Huayu 2002, I'm going to dominate the music scene!

Bi Xiaoshi nodded, paused for a few seconds, and then said, "Let me be frank, I saw your performance tonight. Your singing, your vocals, and your fundamentals were all fine. I want to sign you. Where are your parents? I'd like to talk to them."

He spoke very directly, staring at Song Mo, waiting for his reaction.

Song Mo appreciated Bi Xiaoshi's directness and said calmly, "My parents are gone, I can make my own decisions."

next door.

Gao Yuanyuan paused, holding the cup. She truly hadn't expected Song Mo's background to be like this.

Although Song Mo's tone was calm, she felt a little heartbroken.

There's a saying that goes something like this: happiness is always relative.

She herself is from Yenching, and comes from a well-off family. Both her parents are highly educated intellectuals and very open-minded.

In addition, she has an older brother who is several years older than her, so she can be said to have grown up in a sweet environment.

This is precisely why she developed a gentle, non-competitive, and even somewhat Buddhist-like personality.

She was used to all of this until she heard Song Mo's words, and then she realized how incredibly happy she was.

Bi Xiaoshi, who was directly opposite Song Mo, looked somewhat embarrassed. He mentally slapped himself, thinking, "I deserve to die."

Xu Yuan, who was standing to the side, coughed lightly. "Sorry..."

Before he could finish speaking, Song Mo interrupted him, saying gently, "It's okay, I'm used to it."

Then Song Mo continued, "Teacher Bi, Teacher Xu, first of all, thank you both for thinking so highly of me, but I have an idea that I need to tell you first."

Bi Xiaoshi raised an eyebrow: "You go ahead."

"I want to sign a separate contract; I want to keep the agency contract for myself."

Bi Xiaoshi was stunned for a moment. Nowadays, mainstream music companies integrate production, distribution and performance, and the management business is generally not separated. Only a very few established superstars such as Wang Fei and Na Ying can sign separate contracts, that is, record contracts.

But before he could answer, Song Mo continued, "In addition, the copyright of the lyrics and music of my own songs belongs to me."

The booth was completely silent.

Gao Yuanyuan also held her breath.

Subcontract? Copyright?

She put down her cup and turned slightly towards the partition, making quite a noise.

But no one paid attention to that sound at the moment.

Bi Xiaoshi and Xu Yuan were almost laughing in anger.

Song Mo put down his wine glass and continued unhurriedly, "Professor Bi, may I ask you a question?"

Bi Xiaoshi stared at him intently, then nodded helplessly: "Ask away."

"What do you think is most lacking in the mainland music scene right now?"

Bi Xiaoshi was stunned for a moment.

Before he could answer, Song Mo continued, "What we lack most are new singers with original songwriting abilities. The entire Chinese music scene is currently undergoing a generational shift. Young people like David Tao, Jay Chou, Stefanie Sun, and Nicholas Tse, who can both write and sing, are replacing the former kings and queens of pop."

He paused for a moment: "But in this process, we in the mainland were out of position. With such a large market and such strong demand, no one could step forward. We could only watch helplessly as Hong Kong and Taiwanese singers conquered the market and made great strides."

"Professor Bi, if someone were to step forward now—a young person from mainland China who can both write and sing—what do you think the outcome would be?"

As he spoke, Song Mo pulled a mini disk from his pocket, much smaller than a CD, about the size of a business card.

"I think I can be that person. There are three demos I wrote inside. You can listen to them."

After finishing his explanation, Song Mo felt much more relaxed. He had prepared the mini disk a long time ago, but he hadn't sent it out yet because of his own plans.

This was also the right time, even though Ocean Butterflies wasn't as strong as big companies like Warner, Sony, or Rolling Stone.

However, Ocean Butterflies has sufficient resources overseas; otherwise, how could A-Du have gone from playing as a lowly scooter runner to becoming a legendary player?

In mainland China, thanks to Bi Xiaoshi's name, Ocean Butterflies can easily handle distribution and piracy issues, with piracy being the most crucial of all.

The main reason why Song Mo was determined to latch onto a powerful figure in the first place was because of piracy.

Since the turn of the millennium, the piracy market in mainland China has become increasingly rampant. Now, an album released today can be pirated in less than two days.

Without the protection of powerful figures and large companies, releasing an album is simply giving freebies to pirates.

Nowadays, pirates are no small workshops; all sorts of shady characters are involved. As a result, many big-name singers can only make a living from the sales of their albums in the first two months, because the pirates have already pre-ordered the albums for the next two months.

Bi Xiaoshi was a little stunned. He hadn't expected the kid he had found to be so arrogant.

But for some reason, after hearing Song Mo's words, he felt an itch in his heart, as if something was about to emerge.

His decision to sell his house and head north to establish Yanjing Ocean Butterflies was simply a gamble, wasn't it?

As someone who has been at the forefront of reform and opening up since its early days, he naturally possesses a sense of pride and self-confidence.

Bi Xiaoshi stared at the disk for several seconds, then looked up at Song Mo.

After a long silence, he reached out and picked up the disk.

"I'll listen, but I still want to tell you that there's no precedent for this among newcomers."

Song Mo looked at him, her tone calm: "From now on, we have it."

Bi Xiaoshi was stunned for a moment.

Then he laughed, whether out of helplessness or something else, it was hard to tell.

He put the disk in his pocket, stood up, and nodded at Xu Yuan.

"Let's go."

The two walked to the door, and Bi Xiaoshi paused for a moment, but did not turn around.

Gao Yuanyuan, who was eavesdropping quietly, was also secretly astonished; those words were quite arrogant.

But for some reason, she didn't find it offensive.

Perhaps Song Mo is really young?

Being young gives you the right to be arrogant.

Although she is only 23, her personality has always been gentle and unassuming.

She suddenly felt a little envious.

I envy him for being able to speak like that.

I envy him for daring to speak like that.

She put the cup down, and suddenly felt empty inside.

Those two people left, and it's time for this place to close up too. I guess he'll have to leave soon as well.

She pulled up the brim of her hat, preparing to leave.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure sit down opposite her.

She was startled and looked up.

A face was looking at her.

She was stunned.

Just now on stage, the lights were too far away, and she could only see an outline. Now, sitting face to face, less than a meter apart, she could finally see his face clearly.

His eyebrows were thick, with a slightly upturned arch, giving him a youthful sharpness.

His eyes were bright, and when he looked at people, he didn't flinch or look away, but stared straight at them, very open and honest.

Her facial features are exceptionally harmonious, making it impossible not to take a second look.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Song Mo spoke first, his tone casual, as if chatting with an acquaintance: "Did you enjoy listening to that just now?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Gao Yuanyuan's face.

She opened her mouth, wanting to explain something, but then felt that saying anything would be pointless.

She simply pushed her hat brim up, revealing her entire face, and looked at him.

"Buy me a drink, consider it your apology," Song Mo said with a smile.

Gao Yuanyuan paused for a moment, then smiled, suddenly finding this person quite interesting.

At nineteen, her parents passed away, and she spent her days hanging out in bars in Beijing. She dared to negotiate a split with people from Ocean Butterflies Music, and now she's asking me to buy her drinks.

"Waiter, two more drinks, please..." She looked at Song Mo, "What would you like to drink?"

Song Mo glanced at the wine in front of her. "The same as yours."