Why bother writing songs? Fast forward to the "Don't Laugh Challenge"

Chapter 2: The Road to Becoming an Independent Musician – A Gamble!

How's the situation? Did you pass this time?

A short message, sourced from the note 'Yixiang'.

Qi Yixiang, his good son.

To be precise, she was his classmate and roommate, who also came from the popular music performance major at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

Xia Shen and the other party have an excellent relationship.

Because they share a common dream and pursuit of music, they can get along well.

Even when Xia Shen faced repeated setbacks, her final choice to try her luck at 'Visual Effects Culture' was facilitated by Qi Yixiang.

In Qi Yixiang's words, the current pillar of this company is actually a senior from their school, who is now doing very well in the internet industry and is quite famous.

It turned out that this senior student and Qi Yixiang had a personal relationship, so Qi Yixiang went to talk to that senior student and immediately arranged for Xia Shen to go and give it a try.

结果
Forget about my senior, I haven't even seen a shadow of him.

Of course, Xia Shen also knew that Qi Yixiang couldn't be blamed for this.

It's already quite kind of him that they're willing to help him.

He simply opened the SMS app and replied, "No, it's the same as before."

"Didn't you see your senior?"

A while later, Qi Yixiang replied to the message.

"No, not really." Xia Shen replied truthfully, "But thank you anyway. I've finally decided to go back to the old way."

"."

Qi Yixiang first sent a string of ellipses, and then sent a message: "We'll talk when I get back."

"Okay," Xia Shen replied finally.

The visual effects company is a bit far from the university town; it takes two hours by subway.

Time flies.

After a long and painful two-hour subway ride, he finally dragged himself back to school, exhausted. When he pushed open the dormitory door, he was met with the stares of his roommates.

The first one was a thin, somewhat refined-looking guy with glasses, light yellow hair, and a stylish, oversized T-shirt. He was Qi Yixiang, who had just been messaging Xia Shen and was also the dorm leader.

The other one, sitting in front of the computer wearing headphones, with a muscular build and several tattoos, was 22 years old and a rune warrior. He was Zheng Xingqi, the second oldest.

The third one, lying on the bed, the chubby one, is the fourth one, bra... no, Wenxiong.

Then comes Xia Shen himself, who is the third oldest in the dormitory.

The moment he entered, his roommates started firing off like machine guns.

"What's going on? Didn't pass again?" Zheng Xingqi, the second rune warrior, frowned and said.

"Okay." Xia Shen nodded, closed the door, and put her things back in their place.

"That shouldn't be the case. He spoke to me quite well." Qi Yixiang was also somewhat puzzled and scratched his head.

"Qi Yixiang, are you sure you can handle this? This is the senior you introduced? You won't even let him meet you? If you didn't intend to help, you shouldn't have asked me to in the first place."

Wenxiong's complaints seem to reveal that introducing a senior student is not a simple matter, and it wasn't Qi Yixiang who took the initiative to ask the senior student for help.

Instead, it was the senior student who spoke up?

Qi Yixiang also looked puzzled: "So I find it very strange. After I sent the demo over, he said that Shenzi must come and try it in person. Logically speaking, I know my senior's personality well, and he shouldn't do something like breaking his promise and leaving people hanging."

As he spoke, Qi Yixiang looked at Xia Shen: "Don't be too discouraged. Maybe your senior was held up by something, or there was some misunderstanding. I'll contact him again later and arrange a meeting to work directly with him. Don't worry, with him as your guarantor, you don't have to worry about any director's attitude. Right now, he's the most popular person in that company."

However, Xia Shen shook his head: "No need, you've already done enough, and so have you all."

He looked at his roommates and smiled, "I know you care about me, but like I said, if I really want to make it in this industry, you can give me a hand. But if I'm not strong enough myself, can you keep pulling me along?"

That's one reason; he really didn't want to trouble his roommates anymore.

He could indeed understand their feelings, because of the four roommates, only he, from the worst background, hadn't yet found his way forward.

First, there's Qi Yixiang. His family is already wealthy, and he's a second-generation rich kid. Before he even graduated, his family spent money to produce several albums for him. Although they didn't make much of a splash, they still got off to a good start, and his future path will definitely be much easier than Qi Yixiang's.

