SONY Development History
Technicians’ Dream
CBS SONY, which is relatively late in the recording industry, has cultivated Japan’s first large-scale music conglomerate and will Columbia Pictures' performance pushed it to No. 1 in the United States. "SONY", the hardware company that knows the most about software, is a "technology-based enterprise company."
Akio Morita, chairman of SONY, fully revealed this feature when talking about the development history of SONY: "This is a series of stories about realizing Mr. Ibuka's dream."
SONY The founder, Mr. Ibuka, has been a famous scientist and inventor since before the Pacific War. Morita and Ibuka met when they were assigned to the Naval Technical Admiral's Research Institute. After Morita acquired Columbia Pictures, he made the following remarks at a press conference: "SONY, a company founded by technicians, took the software industry as an opportunity." Hardware without software cannot become a truly big business. ”
In order to expand the hardware business, the software business is absolutely necessary. This is the conclusion that SONY has concluded for many years. SONY, which has invested huge amounts of money to acquire software companies, is the company that knows the software industry best. Even if After SONY invested a huge amount of money to acquire Columbia Pictures, it never let the hardware-first and software-secondary concept collapse.
In October 1989, Sony announced its acquisition of Columbia Pictures. , caused a strong response in the United States. In the headline of NEWS WEEK, the Statue of Liberty was put into a kimono, with the title "Japan bought the soul of America", which caused considerable criticism in the United States (because of the title of the film produced by Colombia. (using the Statue of Liberty). In addition to openly countering such remarks, Morita expressed in an interview in Japan that he was very disappointed with the United States.
The reason for the so-called disappointment is quite mysterious. Some people in Japan and the United States also pointed out why no one made any criticism when Australian capital acquired MGM/UA (MGM) and 20th Century FOXS (Fox). This is simply racial discrimination.
But it was not because of this that Morita concluded that he was disappointed with the United States: "When I gave a speech in the United States, I mentioned why no one said anything when CA was sold to the French. This is the fundamental reason for the United States. on the problem. When I was a child, I loved electricity and was crazy about radios. RCA is the representative of the high-tech industry in the United States. After the war, the Japanese electronics industry all asked RCA to buy patent rights. Therefore, for me, who comes from a technical background, RCA is the source that represents the soul of America. GE purchased the RCA Institute and RCA, which were later sold to French companies. This is a big deal for American industry. The American media should pay more attention to this fact and examine why the United States lost RCA..." When RCA was sold, it didn't care at all. It was only after SONY acquired the film company that it made remarks such as "The Soul of America." This is untenable for the United States. What the media is paying attention to represents the concern of the American public. Americans have shifted their focus to the software industry and do not manufacture or sell things. This is also the decisive reason for the continued deficit in the United States. But this discussion is just that. Talking about the fundamental problems of the U.S. economy is superficial and fails to get to the real topic.
American citizens do not have any sense of crisis, but foreigners in the East lament this. What does it symbolize? SONY has been adhering to "technical thinking" since the war, creating a path that symbolizes "Japan's nation based on technology", and at the same time, it has also superficially positioned its software as "MADE IN JAPAN", which President Morita is proud of. It is also inseparable from the history of SONY.
Starting from the Ruins
Just like the acquisition of Columbia Pictures, SONY has always been at the forefront of high technology of the times. A company cannot create its own path and do things that others do not do. "At this time, SONY has determined to develop into the Tokyo Communications Industry. If you open the history book recording SONY, you can find an article mentioning "Tokyo Communications Industry". This name is actually the predecessor of SONY.
Defeat In 1945 (the 20th year of the Showa era), the founder Ibuka and seven employees of the Tokyo branch of the pre-war operating company jointly invested in a room in the Shirokiya Department Store in Nihonbashi in Tokyo after the B-29 bombing. The "Tokyo Communications Research Institute" (later changed to Tokyo Communications Industry) was established. At the time of its establishment, the entire company's property was just the money in Ibuka's pocket. era, so they first tried to make food-related products, such as rice cookers, toasters, etc., but they could not succeed in making everything. Finally, the first product finally appeared: an electric seat cushion. It is a product that wraps wires between two pieces of fabric. It sells very well in small stores and is a very precious cash income for the newly established "Totoken"
The next step is to manufacture it. It is a "shortwave receiving antenna" that is relatively related to current SONY. This is easy to install on ordinary AM radios. The equipment used to receive shortwave signals sells very well, which will have a positive impact on the future development of SONY.
The "Blue Pencil" column of the Asahi Shimbun on October 6, 1945 introduced the history of Ibuka's struggle. After Morita returned to the countryside, someone happened to ask him if he would be willing to serve as a lecturer at the University of Tokyo. After seeing the Asahi Shimbun column, Morita took the opportunity to take a job in Tokyo and met Ibuka again.
