old events in tokyo

Chapter 68 Cooperation
After the two parties sat down, Takahashi Masaaki, the negotiator of MUJI, spoke first.
"Akiyama-san's temperament fits perfectly with the simple lifestyle advocated by MUJI, so please forgive me if I take the liberty to bother you."

"I owe Takahashi-san's care, I wonder if your company is looking for me...?" Kazuki Akiyama said politely, and then asked Masaaki Takahashi the purpose of his trip.

"Oh, that's how it is, please Akiyama-san to take a look at this first." Saying that, Masaaki Takahashi took out a stack of photos from his briefcase and handed them to Kazuki Akiyama.

After receiving the photos, Kazuki Akiyama took a closer look. They were basically autumn and winter men's clothing, including sweaters, coats, windbreakers and so on.

The styles are basically simple, yet stylish, and there is already a rudiment of the simple fashion of later generations.

Seeing this, Kazuki Akiyama knew it, and handed the photo to Watanabe Yoshitaka and Ishida Takumi who were beside him.

"The style is very novel and natural, and it also contains some current trend elements. It should be loved by young people." Kazuki Akiyama complimented.

Hearing Kazuki Akiyama's praise, Masaaki Takahashi also smiled,

"Being able to get the appreciation of Akiyama-san proves that the style of MUJI is still very popular among young people." Takahashi Masaaki did not forget to boast while flattering.

"This is also the purpose of my trip. I want to invite Akiyama-san to be the image spokesperson for MUJI men's autumn and winter clothing."

As expected, Kazuki Akiyama nodded secretly,
"Thanks to your company's care, I also like the clothing style of Muji very much. If it is the clothing style in the photo, I have no objection."

"That's really great. Regarding the issue of endorsement fees, please rest assured Akiyama-san..." Takahashi Masaaki was also happy when he heard Akiyama Kazuki's answer. He didn't expect the negotiation to go so smoothly. He was worried that Akiyama Kazuki would not like Muji. Liangpin is a company that started as a grocery store.

"Takahashi-san, does your company have any ideas for further cooperation?" Without waiting for Takahashi Masaaki to continue, Akiyama Kazuki interjected.

"Deeper cooperation?"

"Yes, deeper cooperation."

"I don't know what the deeper cooperation that Akiyama-san said is...?" Takahashi Masaaki showed doubts, and at the same time lamented that it really wasn't that easy.

"I wonder if your company has considered the CM of this endorsement advertisement?" Kazuki Akiyama finally expressed his ultimate goal.

Hearing this, Takahashi Masaaki also realized that Kazuki Akiyama is a singer, so he naturally hopes that his songs can get a ride on the commercials, which is very common in the industry.

But Masaaki Takahashi showed a distressed face and said, "Akiyama-san's strength is beyond doubt, but the advertising budget is limited this time, and Akiyama-san's songs..."

Masaaki Takahashi didn't have the nerve to say that Kazuki Akiyama only has two singles now, and both of them have their own TIE-UP. It seems that there is no other suitable song.

"Please Takahashi-san, don't rush to refuse, you might as well listen to it first."

Speaking of which, Kazuki Akiyama, who had been prepared for a long time, took out the previously recorded demo from his carry-on bag, put it into the player and pressed the button, and the song that came from it was exactly the song "Powder Snow".

After listening to the song quietly, Takahashi Masaaki also had to praise that it was a very nice song,

"The song is very good, and the theme is very suitable for the season. It is also very suitable as a CM for winter clothing advertisements, but this has exceeded my scope of responsibility. Please forgive Akiyama-san."

Masaaki Takahashi also felt that this song could not be more appropriate as a CM for MUJI's winter clothing advertisement, but this has exceeded his scope of rights and budget.

Whether it is the endorsement fee or the song used as an advertisement CM, commercial expenses need to be paid, which undoubtedly increases the cost of expenses, so he can only regretfully decline.

"Takahashi-san, in addition to the endorsement fee, as the CM of the advertisement, the song can be used for free." Akiyama Kazuki directly released his own trump card.

"Free use?" Masaaki Takahashi's eyes widened, thinking he had heard it wrong.

Watanabe Yoshitaka next to "Akiyama-san" couldn't help but reminded.

You should know that the free use of songs requires not only the consent of the singer himself, but also the consent of the record company and the RB Music Copyright Association (JASRAC).

This involves the communication with BEING, which is easy to talk about, after all, Nagato Taiko doesn’t have the media resources to allocate Kazuki Akiyama’s new single as TIE-UP.

Now Kazuki Akiyama found it by himself. Although there is no commercial royalty, it is not difficult to convince him.

The trouble is JASRAC, it is not an exaggeration to call it a copyright underworld. This organization almost covers 90.00% of the copyright market of RB music.

The scope of JASRAC's copyright fee collection is not limited to the traditional fields of radio and television programs, but also includes various commercial places that use music such as live performances and karaoke.

And it has expanded year after year, and JASRAC's determination and action ability to collect money cannot be underestimated, even to the point of becoming obsessed.

Isn't it a joke, a certain man was killed and drifted to an uninhabited desert island.He drew a huge SOS sign on the sand, but after many days, no one came to help.Sitting next to the SOS sign, the man hummed a little song softly, recalling the hometown he never saw again.An hour later, JASRAC came to collect the copyright fee.

So it is basically impossible to get JASRAC done, but Kazuki Akiyama didn't want to get it done, because the copyright fee charged by JASRAC only accounts for a small part of the song royalties, which is basically negligible compared with the endorsement fee.

For example, for a 4-yen CD, JASRAC charges 90 yen in copyright tax, which may not seem like a lot individually, but each song in the entire RB [-]% music market adds up to an astronomical figure.

Kazuki Akiyama signaled Yoshitaka Watanabe to be calm with his winks, and he made a clear statement with Masa Takahashi, "Yes, it's free to use. Of course, JASRAC needs your company to come forward."

Takahashi Masaaki was really moved this time. With Kazuki Akiyama's popularity and the gimmick of the latest single, it is definitely a good deal.

As for JASRAC, his thoughts were the same as Kazuki Akiyama's. He didn't want to deal with that gangster organization at all. He just paid a fee, and the money wasn't much anyway.

"I personally agree with Akiyama-san's proposal. Of course, this needs to be confirmed by me and the company. Please rest assured that I will reply to Akiyama-san as soon as possible."

Masaaki Takahashi hurriedly bid farewell to Kazuki Akiyama and his team after finishing speaking, and returned to the company non-stop. Presumably, he was also optimistic about this cooperation, and tried to persuade the company to finalize this cooperation with Kazuki Akiyama.

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(End of this chapter)