A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Have you seen Chapter 11?

I knew beforehand that someone would be picking me up at the airport, but I never expected it to cause such a commotion.

That group of two or three hundred people was clearly fans waiting to greet the singer at the airport.

So much so that Lin Jianlu, who had just begun to feel "I'm famous," was genuinely caught off guard until Xue Zhongding gently nudged him from behind, bringing him back to his senses.

What else can you do? Greet them, sign your name, and have a friendly chat.

Keep smiling.

Several reporters were snapping photos and asking random questions.

After a full thirty or forty minutes of commotion, and only after airport security intervened was Lin Jianlu able to escape. But then, he received the first bouquet of flowers in his life—unfortunately, it was from a man.

"Thank you! Hello, Mr. Duan!"

His name was Duan Zhongtan. He was in his forties, chubby, and had a very kind and approachable appearance. While shaking hands, he even took the initiative to pull Lin Jianlu aside and gave him a big hug.

"Welcome, A-Lu!"

He said with a smile.

Old Xue had given him a lesson beforehand. Duan Zhongtan, known in the industry as Lao Duan, is the general manager of Rock Records International. In 1980, he and his second brother, Duan Zhongyi, founded Rock Records. Duan Zhongyi was the chairman, in charge of administration and distribution, while he was specifically responsible for content production, music, and records. In just a few years, with artists such as Luo Dayou, Li Zongsheng, Zhang Aijia, Pan Yueyun, and Qi Yu under his wing, Rock Records became the largest independent record company in the Chinese-speaking world.

Later, due to differences in vision, some members of their initial team left to found UFO Records, a name that embodies the idea that "there's Rolling Stone on earth, and UFO in the sky." UFO was known for its business acumen, successfully launching artists such as Wang Jie, Qi Qin, Little Tigers, and Zhang Yusheng, quickly becoming a rival to Rolling Stone. At one point, they even put Rolling Stone in a difficult position. It was only after Li Zongsheng personally produced albums for Lin Yilian, whom they had just recruited, that the situation gradually stabilized. When Zhou Huajian achieved great success, the two companies reached a certain balance.

Rolling Stone, UFO Records, and PolyGram Records from Hong Kong are known as the three major record companies in the Chinese music scene.

Speaking of Lao Duan, Lin Jianlu suddenly remembered a song by Wakin Chau, which is quite old and called "I've Been Quite Annoyed Lately". Wakin Chau has a few lyrics in it: "I've been quite annoyed lately, quite annoyed, quite annoyed. My daughter said that six plus six equals thirteen. I asked Lao Duan, what should I do? He said that it's basically very difficult!" Lao Duan in this song must be Duan Zhongtan.

The boss personally picked them up from the airport and delivered flowers; the treatment was undeniably high.

Once in the car, Lin Jianlu was invited to ride in Lao Duan's car. They chatted all the way, and first, they took Lin Jianlu to the hotel she had booked. It was only then that Lin Jianlu seized the opportunity and, a little guilty, secretly asked Xue Zhongding, "Are those fans real or fake? They weren't hired by the company, were they?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Zhongding was surprised. "The company pays to hire them? Are you kidding me? What company would pay someone to pretend to be a fan? Oh... now that you mention it, I think UFO might actually do that!"

Then he explained, "A reporter interviewed you before, and the boss let it slip that you would be flying to Taiwan in the next couple of days to meet your fans. So some of your fans went to the airport to wait for you! I just asked my colleague in the car, and these fans have been waiting for two days!"

"No doubt about it, Ah Lu! You're very popular! And it's not just your songs that are popular, young people in Taiwan really love your face! They adore your tough and sharp image! You're much more popular than Wang Jie's playboy image back then! After all, you're much more handsome than him!"

Okay... as long as it's not fake.

Otherwise, it would be embarrassing to make a fool of yourself!

But then again... were fans already this dedicated to their idols back in the 1990s?
…………

After a short rest at the hotel, having already had a quick lunch on the plane and knowing there would definitely be a welcome dinner that evening, Lin Jianlu simply rummaged through her hotel room, ate two pieces of bread, a bag of sausages, three packs of instant noodles from Taiwan, and two fried pancakes that her mother insisted on bringing. Feeling a little full, she brushed her teeth, washed her face, and then casually went downstairs to meet up with Lao Xue to go to Rolling Stone together.

He's a newcomer, signed a contract a few months ago, and his records have sold like hotcakes. He's never been to the company before, so this is his first time in Taiwan. Of course, he has to visit the famous Rock Records. This time, the scale is even bigger, with Chairman Duan Zhongyi also at the company. So, the two bosses led the way together!
Wow... a bunch of big shots.

Lee Tsung-sheng, Hsiao Chung, Chen Sheng, Chou Hua-chien, Chao Chuan, Chyi Yu, Su Hui-lun, Winnie Hsin, Alex To, Chang Chen-yue, Victor Huang, Huang Chia-chien, Richie Jen, Rene Liu...

Perhaps everyone knew in advance that Lin Jianlu was coming, and they were probably quite curious about him. So, apart from Luo Dayou, who is based in Hong Kong, Lin Yilian, who also has activities in Hong Kong, and Chen Shuhua, whose mother is said to be sick and who is taking care of her, almost all the producers and singers from Rock Records are present.

We toured the place and chatted. Seeing Zhao Chuan in person, he wasn't exactly handsome, but he had a very tough, masculine air about him.