Ibuka's company was very difficult to operate during the Totsuken era. Morita continued to serve as a university lecturer while helping out with the work. The following year (1946), "Tokyo Communications Research Institute" was reorganized into "Tokyo Communications Industry Co., Ltd." with a capital of 190,000 yen and 20 employees. The head office and factory were established in this location. Morita resigned from his job as a lecturer and concentrated on his work in the company. At that time, Ibuka was thirty-eight years old and Morita was only twenty-five years old.
The origin of SONY's leap
Not long after its founding, what supported "Tokyo Communications Industry Co., Ltd." was the manufacture and repair of accessories for radios. However, what lingered in Ibuka's mind The goal was to manufacture products of its own brand.
At that time, Sony's product was radio. Of course, there was widespread discussion in the company about whether it should enter the ranks of manufacturing radios. However, Ibuka was very opposed, mainly because of the post-war period. Radio manufacturers were slowly recovering from the aftermath of the war, so Ibuka was optimistic about the WIRE RECORDER (wire magnetic recorder). However, the manufacturers that produced WIRE were not interested in Ibuka's plan. However, the results were better. Ibuka saw on NHK that the U.S. military in Japan was using the newly released record and player, so he also began to develop the production of the record and player. Based on the development experience of WIRE RECORDER, Ibuka and the others completed the trial work in just a few days.
The more troublesome problem was the tape, but it was successfully completed after the test. In 1950, two years after the development, the first domestically produced recorder and player called the G type was finally commercialized. Although the production technology was very good, it did not sell well; a good product does not mean a best-selling product. This is the experience I learned for the first time when I just graduated from college and the salary of the employees was less than 10,000 days. In the Yuan era, the price of 170,000 yen was certainly too high.
The court was the first to purchase G-type recorders, and it ordered twenty units at a time. This was an unprecedented order. Due to the shortage of stenographers in the court at that time, Morita and Ibuka understood the importance of market demand. Later, G-type gradually developed a sales network centered on public agencies and schools. Network. The recorders gradually became smaller and lighter, evolving from H-type to P-type, and then to M-type recorders. At this time, the G-type recorder also obtained the basic patent rights for the AC bias method, and Tongtong began to monopolize the domestic market. , and gained a lot of profits from entrepreneurs.
Understanding Semiconductors
A radio is a machine that receives radio waves and modulates the amplitude of the signal according to the radio waves so that people can hear the amplitude of the sound. The equipment must use vacuum tubes; people of the younger generation may have never seen a vacuum tube. The appearance of a vacuum tube looks like a light bulb, so household appliances using vacuum tubes were relatively large. In 1947, the Bell Research Institute in the United States. Doctors who invented a miraculous electronic component. Although it is as solid as the tip of a toothpick, it has the same functions as a vacuum tube. This is a semiconductor that Ibuka and Morita have noticed will definitely win the Nobel Prize in the future. So in 1952, Ishen, who was the first to arrive in the United States, knew that the backend of Bell Research Institute (WE) would soon allow other manufacturers to have the right to use the patents of semiconductor products. At that time, "WE", which had 120 employees. "Tongtong Engineering", one-third of whom are excellent technicians, and it is the most suitable choice to pool their strength to complete the work of semiconductor productization. Therefore, Jing Shen made up his mind to obtain the right to use semiconductors.
The following year, 1952, Akio Morita (now the president of SONY) went to the United States to sign a contract with WE. In his book "MADE IN JAPAN", Morita mentioned the state of mind when he first visited New York: "When I visited the United States for the first time, I was shocked by the vastness of the United States. Everything was so big, so far, It’s so vast and so diverse. It’s simply impossible to sell our products in such a country. My only feeling is that we are being overtaken by the United States.” When Morita visited the United States, Dongtong said. The future of semiconductors is completely unclear; even WE only uses semiconductors in hearing aids. But Ibuka and Morita had decided to use semiconductors in radios. RCA's pre-war radios made using small vacuum tubes could only last for four hours, and they also had expensive batteries that took up more than half of the radio's space. If semiconductors are used, the problems of power and battery size can be solved, and the products produced will be epoch-making. Ibuka and Morita had already thought that if they could create a portable radio, they would be able to create a new market. After Morita signed a contract with WE, he traveled to Europe. Morita later mentioned that Europe had just recovered from the war, so he felt very depressed. One day while ordering ice cream at a restaurant in Germany, Morita saw a decoration that looked like a Japanese umbrella. The waiter said with a flattering air, "This is made in your country." It can be seen that people all over the world only know this about Japanese products.
It was the Philips factory that gave Morita his dream. The Netherlands is an agricultural country. In the corner of such a city, Dr. Philips fulfilled his ideal and built a world-wide modern enterprise. Morita thought: "We should be able to do it too."
