Huayu96: My Thirty Years of a Prodigal Son

Qin Sheng left, taking Zeng Li with him.

Zeng Li's voice is in such a state that she will definitely need to go home and rest for a while.

Zhao Fang returned to her office immediately after Qin Sheng left.

She wanted to listen to "Red-Clad Ladies," "Looking Out the Window," and "If Only" again.

Then we decided how to perfectly create these three excellent works.

Back in her office, Zhao Fang turned on the CD player again and started playing the three songs on repeat.

And then the more I listened, the more I loved it!

Having worked in the industry for so many years, Zhao Fang naturally has her own musical aesthetics and market judgment standards.

In 1996, the Four Heavenly Kings were all over thirty years old.

Although they are still at the peak of their careers, they have been famous for nearly ten years, and they are actually not young anymore.

The music scene urgently needs a new generation of musicians to emerge.

The new generation of musicians is indeed growing rapidly.

Their musical style is also significantly different from that of the Four Heavenly Kings era.

It's no longer the old-fashioned sad love songs or sentimental songs, but a very diverse array of styles.

For example, R&B, electronic music, rock, and punk—these are things that were rarely seen in the Chinese music scene before, but now more and more people are playing them.

Among the newcomers I know, from Hong Kong are Kelly Chen, Sammi Cheng, Chen Yixun, and Miriam Yeung; from Taiwan are Liu Ruoying, Fan Xiaoxuan, Wang Leehom, and Muji.

Their music is very trendy.

And the three opera tunes that Zeng Li has now encountered are undoubtedly very trendy.

And most importantly, it sounds really good.

It's important to understand that trendy and experimental things are often initially difficult to listen to or hard for listeners to accept.

However, these three opera-style pieces do not have this problem.

These three opera tunes are not only novel, but also surprisingly pleasing to the ear.

This means that after their release, they will not only receive good reviews, but also achieve great sales.

This is extremely rare.

Of course, Zhao Fang's biggest concern was Qin Sheng.

I thought the songs "Too Softhearted" and "Relief" were good when I first heard them, but I only thought they were just average.

But as her grades exploded, she gradually began to appreciate more of the nuances.

These two songs are works that are perfectly ahead of their time.

It has neither the old-fashioned feel of love songs nor the overly avant-garde and trendy feel of new-style love songs.

It's just half a step ahead of the music scene's version.

This is why they became so popular.

So this Qin Sheng is no ordinary person!

He is not only a genius, but also a genius with an extremely keen market sense and the ability to cater to the market!

If a company can sign such a genius, he will most likely have a place among the next generation of superstars!

Thinking of Qin Sheng's talent, Zhao Fang felt a surge of excitement.

However, after shaking her head, she calmed down.

All I can do right now is to focus on making Zeng Li's EP album.

As for the signing, we can only wait for Lao Chen.

After summoning her subordinates and instructing them to mobilize the best resources to do their utmost to prepare for Zeng Li's new song, Zhao Fang then called her assistant.

He handed a long sheet of paper to his assistant.

The items listed are all imported bird's nest, throat-soothing powder, and high-end nutritional supplements.

"Use the company's accounts to purchase the best of these things and send them to Zeng Li."

At Qin Sheng's home.

Zeng Li was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, with a throat lozenge given to him by Zhao Fang in his mouth.

Seeing Qin Sheng bring over a bowl of freshly stewed rock sugar pears, Zeng Li smiled sweetly at him.

"Qin Sheng, Sister Zhao has been calling me several times a day these past few days."

They even ask me how many sips of water I drink each day.

She also showed me my EP album proposal, which I thought was pretty good.

Or, you could just stop being angry with her.

Zeng Li was indeed moved by Zhao Fang's sincerity, so he secretly said a few good words for Zhao Fang.

But when Zhao Fang asked her to mention Qin Sheng's signing with Sony, she didn't dare say a word.

Women should try to mind their own business as little as possible.

This is the principle her mother taught her.

Seeing Zeng Li, who had regained her cheerfulness and whose throat had gradually recovered, Qin Sheng smiled and said:

"I'm not angry with Sister Zhao. She's a smart person, and I've always trusted the choices made by smart people."

After a pause, Qin Sheng asked Zeng Li with a hesitant look, "Ali, what do you think about me signing with Sony too?"

Zeng Li's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

"That would be great! That way we can meet at the company."

Qin Sheng affectionately patted Zeng Li's head.

Actually, this was just a casual question; he certainly knew that Zeng Li would welcome him to Sony.

The reason I asked this question is because I'm still hesitant.

These past few days, while Zeng Li has been recuperating, he hasn't been idle either, having already contacted several record companies.

The main reason is that all the major record companies are in a hurry.

It's been three weeks now, and the popularity of "Too Softhearted" on the market has reached an insane level!

This week's sales are almost at 500,000!

All that hard-earned money was wasted on a piece of garbage compilation album called "The Golden Autumn of 1996"!

Anyone who sees this would be heartbroken and outraged; what a waste!

Therefore, all the major record companies are using all their resources to frantically contact Qin Sheng.

They're willing to give any percentage of the profits and agree to any conditions.

All I ask is that we can first sign the distribution rights to Qin Sheng's album "Too Softhearted" so that the company can re-produce it and release it to make money as soon as possible!

Previously, record companies estimated that the long-term profit of the "Too Softhearted" album would be between five million and ten million.

With sales skyrocketing, record companies have raised their profit expectations to over 30 million.

With such huge profits, which company wouldn't be envious?

However, although everyone was competing to quote prices, the prices were very high.

But the final landing points are actually quite similar.

The percentages are approximately 40% for record labels and approximately 60% for commercial orders.

After all, if the price is any higher, the company really won't make any money.

After several other companies entered the competition, Sony finally gritted its teeth and reluctantly offered this price.

Sony's sincerity is quite evident.

After all, companies like Red Star and Wheatfield, while having decent names, are only considered successful within mainland China.

Compared to Sony, its overall size is far smaller.

Sony is one of the world's top five record companies, and its strength is considerable.

If Sony hadn't only been operating in mainland China for less than a year, and if it weren't for the need to maximize profits and demonstrate sincerity, they would never have offered such a deal that included no copyright and yet gave singers such a high percentage of the profits.

Qin Sheng actually preferred to sign with Sony.

These past two days he's been thinking about whether there's anything he's overlooked or not.

After consulting with Zeng Li, he finally made up his mind.

sign!

They've signed with Sony!

With its current abnormal sales trend, "Too Softhearted" has a high probability of replicating Richie Jen's sales miracle from his previous life.

To replicate that absurd sales miracle of 26 million, a distribution company with channels covering Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and even the world will be crucial.

Sony is undoubtedly the only one among the several bidders that has the capability to do so.

Then I won't hesitate, I'll sign with Sony!