama-san." Mitomo Iijima also greeted Kazuki Akiyama very politely.

"Nakaju-san, Kimura-san, good morning." Kazuki Akiyama greeted the two main members of SMAP respectively.

"Akiyama-san, please give me some advice." Although the two of them issued orders earlier than Kazuki Akiyama, they were very polite at the moment, after all, there was something to ask for today.

After the two sides exchanged pleasantries for a while, they sat down respectively, and Santomo Iijima called the waiter to order a cup of coffee according to everyone's taste.

"I haven't congratulated Akiyama-san's single for winning the million-selling certification. I and everyone in SMAP like Akiyama-san's music very much."

Mitomo Iijima complimented enviously, Kazuki Akiyama's last single "Powder Snow" has recently officially obtained the million-selling certification from the Recording Association of Japan.

And announced the news in the latest issue of its official publication "The Record".

The sales statistics of the Recording Association of Japan are generally higher than the sales published by Oricon.

For example, the song "Powder Snow" by Kazuki Akiyama has sold 130 million copies on the Oricon chart so far, but the Recording Association of Japan has certified that it is close to 145 million copies.

This is because the Recording Association of Japan not only counts the record stores covered by the Oricon chart, but also counts record stores that are not covered by the Oricon chart or have no cooperation.

Moreover, those who rank more than [-] on the Oricon Chart will no longer be counted, but the Recording Association will still be counted.

In addition, the sales volume counted by the Recording Association also includes the shipment volume of the publishing company, that is, the part that is not sold as inventory is also included in the sales volume.

This is why sometimes we often see that the sales certified by the Recording Association are higher than the sales of the Oricon chart.

And the main purpose of Iijima Mitomo's meeting with Akiyama Kazuki today was to invite him to sing.

If it is said that Kazuki Akiyama's previous singles were more popular than the last one, she was only moved.After all, most of the songs of singer-songwriters have a strong personal style, which may not be suitable for other singers.

But not long ago when the media questioned his diverse music styles, Iijima Sanzhi saw an opportunity instead.Since I can make a variety of styles of music, there must be something suitable for SMAP.

So during that time, she specially restrained her artists not to comment on Kazuki Akiyama's affairs, especially Akasaka Akira from GENJI, to avoid contacting him.

Not only that, she also asked SMAP to say a few nice words for Kazuki Akiyama on her radio show.

Saying a few good words with no risk at this time, although it is not as quick as a quick charcoal, but at least leave a good impression.You never know when it will come in handy.

In fact, this is also one of the factors that made Kazuki Akiyama agree to the appointment today. After all, the favor of helping to say a few good words without making trouble is still to be inherited.

What really made Iijima Santomo determined to come to Akiyama Kazuki was because of ZARD's latest single "Don't Give Up / TOMORROW", which has been very popular recently.

The sales of this double-A single reached 120 million copies within one month of its release. It has only been one month. The outside world is even speculating that this single will reach double million copies this year, which means 200 million sales.

To be honest, this number makes Sanzhi Iijima very envious, and thinking about the performance of his own SMAP in music is a headache.

However, ZARD's single is so popular not only because of its own excellence.The outside analysis of Kazuki Akiyama's song "TOMORROW" also played a big role in promoting it.

Mitomo Iijima also went to listen to the song that Kazuki Akiyama confessed to. Although she is not a professional musician, she has already learned a little bit about it after such a long time.I have to say that this song is tailor-made for ZARD.

Since Kazuki Akiyama can write and sing by himself, he can also sell music for others.So whether SMAP can make a comeback in music, the chance is likely to fall on Kazuki Akiyama.

You must know that when she first took over SMAP last year, it was the ice age of idols, and the records released by SMAP were also facing slow sales.

At that time, there were pre-order activities for Johnny's popular idol release singles.You read that right in the early 90s, Johnny’s had already started pre-ordering, which is a means of cashing out the fan economy, and the ones that are being used in China now may be left over from decades ago.

And the SMAP singles at that time, let alone pre-orders, were piled up in the warehouse and could not be shipped.

Because it can't be sold, the record store will naturally not buy it.It was such a situation that Sanzhi Iijima didn't rush to do something about the music after receiving it.

Instead, he chose to develop in the field of variety shows, not only idol dramas, but also radio stations, and all aspects went hand in hand.

After nearly a year of active activities, SMAP's popularity is finally showing signs of becoming popular.

So the ambitious Santomo Iijima began to think about how to help the SMAP group conquer the music market. The unsalable albums in the early stage made her worry about it now.

Now that Kazuki Akiyama was born, she saw hope.Today, I also led the core figures of SMAP to visit in person, hoping to gain something.

"Of course I know Iijima-san's reason for coming, and with the popularity of SMAP-san, it is almost certain that the single will sell well in the future.

However, since Iijima-san and everyone from SMAP are invited, I am also deeply honored, and suitable songs will be sent to your office later. "

Kazuki Akiyama readily agreed to Santomo Iijima's request for a song, but he has a song suitable for the team to sing.

The song "Like the Starlight Under That Sky" has an inspirational theme and is not difficult to sing, which is very suitable for the current SMAP group.

I don't need it for the time being, so I just take it out and sell it well to earn a wave of favors.

As for the final sales volume, it depends on Santomo Iijima's means. What he can guarantee is that the quality of the songs must be better than those of their slow-selling songs.

"I am so grateful to Akiyama-san. As for the cost, please rest assured that Akiyama-san will sign a share contract according to the market price."

Mitomo Iijima tactfully did not mention any issues such as buying out the copyright or one-time usage fee. Kazuki Akiyama's current performance in the music scene and the popularity of SMAP are not enough for her to make such an arrogant request.

Masahiro Nakai and Takuya Kimura also stood up to express their gratitude. After all, they were invited to sing in name, but they were indeed the ones who were honored by Kazuki Akiyama.

Presumably, when the song is promoted in the later period, it will also be promoted under the name of Kazuki Akiyama's lyrics and composition.

Kazuki Akiyama's reputation in music is better than them.
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PS: there is still at night

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(End of this chapter)