Rebirth of Siheyuan starts in the 1980s

In the next few days, Cao Zhiqiang has been focusing on the production of pop songs.

Although at present, there are not many people in China Audio and Video who understand music and music production, but with the help of CCTV, Cao Zhiqiang's own excellent singing talent, and top guitar playing skills, the recording has been going smoothly without any

question.

However, something went wrong during the tape recording process.

The problem is not big, it is that the output cannot meet expectations.

Originally, Cao Zhiqiang's Huaxia Audio and Video Company handed over the recording work of audio tapes to the Peking Tape Factory.

The Peiping Tape Factory is currently the largest tape production plant in Beijing, with six production lines and a daily output of up to 50,000 tapes.

Of course, 50,000 plates is the maximum output of three shifts. Normally, the output of this factory is only about 30,000 per day.

It was agreed at the beginning that the Peking Tape Factory's supply to Cao Zhiqiang's Huaxia Audio and Video Company was to produce 20,000 tapes per day, which meant that it could produce 20,000 recorded audio tapes per day.

However, in just three days, the Peiping Tape Factory changed its mind and could only supply 5,000 tapes per day.

When I asked, I found out that as Labor Day was approaching, other units had increased their orders for tapes, and the Peiping Tape Factory was in short supply, so it could only reduce its order output in other areas.

Being able to continue to provide 5,000 tapes to Huaxia Audio and Video Company every day is for the sake of Hongguang Machinery Factory.

If the majority shareholder of Huaxia Audio and Video Company was not Hongguang Machinery Factory, and Hongguang Machinery Factory was an enterprise directly under the Ministry of Metallurgy, the Peiping Tape Factory might have directly cut off supply.

There is no way. The current domestic audio tape market is a seller's market where supply exceeds demand. People are looking for audio tapes everywhere, so the manufacturers have the final say.

If the market pricing of audio tapes had not been fully liberalized in China, I am afraid that the price of domestic audio tapes would have skyrocketed and would not continue to be the current price of 1.5 yuan for a blank tape.

Of course, the price of 1.5 yuan per blank tape is the wholesale price, and the retail price is generally between 1.8 yuan per tape and 2 yuan per tape.

The ex-factory price is different.

Taking the Peking Tape Factory as an example, on average, an unpackaged blank tape costs 8,000 yuan for 10,000 boxes, which is an average of 8 cents per box.

If you also need to add content and packaging, the price of the complete set is 13,000 for 10,000 boxes, which is an average of 1.30 cents for a box of tapes with content and packaging.

In other words, adding content and packaging will cost an average of 50 cents more per box.

Maybe you want to say, the packaging fee is so expensive, can you not pack it, just buy the tape with the content, and pack it myself when I go back?

You know, if you pack it yourself, the average packaging fee for a tape will probably not even cost you two cents.

But I'm sorry, the answer is no.

Because during this period, as long as you buy tapes with content in large quantities, you must bring packaging, that is, tape boxes and stickers, and this packaging must be handed over to the tape factory and cannot be handed over to others.

Is it okay if I just buy blank tapes, then I can rip them one by one with a tape recorder, and then package them myself?

The answer is yes, but for this kind of blank tape, just wait slowly. Let alone five thousand tapes a day, it will be good if I can give you a hundred boxes a day. This is only if you have connections and connections.

In fact, in 1983, because domestic audio tapes were still in short supply, the domestic tape market was a seller's market, and the manufacturers had the final say.

Although tickets for audio tapes have been cancelled, and there is no need to buy them with tickets, the natural scarcity of the quantity, coupled with the non-market behavior of not allowing arbitrary price increases, has led to tape manufacturers generally not liking to sell blank tapes.

Sell ​​tapes with content directly.

As for blank tapes, they are not always produced, but they are given to some special units, such as CCTV, radio stations, daily newspapers and other news media units, as well as some units that require frequent recording.

Personally, if you want to buy blank tapes in bulk from a tape factory, you might as well smuggle them.

Yes, during this period, in addition to domestic tapes, there were also a large number of imported tapes, most of which were smuggled in from Xiangjiang and Japan.

Most of these imported tapes from abnormal channels are not new tapes, but used tapes or discarded tapes. They are then brought into the country under the name of imported foreign garbage, cleaned and packaged a little, and then some popular songs from Hong Kong and Taiwan are recorded.

, you can set up a stall and sell it.

Therefore, the cheap pirated audio tapes at this time, such as those of Hong Kong and Taiwan singers, were basically imported tapes.

The quality of the imported tapes sold by these small vendors cannot be said to be bad. After all, they are imported goods, and the technical level is there. But you must not think about how they came from, otherwise it will shatter your outlook.

This is just like those imported clothes, which are garbage that other countries do not want and have hidden dangers in terms of hygiene and other aspects.

