Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 140 The Domination Plan
After discussing the selection of performers for the Spring Festival Gala, the four of them then discussed the future situation.

After "I'm Crazy for Singing" ended, provinces such as Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong are all planning new forms of singing competitions.

Meanwhile, record companies that have sprung up like mushrooms after rain are eager to replicate the path to fame of the Five Tigers.

Next year, there will definitely be a fierce competition among domestic folk song programs.

With the fame gained from "I Am a Singer", if Dream Company continues its strategy this year, it will likely be able to gain a head start.

But it's practically impossible to replicate this year's success—several powerful provincial TV stations will definitely promote their own programs, and the grand finale broadcast by 23 provinces will likely be hard to repeat.

"So I'm going to suggest to the TV station that the second season of 'I Am a Singer' be postponed until the end of the year, after all the competitors have made their appearances, and then we can come up with some fresh new tricks."

Everyone present was quite looking forward to the new talent Zhang Yan mentioned, but they decided to postpone the broadcast until the end of next year...

Wang Jinghua said, "Mr. Zhang, wouldn't this leave us with a gap of more than a year in terms of publicity? Or do you have some other publicity plan in mind, Mr. Zhang?"

"Of course there are other plans."

Zhang Yan asked Chen Hong to bring him paper and pen, and first wrote down the words "realizing dreams" and "TV station": "The TV station is the foundation for our dream-realizing journey, and also the most important propaganda platform for our dream-realizing journey."

But it might not be so easy to get major cities, especially developed coastal areas, to broadcast our programs next year.

So my idea is to create a program through Tianjin TV that is more suitable for the vast number of fourth- and fifth-tier cities, so that our aspiring singers can take root in every corner of the country.

"This……"

Wang Jinghua hesitated and asked, "What type of program are you talking about?"

Zhang Yan countered, "What's the most popular and profitable program on the radio station right now?"

"A song request station?!"

Wang Jinghua immediately provided the answer: since the late 80s, request radio stations have sprung up all over the country and can be said to be the largest source of revenue for radio stations besides advertising.

"Yes, it's a song request station."

Zhang Yan then wrote the words "small city" next to it and said, "Now, thanks to commercial advertising, the finances of provincial TV stations have improved, and some wealthy provinces and municipalities have also started producing their own programs."

However, the small cities that make up 90 percent of China are not much different from those in the 1980s; advertising spaces either cannot be sold or cannot fetch high prices.

After all, in a small city, setting off a few strings of firecrackers might have a wider and more direct publicity effect than advertising on television.

The song request program that works well on radio is actually very suitable for transplanting to television stations in smaller cities—and requesting a song on television to express love to a lover or to wish an elder a happy birthday is obviously more prestigious than requesting a song on the radio.

But now, something very important to the TV station is missing...

"Screen!"

No sooner had Zhang Yan finished speaking than Wang Jinghua had already given her answer.

"That's right, it's the visuals."

Zhang Yan wrote the word 'visuals' on the paper again, and then continued: "The biggest difference between TV stations and radio stations is that the former pays more attention to visual effects. Radio stations can play tapes directly, but if TV stations do the same, it will seem out of place."

As he spoke, he wrote the words "MV" in large letters below the word "image": "If we shoot a batch of music videos together, and then package these music videos together with the song request program, we can sell them at a symbolic price."

With a stroke of his pen, Zhang Yan connected "dream fulfillment," "video," "small city," and "TV station" together: "In this way, the singers under our Dream Fulfillment banner can penetrate into city and county-level TV platforms and truly reach thousands of households."

Even if others try to imitate us later, we've already gained the upper hand and have high brand recognition. If we can dominate the screens for two or three years, that'll be enough to become a generation's memory!

[PS: The first verifiable song request station in mainland China appeared in October 1993, while music videos began to become popular in 1994—the two combined and dominated local TV stations for over a decade.]