The world's smallest radio
The result of technicians' tireless efforts and a large amount of research and development expenses invested in semiconductors, which also made it possible at that time The main bank, Mitsui Banking Corporation, was shocked. It is a pity that the first company in the world to successfully develop a semiconductor radio was not SONY, but was completed by the American company REGEMCE in 1954. The next year, SONY completed Japan's first semiconductor radio, TR-52. After collecting performance evaluations from all parties, American companies only had 40%, while SONY had 50%. It was obviously a victory for SONY. Moreover, American companies' semiconductors are manufactured externally, while SONY manufactures them in-house, allowing technicians to feel more confident.
The origin of SONY
SONY established its European head office in the UK only later. Morita, who received the Honorary Gold Medal from Wangli Academy of Art, made the following speech at the award ceremony: "SONY has always been creating new things." After listening to this, the attendees felt that this sentence was full of mystery, and maybe some of them laughed secretly, I think SONY is just a typical example of success using European inventions. After Morita's eyes slowly scanned the audience, he continued: "The so-called new Lexi is the name 'SONY', which is also a new word in English like 'WALKMAN'." As soon as he said this, even in a serious The solemn venue, filled with British gentlemen, also caused a sudden burst of laughter. With the content of such a speech, members have proposed that Morita should be awarded an "honorary certificate of advanced English conversation", which shows that the British are a nation with a very big sense of humor.
The first product produced by SONY was the TR-52 radio developed using semiconductors for the first time in Japan, but the company name was not named like what Morita said in his speech in the UK. When TR-52 was exported to the United States, the name TORT-SUKO (ト-ッ-コ in Japanese) was used. It may be that Americans would not like the strict pronunciation, so they considered changing the brand name. This is just like the abbreviations used by TKK and Tokyu Subway. The abbreviations of NHK and CBS are similar to those of TV stations, which can easily leave an impression in the minds of the public. At that time, Dongtong sold self-developed audio and video recorder tapes under the name SONI-TAPE. The English SONICI (sound) is the plural form of the Latin SONUS from which the etymology originated. This SONI and the popular phrase "SONNY BOY" (cute little boy) at that time were combined into one, which is SONNY. However, in order to make it easy to pronounce, the letters were changed. Changed to four words, SONY, which is now famous all over the world, was born. The new semiconductor radio "TR-52" also began to shine with this new name. At that time, some office workers even ordered shirts with large pockets to hold semiconductor radios, which became popular all over the country. In 1958, the company was officially renamed "SONY Co., Ltd." and its shares were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Perseverance for the brand
Morita went to the United States for the first time with TR--52 engraved with the name "SONY", and sold it for US$29.95. It was sold in various retail stores, but it couldn't be sold. At this time, a "BURORBA company" ordered 100,000 units, but Morita refused. The main reason is that the company's conditions require SONY to use their trademark for sale in the United States. At that time, BURORBA was one of the few watch manufacturers in the United States, but Morita was unwilling to become a satellite factory. An employee of the company told Morita, "Our company has a history of more than 50 years and is a company with traditions." However, Morita responded politely: "Our company will definitely not lose to you in 50 years. It will definitely become famous." However, it didn't take fifty years for the results to be obvious. Only people who are interested in watches know BURORBA. Ironically, BURORBA watches from the 1950s are indeed very valuable now, because such watches can already be classified as antiques. In contrast, SONY has now become a world-renowned brand. "I don't feel sorry at all for rejecting such an order. On the contrary, I have confidence in my own brand." At that time, an order of 100,000 was like a dream, but Morita actually refused. Therefore, it is easy to understand Morita's mood when he discovered that a chocolate manufacturer used the SONY name to launch products and filed a lawsuit. "Trademarks are the life of a company, and they must be protected even against all odds. This is how I think about it in normal times. Trademarks and company names must be held accountable to ensure product quality. Therefore, using a trademark established by others with little effort, It is also a kind of theft. We will never forgive such a thief."
The end of infancy
SONY advocates using "technology" as the symbol of its products. In order to protect this trademark, Morita. He insisted that he must sell it himself, so he had to set up a sales company in the United States. Therefore, American SONY (SONAM) was born in 1960. At the same time, SONY also reorganized its Geneva office in Switzerland and established a European local sales company (SOSA).
After the TR-55 in 1955 and the TR-63 in 1957 were sold, SONY semiconductor radios became a global best-seller. Faced with the influx of orders and customers who couldn't wait, SONY didn't need to consider costs at all and delivered products directly to the entire United States by air. In this way, SONY ended its infancy in the eleventh year of its founding, and also laid the foundation for the flag-bearer of "Japan's miraculous revival".
