Huayu: A master director who debuted as a singer

Li Zongming put the newly signed contract into his briefcase and began to talk about Zheng Hui's financial affairs: "Just before I came, Lao Wang told me that CCTV had already booked your music videos and that they would be broadcast soon?"

Zheng Hui nodded: "Yes, the letter has arrived."

"In that case, my suggestion is to not accept any commercial performance invitations for the next month or two. Let's hold off on them and wait until CCTV finishes broadcasting and the hype reaches its peak."

"Considering your Macau residency, if I don't charge you at least 100,000 per game, I'll have worked for nothing as your agent."

Zheng Hui nodded without saying anything more; this was the same assessment as that of President Wang.

"When you're free, why not see how others criticize you?" Li Zongming reached into the compartment of his briefcase and pulled out a stack of newspapers, spreading them out on the table.

The newspapers were a mixed bag, including Southern Music Weekly, City Entertainment News, and even a few Northern editions of Popular Music Guide.

"Your song became a hit in Guangdong this week, but it also attracted a lot of criticism. Look at these."

Zheng Hui reached out and took the top copy of "Southern Music Weekly".

In the middle of the page, there is a commentary article titled "The Disguise of Rock and Roll and the Empty Shouts - A Review of Zheng Hui's New Album".

Zheng Hui's gaze swept over the main text.

"...In today's music scene, rock should be critical and sharp. But after listening to the album of this new singer named Zheng Hui, I only felt deep disappointment."

The entire album is saturated with cheap hype, the lyrics are rousing but ultimately empty. He avoided the core rebellious spirit of rock and roll, instead turning to kitsch. This isn't rock and roll; it's practically an education textbook assigned by the education bureau paired with an electric guitar…”

Zheng Hui put down this copy and picked up the next one, "City Entertainment Daily".

This one is even more direct, titled "Arrogance that Deviates from Tradition".

"In this traditional culture that values ​​subtlety and humility, Zheng Hui's lyrics overemphasize the self."

The frequent use of phrases like "I am," "I want," and "I can" reveals the young singer's inflated ego and arrogance. This style, which lacks any sense of rhythm and only involves blunt shouting, is a downgrade of the audience's aesthetic appreciation…

Zheng Hui flipped through several more copies, and they were all similar. Some said his lyrics were too plain, some said his musical style was impure, and some attacked him for being too arrogant and lacking the humility that a newcomer should have.

"Interesting." Zheng Hui threw the newspaper back on the table, but there was no anger on his face.

Li Zongming kept observing Zheng Hui's expression, nodding inwardly to himself, and remained calm.

"Of course, it wasn't all insults." Li Zongming reached down and flipped up a stack of newspapers that were underneath. "Look at these few, there are still some sensible people among them."

This is "Audio-Visual World," a highly influential professional magazine in China.

"In the Chinese music scene of 1998, Zheng Hui's emergence was an anomaly. While most singers were still indulging in sentimental love stories and wallowing in melodrama, this eighteen-year-old boy chose the rare theme of self-growth."

He doesn't talk about love, only about action and belief. The entire album has a unified concept, tightly revolving around the confusion and struggle of being eighteen, with not a single song being filler or padding. In today's record industry, this is simply the epitome of conscience…”

Li Zongming pointed to the positive review: "Those who praise you understand your core values. Those who criticize you aren't necessarily ignorant; they're just malicious."

"Bad?" Zheng Hui looked up, his eyes filled with doubt.

Li Zongming's tone was sarcastic, "I've asked around among my friends in the industry, and most of these music reviews criticizing you were written by people who paid others to write them."

"Your album cassette tape is priced at eight yuan, which is a game-changer in the market. Other people's albums, the genuine ones dare to sell for ten yuan, fifteen yuan, or even more."

In their albums, often only one or two singles are listenable; the rest are just filler songs designed to extend the album's length.

"But what about you? Ten songs, every single one of them could be a hit. The quality is better than theirs, and the price is cheaper. What are those fans who are used to buying ten-dollar albums supposed to think?"

Fans aren't stupid; compared to others, their albums seem both expensive and terrible.

"A few days ago, the CEO of a record company got angry at a dinner party, saying that nowadays kids go to music stores and specifically ask to buy the one that costs eight yuan. Your existence has ripped off their fig leaf."

They don't dare openly lower prices to compete with you because of their costs; they can only resort to these underhanded tactics. They hire a few so-called music critics to write articles in the newspapers criticizing you for being vulgar, uncultured, and having bad songs.

"So it turns out they stole someone else's cake."

Li Zongming said, "Business competition has always been dirty. So, do you need me to step in?"

I have connections in these newspapers, so whether it's retracting an article or getting another group of people to write articles to criticize it back, it's just a matter of a few phone calls.

Although I'm no longer with the newspaper, they'll still give me this much face.

Zheng Hui shook his head: "No need."

"No need?" Li Zongming was somewhat surprised.

"Brother Li, you've worked in media, so you should understand this better than I do. In this industry, the worst thing isn't being criticized, it's being ignored."

"The fact that they're cursing me now shows they're afraid of me. And this kind of cursing is actually a form of reputation."

Zheng Hui pointed to the pile of newspapers: "They call me vulgar, they call me like a moral education textbook. This just proves that my songs are popular, and that even people who don't listen to rock are talking about me."

Right now, they're just criticizing me behind my back. I'd rather have one or two famous singers or experts publicly criticize me by name.

Li Zongming's eyes lit up; he keenly grasped the logic in Zheng Hui's words.

"You're trying to use someone else's strength against them?"

"That's right. If anyone really comes forward, I'll engage in a war of words with them in the newspapers."

They criticized my lyrics for being too straightforward, so I told them they were just being melodramatic.

They scolded me for not understanding rock and roll, so I said rock and roll is not about pretending to be a god.

As more and more people gathered to watch the spectacle, more and more people bought the tapes to verify who was right and who was wrong.

Zheng Hui knew very well that in later generations, this would be called "black and red".

As long as it doesn't involve fundamental moral boundaries or legal red lines, and is merely a dispute about artistic style and aesthetics, then it's a welcome development.

The greater the controversy, the greater the traffic.

In an era when information dissemination still relied on print media and television, a heated debate could keep his name on the entertainment pages of national newspapers for months.

"Controversy is good; controversy generates buzz," Zheng Hui concluded.

Looking at the eighteen-year-old in front of him, Li Zongming thought, "How can this be a greenhorn who's just starting out?"

He originally thought he would need to teach Zheng Hui how to deal with negative news step by step, but now it seems that he was completely overthinking it; the kid knows what he's doing.

Li Zongming put the newspaper back into his bag. "Alright, since you have the composure, let's put this aside for now and let them criticize. If any fool dares to step forward, then we'll concentrate our firepower and retaliate."