Huayu96: My Thirty Years of a Prodigal Son

Sony Music once left the office of agent Zhao Fang.

Zhao Fang was flipping through the documents in her hand with frustration.

She's been under a lot of pressure lately, as the new songs released by several of her artists haven't been well-received.

"Knock knock knock".

Vocal music teacher Sun Rong knocked on the door and came in.

A week later, she came to give Zhao Fang a brief report on Zeng Li's practice progress.

"Sister Zhao, Zeng Li has been practicing his basic skills these past few days..."

Zhao Fang interrupted impatiently.

"Let's not talk about her. She's just a pretty face who got in through connections. I'm not in the mood to deal with her right now."

Sun Rong wisely kept quiet.

I glanced casually at Zhao Fang's desk and saw a sheet of lyrics for "The Golden Autumn of 1996".

Sun Rong then casually chuckled, "Sister Zhao, you listen to 'Too Softhearted' too?"

A fiery glint flashed in Zhao Fang's eyes.

"Now, who in the industry doesn't listen to 'Too Softhearted'?"

This Qin Sheng is truly a talent! Not only does he sing well, but he also writes such excellent songs.

His song "Relief" wasn't as popular as "Too Softhearted," but it was just as good, and clearly better written, and highly regarded within the industry.

If we could bring such creative talent to our company, I could absolutely turn him into a cash cow!

Sun Rong laughed and said, "Since Qin Sheng releases songs in this kind of compilation album, the record company he signed with probably isn't very good. He might even be an independent musician!"

Sony could definitely try and negotiate for it.

Zhao Fang shook her head.

"Do you think I didn't want to? After finding his publisher, Star Butterfly, the information was cut off."

The owner of Star Butterfly absolutely refused to reveal any details about Qin Sheng to us.

Hmph! Of course I know what he's up to. He's just afraid that if we take him away, we'll re-produce an album for Qin Sheng, which will affect his sales!

What a waste!

Such a wildly popular song, sold as part of a compilation album!

Sun Rong hesitated for a moment, then said, "Sister Zhao, I've heard Zeng Li mention it once, her boyfriend is also named Qin Sheng, and he's also in the music business..."

Zhao Fang was taken aback, then chuckled and said, "It's just a coincidence of the same name. What a coincidence."

If Zeng Li had found a genius boyfriend who could write songs like "Too Softhearted" and "Relief," and she had him write a few songs for her, wouldn't we have treated her like royalty and groomed her for success?

"Why would I need to go through Chen Heping's back door to get in?"

Sun Rong thought about it and felt that it made sense, so she said no more.

Zhao Fang touched the drawer, but did not open it.

She was so busy with other things that she had long forgotten that there was a demo of Zeng Li that Chen Heping had sent her back then.

After Sun Rong left, Zhao Fang rested for a while and then called an assistant.

Zhao Fang tossed the cassette tape of "Too Softhearted" to the other person and said with a serious expression:

"Investigate! Mobilize all connections to investigate this Qin Sheng! Find him as soon as possible!"

Star Butterfly Records.

Mr. Li was sitting in his boss's chair with his legs crossed, smiling and drinking tea.

During the first week, he was caught off guard and somewhat flustered.

But after sorting everything out in the second week, he now only enjoys the pleasure of lying down and collecting money.

In the second week, "The Golden Autumn of '96" or "Too Softhearted" was still a huge hit!

Soon, the sales figures from the financial statistics came out.

"Boss, the second week's shipments across all channels... 180,000 boxes."

Mr. Li had already anticipated this number.

The orders placed at the beginning of the week are right here!

But when the total was actually calculated, he couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine!

A total of 230,000 boxes have been shipped in two weeks!

If I remember correctly, this has broken at least the record in mainland China!

This is still a compilation album!

If Qin Sheng were to release a full-fledged album right now, including the song "Too Softhearted," he wouldn't even dare to imagine how explosive the sales would be!

However, their company mainly focuses on distribution and doesn't have the ability to produce albums, so they can't earn that kind of money.

Therefore, Mr. Li is very reluctant to let Qin Sheng contact other record companies.

If Qin Sheng were to contact other major record companies and urgently produce a formal album, his current thriving business would definitely come to an end immediately.

In fact, quite a few major record companies have already come to me asking about Qin Sheng.

But he brushed them off by saying he knew nothing about them.

As long as Qin Sheng doesn't contact him, he'll act like nothing happened, quietly sell his goods, and make a fortune in silence.

But the news couldn't be kept secret forever.

Some record companies took a roundabout approach, bribing the receptionist at Star Butterfly Records.

It was revealed that Qin Sheng was brought over by Mao Amin.

The news spread quickly.

So record companies started looking for Mao Amin.

Baihua Hutong.

Liu Huan, Mao Amin, and Na Ying were present, as was Qin Sheng.

Mao Amin looked at Qin Sheng and laughed, "You brat! Do you know that you've become the hot commodity in the industry?"

In the past two days alone, almost every major record company in Beijing, including Red Star Music, Jingwen Records, Wheatfield Music, and Zhengda International, has contacted me, inquiring about you.

Liu Huan also said with emotion, "Back then, neither your sister Amin nor I thought your song 'Too Softhearted' would be a hit, but we never expected it to become such a sensation!"

It seems our market judgment is far inferior to yours!

Only Na Ying remained extremely pleased with herself.

"You dare to look down on Ah Sheng's musical abilities? I really don't know what's going on in your heads?"

Since Na Ying didn't join in looking down on Qin Sheng after this coincidence, she's now subtly shifting to the other extreme, showing a tendency to become Qin Sheng's number one fan.

After offering a few words of praise, Mao Amin looked at Qin Sheng seriously and asked:

"Sheng, what are you thinking now? Do you want to sign with a record company and officially release an album?"

Liu Huan also said, "Indeed, Asheng, your song 'Too Softhearted' is so popular right now, it's such a waste to put it in a compilation album!"

Releasing a formal album sooner would be greatly beneficial for both the promotion of "Too Softhearted" and your earnings!

Na Ying went even further, saying, "Ah Sheng, why don't you sign with my company? I'm from Formosa Records, which has a certain level of influence in Taiwan."

Upon hearing this, Mao Amin smiled and said, "My company is Capital Artists Records in Hong Kong. If you want to work there, I can introduce you to them."

Upon hearing this, Liu Huan retorted, not to be outdone, "What do you mean by this? Are you trying to snatch people away?"

Even if a contract is to be signed, shouldn't Sony be given priority?

At least he used to be signed with Sony, and now he's closer to Asahi.

As Qin Sheng listened to the three men's half-open and half-closed arguments for their company, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Brothers and sisters, I'm definitely willing to sign with a record company, without a doubt."

But I have my own bottom line, which is what I've told you before: copyright.

I am determined to own the copyright to my own works.

Therefore, I can now negotiate with whichever company is willing to relax its copyright terms.