Precisely because the domestic supply of audio tapes exceeded demand during this period, the production of audio tapes was a good business.

For example, TCL, which later became famous, was a manufacturer of audio tapes from the beginning, and made its first pot of gold from audio tapes.

The end of the domestic tape shortage, if all goes well, should be after 1986.

But before 1986, domestic audio tapes were still a rarity.

Especially domestic blank tapes are difficult to buy personally.

Instead of buying a blank tape, you might as well buy a tape with content on it, then wash out the content and re-record it yourself.

Needless to say, there were actually self-employed people doing this during this period.

According to Cao Zhiqiang's knowledge, there are currently audio tapes with content and packaging, and the price is generally around five yuan.

But the price also depends on the content.

For example, the authentic audio tape of Teacher Li Guyi, which is currently in the limelight, the one with "Nostalgic Love", the price of a tape is about seven yuan.

Mainland pirated audio tapes of Hong Kong and Taiwan stars cost between four and five yuan each.

However, some teaching audio tapes, such as English learning tapes, only cost about three yuan per tape.

Therefore, many people buy teaching audio tapes in large quantities, then use a tape recorder to erase the original content, then record popular songs from Hong Kong and Taiwan, then make their own packaging, and finally sell them on the streets.

Although this method cannot compare with the tape factory in terms of quantity, on average, one tape can earn at least 50 cents.

You can earn at least 50 cents from a tape. A dual-card tape recorder can produce at least 100 audio tapes a day, which is equivalent to making at least 50 yuan a day.

Earning fifty yuan a day is already very impressive in this day and age.

It is precisely because of this that later on, teaching audio tapes were not so easy to buy, and purchase restrictions were issued.

It was not until after 1986 that the number of tape manufacturers increased, a large number of audio tapes were put on the market, and the overall price of audio tapes dropped, this situation gradually disappeared.

In other words, during this period, if you personally went to a domestic tape factory, it would be difficult to buy blank tapes in large quantities, and it would be difficult even for an employer.

Only tape manufacturers are willing to accept tapes with content and packaging because the profits are higher.

In fact, purely from the perspective of making money, the Peking Tape Factory is happy to cooperate with Cao Zhiqiang's Huaxia Audio and Video Company.

After all, Huaxia Audio and Video Company pays you directly in cash, without any arrears or stress. It pays in advance and then delivers the goods, which is quite refreshing.

As for other companies, many of them ask for the goods first and then give the money. Some companies even hold off the payment for a year or two.

Whoever becomes the director of a tape factory will be willing to cooperate with buyers who pay in advance.

But there is no way. The Peking Tape Factory is in the capital, and there isn't much else in the capital except for the number of yamen.

Many yamen don't feel comfortable giving money, but they have the power.

If you use any chicken feathers as arrows, the tape factory will have to be obedient, and it won't work if you don't give them.

But the output is only so much, what to do, the only way is to demolish the east wall to make up for the west wall, and first move the production that is easy to talk about.

Unfortunately, Huaxia Audio and Video Company, in the eyes of Peking Tape Factory, is the kind of person who is easy to talk to, so it is natural to misappropriate their indicators first.

What, breach of contract?

Haha, I broke the contract, you can sue me if you dare!

Believe it or not, if you file a lawsuit today, I will cancel my cooperation with you later!

There is no way, the tape factory is so tough at this time, at least for Huaxia Audio and Video Company, it is very tough!

Regarding this situation, Cao Zhiqiang had no other solution but to find another manufacturer to cooperate with.

For example, you can discuss cooperation with Baoding Tape Factory, Tianjin Tape Factory, SJZ Tape Factory, etc.

But when it comes to discussing cooperation with these tape manufacturers, I have no relationship with them before and I don’t know if it will work.

What if these tape factories are like the Peking Tape Factory, and their orders are full, supply exceeds demand, and they cannot free up production capacity?

So in the end, we had to decide to postpone the release of the record until after Labor Day.

The reason for the postponement is that Cao Zhiqiang has predicted that his first single "Blood-stained Style" will definitely become a hit.

And a fire will inevitably cause mad looting.

At this time, if you don’t stock up enough, what will happen?

It can only be because piracy is rampant, giving pirates an advantage!

Although at this time, limited by domestic tape production capacity, pirates could not seriously purchase large quantities of goods from regular tape factories like China Record Company and Huaxia Audio and Video Company, but there were many of them.

There is no threshold for pirated tapes. You can just find a dual-card tape recorder.

As for blank tapes, it's easy to find some imported tapes and cheap teaching tapes. There are many ways to do it.

A pirate dealer may not be able to sell too many pirated tapes at one time, but if there are too many pirated vendors, the ants will kill the elephant.

However, Cao Zhiqiang's price for his first single was quite high, costing 6 yuan for a single tape.

