I became a music industry godfather by writing confidantes.

Chapter 148 An Exorbitant Demand

January 29, Jinshi Recording Studio.

After finishing recording "Crazy for Love" on the 20th, Yang Du immediately began recording the instrumental track for his solo album, and today is the ninth day.

Of the ten tracks, five were from the system, and the remaining five included "Farewell," "The Ordinary Road," and "A Person Like Me."

The arrangement was done by Yang Du himself. "Life is Like Summer Flowers" used a custom treasure chest, and "Stars and Lights" used an echo effect card.

In this way, the preliminary preparation and creation stages are all completed.

According to the project schedule, Yang Du plans to complete the recording of the instrumental tracks for the entire album before Lunar New Year's Eve, and then officially begin recording the vocals after the New Year.

If all goes well, this solo album, which currently has no name, will be released in May.

Just then, the door to the control room was pushed open, and Chen Chen walked in.

"Mr. Yang, Director Yuan has brought Xu Xiao and Qi Qiao. They have something to discuss with you."

Yang Du was slightly surprised.

Since Yuan Xiuqing became her agent and the head of her studio, she has always managed her schedule and work in an orderly manner.

Today, Yang Du's job consists of only one thing: recording the accompaniment. There is nothing else.

Bringing someone to the recording studio without warning clearly indicates that there's something important to discuss.

"Understood." Yang Du clapped his hands and said to the musicians, "Everyone has worked hard. Let's take a half-hour break and I'll treat you all to a cup of coffee or milk tea."

If it were back when he had just rented a recording studio to work on a single, he would have felt a pang of regret if he had taken a half-hour break in the middle.

Jinshi's recording studio is not cheap. Yang Du once used a calculator and found that it costs about 17 yuan per minute. In a day, not counting labor costs, the venue rental alone would cost 10,000 yuan.

But now, things are different. With profits coming in from several projects, Qiuniu Studio has plenty of cash on hand, and his personal wealth has exceeded 5000 million.

After a half-hour break, it's just a light drizzle.

In the rest area, musicians and recording engineers chatted while scrolling through their phones.

Looking at Xu Xiao and her manager Qi Qiao entering the control room, Lao Bai exclaimed in surprise, "This is really strange. This is the first time I've ever seen a pop star bring her manager to the recording studio to find someone."

The people around him nodded in agreement.

Given Xu Xiao's status, whether it's discussing collaborations or making invitations, it's always others who come to her with proposals; there's no need for her to personally visit, let alone come to the recording studio.

Anyone who has worked in a recording studio for a while knows that the bigger the singer, the less they like the recording studio.

No matter how high-end the equipment or how grand the decor of a recording studio, frankly speaking, for a singer, it's just a cubicle where they need to work intensely.

Who truly enjoys going to work?

Ordinary office workers and big-name singers don't like it, and neither do ordinary office workers.

Moreover, for singers, once they enter the recording studio, it means they need to be scrutinized and critiqued by producers outside the glass walls.

The feeling of being scrutinized and criticized under a magnifying glass is definitely not a comfortable experience for a big-name singer who is used to being the center of attention.

"Judging from their demeanor today, they might have come specifically to ask for a song," Qi Wei guessed.

The others nodded as they sipped their coffee and milk tea, which was perfectly reasonable.

"Crazy for Love" has been online for only a few days, but its data is far ahead of the competition, and music critics have also given very positive feedback.

It's only natural that Xu Xiao's team would strike while the iron was hot and team up with Yang Du again.

The musicians outside were chatting, but the atmosphere inside the control room was not so relaxed.

"150 + 3% producer points, and 20% mastering rights."

Before coming to the recording studio, Qi Qiao had prepared herself for Yang Dufang to ask for an exorbitant price, but when she actually heard the quote from Yuan Xiuqing, she felt that she had been too conservative.

150 million + 3% is a high figure, but given Yang Du's current status in the industry, it's acceptable and within a reasonable range.

However, the 20% copyright of the master tape almost made Qi Qiao lose her composure on the spot.

"Haha, Director Yuan is really joking." Qi Qiao pretended that the other party had told a joke, and emphasized, "We are serious and sincerely invite Teacher Yang to be the producer of Xiaoxiao's fifth album."

That's how business negotiations always go: first, they ask for an exorbitant price, then they haggle, and after several rounds of back-and-forth, they finally settle on a middle ground and end the negotiations gracefully.

Yuan Xiuqing said earnestly, "We are serious too."

Now, Qi Qiao could no longer deceive herself. The other party was making exorbitant demands and was even trying to sever the master tape copyright, which was of paramount importance to any music company.

She suddenly remembered what Lei had said before they set off: that Yang Du was like a Pixiu (a mythical creature believed to bring wealth and prosperity), and that Yuan Xiuqing was also quite cunning, so they should be careful.

That's absolutely right!

It's not just a Pixiu, now it has evolved into a Taotie!

With that thought in mind, she maintained a business negotiation smile: "Mr. Yang, Director Yuan, 150 + 3% is no problem for me. However, the master tape copyright issue is indeed beyond our authority."

That's the truth. If it's just about production costs and producer points, Xu Xiao, as a rising star, has enough authority for her team to make a decision on the spot.

However, claiming copyright for the master tape is going too far.

Thinking of this, Qi Qiao suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

No matter how the copyright of the master tape is cut, it has no impact on Xiaoxiao.

This is in the company's fundamental interest, not Xu Xiao's.

According to Xu Xiao's contract with Jin Shi, as a singer, Xu Xiao receives a fixed artist royalty of 17%. How to divide the remaining master tape copyright is a matter between the company and Qiuniu Studio.

Her interests are largely tied to Xu Xiao's, and besides, they share a single core demand:

With an album produced by Yang Du, Xu Xiao can gain enough recognition at next year's Golden Bell Awards and solidify her position as one of the Four Little Heavenly Queens.

Let Fang Lei worry about this kind of capital-intensive business.

Thinking this, she apologized, took out her phone, and immediately dialed Fang Lei's number.

That evening, in the conference room of Kingstone Music, a group of senior executives were having a meeting. The highest-ranking executive was Fang Lei's direct superior, a vice president surnamed Liu who was in charge of content and production, and he sat at the head of the table.

"Mr. Liu, this is a summary report of all of Yang Du's achievements since his debut —"

"20% of the master tape copyright? Absurd! There's no need for negotiation at all. I don't think Yang Du is sincerely interested in cooperating."

"Based on predictions from both internal company staff and external media, Tao Cheng is expected to win four Golden Bell Award nominations for her role in 'Swallowtail Butterfly'."

"Let me reiterate, the copyright to the master tapes is the company's core asset —"

"How about we directly invest in Qiuniu Studio?"

"In the vast Chinese music scene, is Xu Xiao really indispensable to Yang Du? Where is her manager?"

"The results must be out before the 1st, otherwise we will only be in a more passive position when the Golden Bell Awards nomination list is released."

"With hits like 'Swallowtail Butterfly' and 'Crazy for Love' preceding her, it's understandable that Xu Xiao would now specifically request Yang Du to be the album's producer. Since things are at an impasse, why not try a performance-based agreement?"

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