New Leader
After entering the 1980s, the BETA format of video tapes also entered the phase of being eliminated, thus casting a shadow on the SONY myth. Then Morita received the bad news of the sudden death of President Kazuo Iwama. The downturn in AV has caused SONY's inventory to pile up. This is the first time since its founding that it has had to rely on cutting costs to balance its income and expenditure.
The person who became president during this period was Norio Ohga. President Dahe was specially promoted at that time and took office in 1982. He was just over fifty. Norio Ohga was born on January 29, 1930, in Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture. His family was a wealthy timber trader, and he was an opera singer with a special experience. Although the reasons for BETA's failure cannot be listed in detail, the biggest reason is the failure of software policy. (Referring to the video recorder system dispute between SONY's BETA and Panasonic's VHS, which ended in failure.) During the period of rapid growth in video tapes, BETA software had little growth. Therefore, the Japanese VICTOR company that developed VHS is also involved in the production of movies, video tapes and other works, and has CIC VICTOR, BACK IN MUSIC, etc. under its umbrella. The VICTOR industry has all the capabilities needed to produce movies; with such Only with strength can we develop diverse possibilities.
CBS can provide a small number of software. After the death of President Iwama, who was purely a technician, President Morita promoted President Oga. The main reason was that Oga was the operator who knew the software best, and he had great expectations for Oga to become president.
The first attempt of the SONY software department to establish CBS SONY was the idea proposed by Dahe. At the same time as foreign investment was liberalized in 1967, CBS Records, the largest record company in the United States, was looking for partners in Japan capable of opening subsidiaries. When CBS proposed this idea to Columbia Japan, it had not yet come to a conclusion. In the end, it chose SONY, which had actual achievements in the audio department and was very interested in software. This was a great thing for SONY. If you have a record department, you can directly enhance the company's audio capabilities in the minds of the world. Therefore, negotiations began in October 1967, and the relevant agreement to merge the companies was soon signed in December. CBS SONY was formally established in 1968, with Dahe as the actual person in charge.
The success of laymen practicing business law
With huge companies as its backers, CBS SONY is closely guarded by the recording industry and officials responsible for supervision. According to Japan's Administrative Guidance Act, SONY is not allowed to increase the company's personnel, such as record relations personnel, artists, etc., through poaching. Dahe recruited talents through an unprecedented open recruitment method, regardless of academic qualifications, age, and gender. A total of 7,000 people signed up, and among the 80 people admitted, there were no so-called "industry personnel." CBS SONY, formed by laymen, ushered in a revolutionary era for the ancient record industry with its rational approach.
Following this, Sony, which gained support from big stars and established an SD department, established a unique recruitment system and many artists were born. Cultivating artists from scratch has created a high-profit system for CBS SONY.
SONY canceled the stylus
NAGAOKA is the first manufacturer that provides 80% of the stylus in the Japanese industry. I believe that those who have a little knowledge of records should be familiar with it. However, the disbandment of NAGAOKA in August 1990 was also the end of EP and LP records. SONY cooperated with Philips of the Netherlands to develop CDs, which was the eighth year after SONY was founded. The CD turntable was launched in October 1882. Five days before this, Dahe flew to Greece with the newly completed CD to hold meetings with record companies around the world. However, the response from the record industry at that time, including CBS Records in the United States, was very lukewarm. For LP record companies that already had a mature market, CDs would not attract much attention. The industry's view is that there will not be a record store on the market that will be willing to sell records and CDs at the same time. As we all know, CDs have much better sound quality than records, and are small in size and easy to operate. The sound is read from the CD optically without contact, so the service life can be said to be close to semi-permanent.
Although CDs have many advantages, the record industry is not very willing to cooperate in order to protect the existing record market, so it is still not noticeable. In other words, at this stage, software must be relied on to provide the fuse for CD discs, and CBS SONY is the one that exerts its power at this time. CBS, which has grown into a popular brand, has exerted powerful effects. In terms of hardware, the world's first CD machine "DISKMAND-50" was launched in 1984. After SONY attacked the market with a powerful software strategy, the sales of CDs were like a volcanic eruption.
After it started to take off in Japan, the popularity of CDs slowly spread throughout the world. In the end, CDs drove traditional records out of the market. Dahe later said that if it weren't for CBS, CDs might not be popular at all. So SONY once again realized the importance of software. After experiencing the defeat of the BETA system and the victory of CD, SONY finally gradually valued software.
In 1987, CBS SONY acquired its parent company, CBS of the United States, for a total of US$2 billion (approximately 270 billion yen at the exchange rate at the time). Although some people criticized the purchase price as being too high at the time, after CBS entered the SONY Group, it achieved a turnover above the purchase price in the second year, and achieved quite high profits. Sony, which had successfully acquired companies, began to pay attention to the currency market in the imaging field, and wanted to come to the United States to investigate American film companies.