The price of 6 Yuanqi is already higher than the price of many audio tapes on the market.

If you don't stock up on enough goods and put it on the market rashly, then people won't be able to buy genuine tapes and will have to go crazy and buy pirated tapes.

Therefore, the best way is to stock up on enough goods in advance, and then once it becomes popular, you don’t have to worry about running out of goods.

It doesn’t take much either.

Cao Zhiqiang estimates that as long as he accumulates 500,000 plates, he can try to launch it.

In fact, this method of stockpiling involves taking great risks.

After all, although the domestic music market was huge at this time, it was still too risky to stock up on half a million tapes for a single.

In fact, when a record is released during this period, if it is a single, usually around 10,000 cassettes are stocked, and then it can be sold directly on the market.

Like Cao Zhiqiang, the singer himself is not well-known. The price of the first single tape is as high as six yuan a box, and the stocking volume is 500,000, which is simply unheard of.

In other words, Huaxia Audio and Video Company is a new company with few knowledgeable people, and Cao Zhiqiang insists on his words and has the final say in everything, so he can do this forcefully.

If it were another company, such as a Chinese record company, it would be crazy to charge an unknown newcomer a single price of six yuan a box and stock up on 500,000 audio tapes before it is released. It would definitely not be the case.

was passed.

The reason is very simple. Five hundred thousand audio tapes, even if calculated based on the cost of one yuan, is still half a million yuan!

Five hundred thousand yuan was a considerable sum of money in this period. Even a large company like China Record Company could not afford a loss of half a million yuan.

Therefore, Cao Zhiqiang's music project this time is really a very bold and risky move.

If Cao Zhiqiang didn't have absolute confidence in himself, and Huaxia Audio and Video Company was under his sole control, and it was entirely his word, then his behavior would never have worked.

As time goes by, although Cao Zhiqiang still writes, sings and records songs every day, he has given up hope of releasing his first single before May Day.

The reason is that news came from Li Youfu that the tape factories in Tianjin, Baoding and other places have been operating at full capacity recently, and their orders are fully booked, and they cannot free up production capacity for Huaxia Audio and Video Company.

On the other hand, there are a total of three tape factories in Liaoning and Shandong, which can free up some production capacity. However, the combined production capacity of the three factories in the two places can only supply about 20,000 tapes a day. Again, you have to pay first and then deliver the goods, and the freight is also included.

Pay by yourself.

Although the conditions are a bit harsh, fortunately the production capacity is pretty good.

The production capacity of Liaoning and Shandong, plus the production capacity of the Peking tape factory, is normally about 25,000 tapes a day.

Based on this calculation, it will only take about 20 days to stock up 500,000 plates.

In other words, if everything goes normally, I won't be able to release my first single - "Blood Stained Style" until mid-May.

"Li Youfu, could you please come over in person again, take my master tapes and packaging formats, and sign contracts with the three tape factories respectively. You can pay first, but you must produce them as soon as possible. The more the merrier, do you understand?"

After listening to Cao Zhiqiang's instructions on the phone, Li Youfu immediately said: "General Manager, I will go back to Beijing to get the master tapes and packaging format myself. It's a waste of time to go back and forth.

I think so, I am in Jinan now, how about I talk to the tape factory here first, confirm their order first, and you can directly send someone to bring the master tape, tape packaging format and samples.

In this case, they will produce them directly as soon as the master tapes and packaging samples arrive.

When the production here in Jinan starts, I will take the master tape and packaging format, fly to Liaoning, and talk to the tape factory in Liaoning.

In this way, the production speed can be faster, what do you think?"

Cao Zhiqiang thought for a while and felt that this was okay, so he agreed: "Okay, let's do it like this."

"Then look at this money..."

"Don't worry, as long as you guys reach an agreement, I'll send you a wire transfer right away."

Upon hearing this, Li Youfu said with relief: "That's no problem. Then I'll make an appointment with Factory Manager Liu today. You can send someone to deliver the things as soon as possible, preferably today. By the way, General Manager,

The person who delivers the master tapes must be reliable!”

"Guaranteed to be reliable!" Cao Zhiqiang said with a smile, "I'll let Zhang Qian go in, is it reliable enough?"

"Old Zhang, that's no problem." Li Youfu smiled.

"Okay, hurry up." Cao Zhiqiang held the phone and said, "We must produce it as soon as possible while maintaining quality and quantity!

Remember, time is money!

One more day you waste is one day less money you make.

Don’t forget, your sales department gets a share. The more our company sells, the more you earn.

So, if you want to make a lot of money, just run and take action!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Cao!" Li Youfu said eagerly, "Time is money, I will remember this sentence.

Just look at it, I, Li Youfu, will win these orders even if I don’t sleep from now on, and I will ensure that I complete the task!"