Lee Tsung-sheng looks a bit old now, but... it seems like he's always been quite old, as if he's never been young, he's always looked like this.

Su Huilun is very pretty. Emmm... In my past life, when I watched her in music videos or on variety shows, I honestly didn't think she was that pretty. But seeing her in person, she really is quite pretty, youthful and beautiful.

Of course, Liu Ruoying is a tiny bit prettier than her.

The main reason is that she has an indescribable artistic temperament, plus a gentleness, which explains why she was favored and promoted by the previous generation of artistic young women, Zhang Aijia!

Su Huilun is doing quite well now. Liu Ruoying was also very popular last year, so she should be doing well now as well. However, as Xue Zhongding mentioned before, she officially debuted because of her amazing performance as the female lead Xiao Yu in Zhang Aijia's film "Siao Yu". Her first album "The Beauty and Sorrow of Xiao Yu" released last year sold well, especially the song "Crazy for Love", which made her an instant hit in the music scene. But unfortunately, the sales of her second album "Rainy Season" at the end of last year were not ideal.

It can be said that it is far less consistent and efficient than Su Huilun's output over the past few years. An album only sells tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of copies, with a maximum of 200,000 copies. But she is consistent and sells every album like that, so she can even release a Cantonese EP one moment and an English EP the next to test the market.

Su Huilun is considered a second-tier singer in the company, while Liu Ruoying has probably fallen out of the second tier.

And then there's Richie Jen... He debuted in 1990. He was previously with a company called Shin Ge Records, and released three albums, which sold 30,000 to 70,000 copies. Later, Shin Ge Records was acquired by Rock Records, and his contract was transferred to Rock Records. Currently, he is under the management of producer Jonathan Lee. However, in the past five years, he has not released a single album, and every year at company meetings, he appears on the list of those who are considering terminating their contracts.

However, Jonathan Lee has clearly not given up on him. He is currently recording his first album after joining Rock Records. The album is said to be called "Reliance". It is almost finished and will be released around May or June.

At least for now, if we were to rank them, he would definitely be ranked after Liu Ruoying.

Lin Jianlu is generally very popular.

They were all very friendly.

Especially the singers... Xue Zhongding had mentioned before that after listening to a small concert with six songs over the phone that day and deciding to sign Lin Jianlu, Lao Duan later said in the company, "Our Rock Records needs a Wang Jie too!"

The sound quality of the phone call was so-so, so just listening to the voice on the phone, he felt that Lin Jianlu's voice was somewhat similar to Wang Jie's. He also heard Xue Zhongding say that he was unusually handsome and had a good temperament, so he made that comment.

When the master tapes arrived for post-production, he was astonished. He gathered several producers, including Li Zongsheng, Xiao Chong, and Chen Sheng, to listen. Later, many singers, upon hearing the news, also came to listen, and they were all incredibly impressed. Lin Jianlu's singing skills were honed in the 2020s. Not counting his early vocal training, just from his time at the music academy, his time as a music teacher at a prestigious school, and his two to three hours of live streaming every day for over a decade, he had an exceptionally solid foundation in both folk and popular music. He had a very good voice, and with a little development, in the current era of Chinese pop music, when various pronunciation techniques and singing styles had not yet evolved, he was undoubtedly a top-tier singer.

His voice was actually unlike Wang Jie's; it was much more robust and somewhat similar to that of a later singer, Chen Chusheng. However, his voice was thicker and more magnetic than Chen Chusheng's.

A great voice, great singing skills, great works, plus a good-looking face... Xue Zhongding agreed to follow Lin Jianlu's marketing strategy in mainland China and tacitly allowed him to save money to shoot music videos. Duan Zhongtan also devoted a lot of resources to publicity in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and other places. To put it bluntly, it was these things that were supporting him!

When these things are presented to an expert, they will immediately conclude that "this guy is bound to become famous"—otherwise, would a powerful record company like Rock Records, a new singer from mainland China, be so lenient with you?
However, these are not important.

For so many singers at Rock Records, whether Lin Jianlu becomes famous or not, and whether her album sells well or poorly, has little impact on them. What is most astonishing is that all eleven songs on that album, each with its own distinct style and character, are exceptionally excellent, yet all were written by the same person.

Have you ever seen an album with three lead singles? That's incredible, isn't it? It must have sold like hotcakes, right?
Have you ever seen an album with all eleven songs that have the potential to become a hit and could all be singles?

Everyone knows that the pop music scene is a place where songs truly elevate singers! A good songwriter is like a father figure to a singer!
The only worry is that people don't respect you; they even avoid you when you kowtow!
Luo Da single-handedly launched the careers of artists such as Sylvia Chang, Julie Sue, Pan Yueyun, and Liu Wenzheng, ushering in a new era. He is still revered as the number one producer in the Chinese music scene. At Rock Records, he was an absolute titan!

Lee Tsung-sheng single-handedly made Zhao Chuan, Wawa, Chen Shuhua, and Zhou Huajian famous. A few years ago, Lin Yilian was persuaded to switch to Rock Records. The two were a perfect match. In just two albums, Lin Yilian, who was originally only a second-tier singer in Hong Kong, rose to fame and became the undisputed queen of Rock Records and even the current Chinese music scene!

With such a powerful example right in front of us, who wouldn't want to build a good relationship with such a talented creator?

So, after the tour, the boss mentioned having dinner that evening to welcome Lin Jianlu back, and asked who had time to go. Almost everyone immediately said they were free.

(End of this chapter)