Huayu96: My Thirty Years of a Prodigal Son

After hearing Liu Huan and Han Jinhua's evaluations, Chen Heping was completely unsettled.

This is Han Jinhua!

This is Liu Huan!

Calling him a master in the Chinese music scene is not an exaggeration at all!

These two masters, one claims to be invincible, the other claims to be divinely specialized.

Everyone gave Qin Sheng's new album very high praise!

With the popularity of "Too Softhearted" itself, Chen Heping is almost certain that this album will be a huge hit!

Imagining that number, which might surpass his highest record since he started working, made Chen Heping feel a little dizzy.

At the same time, it seemed as if another voice was echoing in his mind.

That was the sound of a money counting machine frantically counting money.

Splash!

This is all money!

Chen Heping suddenly turned to look at Qin Sheng, his face crinkling into a wide smile.

"Ah Sheng! No problem, we'll give you people if you need them, and money if you need money!"

From this moment forward, everyone at Sony will be at your service!

We must do our utmost to produce this album as quickly as possible!

After speaking with Qin Sheng, Chen Heping turned to look at Han Jinhua.

"Old Han, give me a rough timeframe. From the start of production to the completion of the master tapes, how long would it take at the earliest?"

Han Jinhua lowered her head and began to calculate.

After a moment, he looked up and said, "Recording the harmonies and refining the version will take a lot of time."

Then, arranging and producing the music is also a tedious task.

There's also mixing and mastering, which can only begin after all the previous steps are completed.

Even at the fastest possible rate, it will still take at least a month.

Chen Heping shook his head in dissatisfaction upon hearing this.

In the past, he could barely accept a month.

But now, with a potentially phenomenal album about to be created in his hands, he doesn't want to waste a single day.

Moreover, the sooner it is produced, the sooner it can capitalize on the popularity of "Too Softhearted".

If we wait until a month later, when the sales of "Too Softhearted" have reached saturation, what if no one buys the film after it's made?

"No, that's too slow! Can you go faster?"

As the executor, Han Jinhua naturally had to consider the actual situation.

"Old Chen, you know your stuff. You should know that releasing ten songs a month is already the industry's fastest speed!"

Unless you don't care about quality.

If you want quality, you have to give it time. Otherwise, what if you end up with shoddy workmanship and ruin your reputation?

The two were deadlocked for a time.

Liu Huan watched from the side, but couldn't get a word in edgewise.

He also felt that a month was the limit.

If it's any shorter, the quality really can't be guaranteed.

Just then, Qin Sheng spoke up.

"Teacher Han, President Chen, I think we can save some time on the vocal version and the arrangement version."

Han Jinhua turned to look at Qin Sheng, her tone softening somewhat, but still firm.

"Ah Sheng, I know you're in a hurry to release an album, but you can't rush things. Good songs need good production to back them up."

Qin Sheng was about to explain when Liu Huan stepped forward with a smile and said:

"Ah Sheng wasn't exaggerating when he said that."

You haven't seen the songs he wrote for me, Mao Amin, and Na Ying before.

You almost don't need to work on the vocal version; it's pointless to do so anyway.

In the end, you'll find that the version Ah Sheng provided at the beginning was still the best.

The arrangement is also important.

Ah Sheng's arrangement ideas are always the most suitable.

This is something that Mao Amin, Na Ying, and I have already verified.

Han Jinhua was stunned.

After hesitating for a moment, he decided to trust Liu Huan's professionalism and said, "If that's the case, then the time should be cut in half, and the album should be produced in as little as half a month."

Half a month!

It's been shortened by half compared to the previous month!

It's already perfect!

But after thinking about it again, Chen Heping looked at Han Jinhua.

"Old Han, if I arrange for you to work two shifts, with extra hours, could you speed things up even more?"

Han Jinhua was startled upon hearing this.

"Old Chen, I can handle it, but Qin Sheng's voice might not be able to!"

"Isn't it unnecessary to rush like this?"

Chen Heping sighed and said, "Old Han, do you know how many copies 'Too Softhearted' sells in a day? Fifty thousand! And that's not even the limit!"

Seeing all that money flowing out of my pocket really hurts me!

So if we can finish the new album a day earlier, we can intercept the sales of "The Golden Autumn of 1996" a day earlier.

He paused for a moment, then added, "Of course I have to consider Ah Sheng's voice; he doesn't need to work overtime."

I was referring to the arrangement team and the mixing and mastering team working overtime.

This should save us some more time.

Han Jinhua frowned and considered it for a moment, then finally gritted her teeth and nodded in agreement.

"Fine! Overtime it is! But you have to pay me the full overtime wages, otherwise I won't be able to explain it to my subordinates."

Chen Heping readily agreed, waving his hand and saying, "No problem, triple... no, five times the pay during overtime!"

"As long as you get this album out to me within ten days, with guaranteed quality and quantity, I, Chen Heping, will definitely not let you down!"

Upon hearing about the five times salary, Han Jinhua smiled slightly.

He certainly doesn't lack that little bit of money, but with five times the salary, his subordinates are more than willing to work there.

Having dealt with Han Jinhua, Chen Heping turned to look at Qin Sheng.

"Sheng, even though it's overtime, I definitely won't make it too hard for you."

I understand that you singers need to protect your voices.

But then again, with your commission being so high, frankly speaking, we're working for you.

"It's only for these few days, so please bear with me!"

Qin Sheng was somewhat surprised by Chen Heping's enthusiasm, but he was right.

With such a high percentage of its revenue, Sony is practically working for itself.

So Qin Sheng finally agreed to Chen Heping's plan to work overtime.

That afternoon, Sony Music's production department went into wartime mode.

Qin Sheng first explained the general framework of the arrangement to the arrangement team and asked them to follow the demo.

Then I had to hurry up and record the voice.

After a portion was recorded, the post-production team intervened and began mixing and pre-processing the audio using the semi-finished product.

With three lines operating simultaneously, efficiency has been maximized.

Finally, on the afternoon of the tenth day, amidst cheers from all the staff in the production department, the master tape was perfectly produced.

Han Jinhua's eyes were bloodshot, but she was unusually excited.

It's been a long time since I've worked this hard. It feels like I've gone back to the days when I was young and living in a basement making music!

When he handed the master tape to Chen Heping, Chen Heping first gave him a big hug.

He then left without pausing, carrying the master tape.

Making it is only the first step; the next step is to send it to the factory for production as soon as possible!

In order to enable the factory to start production as soon as possible, the planning department has been busy these past few days.

The album cover and promotional materials are all ready.

Once the master tape arrives, production will begin around the clock.

After waiting another three days, under Chen Heping's high-pressure urging, the first batch of 100,000 albums has been produced.

The album is called "Too Softhearted".

Ready to be officially launched and sold on the market!