Moreover, Qi Yixiang also opened an account online, mainly making music review videos, which are quite good. Now he has millions of fans across the internet.

This is why he was able to get in touch with that senior.

Rune Mage Zheng Xingqi majored in music and minored in dance. He has 15 years of street dance experience, studied under international-level dancers, and learned from masterclasses along the way. He has also won major awards in many well-known competitions. Even if he doesn't sing in the future, he won't starve.

That's why he was so confident at such a young age that he got a tattoo. Wenxiong, on the other hand, was preparing for graduate school entrance exams and aiming to stay at the university, and he did so very smoothly.

Looking back, he was the most pathetic one.

The second reason he was unwilling to continue entangled with the visual effects company was also related to his pride.

As someone involved in the arts, I'm bound to have some of the bad habits that come with being an artist, but I still have my own pride.

Since they've already made such a definitive statement, he's not going to shamelessly go back.

"So, are we going to take that route now?" Qi Yixiang asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes." Xia Shen nodded: "That was what I was originally planning to do too."

He was referring to self-funding the release of this song.

It would be best if a company could sign him, so that he could enjoy the company's production services and various resources, which would definitely benefit his publicity and personal image. After signing with a company, he would be officially on the road to debut.

However, there is another way if you don't sign with a company: become an independent musician.

The advantage of being an independent musician is obvious: freedom. They have creative freedom, autonomy, and the ability to decide everything for themselves.

However, the downsides are also obvious: you have to do everything yourself, without resources, connections, or any arrangements.

This road is actually the most difficult to travel.

But this is also the path that the vast majority of musicians take.

Do they want to be independent musicians?
That's not entirely true. Of course, this excludes a small number of musicians who genuinely don't need a record company and prefer freedom.

Now, all he has to do is embark on the second path.

Qi Yixiang remained silent for a moment before saying, "Then I'll arrange a recording studio for you. I've done several of my albums there, and it's easier to get things done if you know someone there."

"Okay." Xia Shen nodded. This time, he didn't refuse and chose to accept his roommates' good intentions.

Therefore, the path of signing with a company is completely cut off and will never be mentioned again.

He was also very confident.

If we can make this song, it will definitely be a hit!
The ears of the audience are discerning; quality never lies!
However, when he arrived at the recording studio that Qi Yixiang had recommended the next day, he still gasped in surprise: "So expensive?"

For no other reason than being scared off by the price quote.

The manager of the recording studio, who was also the owner, took a look at his sheet music and demo, made a judgment, and immediately gave a quote.

"Sixty-six thousand!"

After seeing Xia Shen's reaction, the manager was not impatient, but explained with a smile: "This price is actually very reasonable."

The main reason is that the requirements you set for this song, if we really follow those requirements, will be quite expensive. Your song's arrangement is indeed very intricate, and the structural layers are extremely complex. To achieve that level of depth and layering, the cost can't be kept low.

The boss paused for a moment before saying, "Actually, this is the price after the discount."

You are Yixiang's friend, so you gave him a deposit of 20,000 yuan, which is the price for hiring a musician.

"So, if we cut that part out, I can do it myself, and you'll need to record some of the instrumental parts yourselves. What do you think of this plan? If there are no problems, we can start today."

Xia Shen didn't say anything for a moment. He just took out his phone and checked his balance.

He has enough money.

However, all of this money was earned through his hard work, including part-time jobs and teaching vocal music at various institutions.

His original plan was to save up 100,000 yuan and use the money to repair his dilapidated bungalow.

Therefore, he has always lived a very frugal life, avoiding spending money recklessly. He doesn't dare to buy any equipment he really wants, like a musical instrument.

If he put that money in, he'd really have nothing left.

He thought about it for a while, and after a struggle with himself, he looked at his roommates.

Qi Yixiang: "I can record the piano part."

Zheng Xingqi: "I'll play the drum."

Wenxiong: "I can play the strings, and I can play the violin!"

Xia Shen finally gritted his teeth and said, "This is the plan! I'll handle the electronic music myself!"

Take a gamble, and your bicycle could turn into a motorcycle!
He still believes in the ironclad rule that the work itself is king! Those companies are afraid to hire him simply because they don't want to step out of their comfort zones!

(End of this chapter)