After hearing Zhang Yan's words, everyone present had a bright look in their eyes. Although the records and tapes of "I'm Crazy for Singing" sold very well, the biggest source of income for Zhuan Meng was still performing at commercial venues, and the most important thing for performing at commercial venues was fame.

If they can truly achieve widespread success on television stations across the country, then the singers who realize their dreams will have essentially secured top spots in commercial performances in advance—and in the future, they can not only go to big cities, but also to smaller third- and fourth-tier cities to reap a wave of success!
Wang Jinghua quickly drew inferences from this and said, "Then we should adjust the direction of our song selection now, and it would be best to focus on themes such as parents, love, and wishing students success in their studies and careers."

These four categories are also the most common customers of karaoke request services.

"Yes."

Zhang Yan nodded, then turned to Wang Luyao and smiled, "Your singing and dancing style can be fully utilized in the MV—you can make the movements a little bigger, after all, we are nationally certified healthy singers."

Wang Luyao nodded vigorously, her face, which had been pale due to illness, was now flushed.

As expected, Mr. Zhang is nostalgic. Although the idea of ​​this "Request a Song" was not specifically for her, it was the most suitable way for her to express herself!

Recording a music video allows for unlimited audio editing, and there's no need to worry about large movements affecting breath stability. By leveraging her strengths and avoiding her weaknesses, she believes she can definitely uphold the title of one of the Five Tigers of Dream Fulfillment.

At this moment, Chen Hong took her arm and said with a smile, "You can rest assured now. Go back and get some rest and stop overthinking. Try to get better soon, and we'll make your music video the first one we film."

Wang Luyao nodded vigorously again, but secretly thought to herself that the proprietress had indeed regretted it.

What should I do?

Should we give up our plan to become intimately close with Mr. Zhang?

She subconsciously looked at Zhang Yan, who was discussing song acquisition with Zhang Weining. Although he didn't show it, his commanding and confident demeanor still made her heart flutter.

At that moment, Wang Luyao suddenly realized something.

While she certainly wanted to secure a long-term guarantee, she also genuinely had feelings for Mr. Zhang—how many girls wouldn't be attracted to such a young, promising, handsome, and considerate man?

Since it's a win-win situation, why hesitate?

So what I need to do now is to recuperate while waiting for the right opportunity.

…………

After Zhang Yan made the decision, Tian Zhen complained a bit, but after being comforted by Zhang Weining, he ultimately did not protest.

While Han Hong and Han Lei weren't exactly on good terms, they certainly didn't have any personal grudges. After discussing it, they decided to each submit a song to the Spring Festival Gala program team, letting the team decide whose song to use.

Han Hong chose "My Hometown," while Han Lei gave up "Many Hands Make Light Work" and chose "Wandering Around the World" instead—although the former has a stronger connection with the Spring Festival Gala, Han Lei felt that "Wandering Around the World" better represented his highest level.

As for Wang Luyao...

Although she was also thinking of getting involved, her voice had only just begun to recover, and it seemed inappropriate to ask to appear on the Spring Festival Gala at this time.

So we could only regretfully miss out.

Zhang Yan submitted his program to the Spring Festival Gala organizing committee, and then the committee "detained" him, allowing him to add the finishing touch to this year's Spring Festival Gala.

The phrase "adding flowers to brocade" perfectly encapsulates the production team's mindset—we've already done a great job overall, no need for major overhauls, and it's best not to nitpick; just look for areas where we can still find something to fill in the gaps.

Zhang Yan originally thought the production team appreciated his idea, but now he realizes that they just wanted to find someone with enough influence to share the responsibility.

The biggest problem with this year's Spring Festival Gala was actually the hosts. In addition to the three mainstays of CCTV, there were also hosts from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, whose different styles looked quite out of place.

But he couldn't say anything that was detrimental to unity, so in the end he just added unnecessary details and embellished the story in a superfluous way.

(End of this chapter)