Three days later, Yan Su called Liang Liang and asked him to come to the capital.

Judging from the serious tone, Liang Liang had a feeling that things were likely going badly for him.

If there's really no hope, why not just tell him? That way, he won't have to make another trip.

Since Yan Su didn't say that, does that mean there's still hope?

Regardless of whether there's hope or not, he has to go to Beijing. One reason is for the film, and another is to build connections with the film industry in Beijing, which would also be beneficial.

A large part of the influence in Beijing's film and television industry comes from the descendants of the Eight Banners, which is why there are so many Manchus in this circle more than a decade later.

Liang Liang didn't delay and set off for the capital after a quick pack.

Upon arriving in the capital, Liang Liang did not go directly to Yan Su, but instead went to a small theater in the capital.

The small theater in Beijing has now been completely renovated and has been officially open for a week.

The Beijing Small Theater is arguably the most upscale of the six small theaters under Liang Liang's control. It combines two courtyards, covering an area of ​​over a thousand square meters, with two floors that can accommodate over a thousand audience members.

The equipment inside is also better than that of other small theaters.

With these hardware conditions as a foundation, the ticket price is 10% higher than other small theaters.

However, the attendance rate was not higher than that of other small theaters, and the sales revenue was not much better than that of other theaters.

Liang Liang came over to see what the problem was.

The small theater in Beijing has no problems with its hardware; the poor revenue must be due to issues with its software.

It can't be said that business is very bad; at least six or seven hundred people come in every day, which is basically in line with the standards of other small theaters.

But this won't do! You're the capital! A metropolis of over 20 million people. I've built this small theater with such excellent conditions, and you're going to make it the same level as other cities? How can that be acceptable?

The combined investment in small theaters in Songyang, Changchun, and Harbin is the same as the investment in Jinjingcheng small theater. How can you expect to produce the same output as others?

When will we be able to recoup our investment?

Since the small theater opened for business, the people of Shucun have finally ended their nomadic lives and at least have a place to shelter from the wind and rain, and a relatively stable income, though not much.

Smoking and eating are no problem anymore, and drinking some regular beer is no big deal either.

When Liang Liang arrived, these guys were all rehearsing in the rehearsal room.

This small theater was designed with as many as ten rehearsal rooms. In addition, when the main stage is not being used for performances, rehearsals can also be conducted, which is equivalent to having an extra rehearsal room.

Each rehearsal room was small, barely twenty square meters. These guys were all pretending to rehearse in their respective rooms, and there were also some girls…

Ah! Didn't I tell you I wouldn't let Guo'er in?

You guys are talking nonsense outside, I don't care, but what's the deal with leading Gu'er into the car and making him all confused?

Liang Liang was about to ask a few questions when he realized that these women were an all-female band, and they were waiting to leave the rehearsal hall so they could go in to rehearse.

Although Liangliang built ten rehearsal rooms, it was still not enough because there were too many bands, which led to queuing.

Huang Jie is in charge of this small theater. He is mainly responsible for the performances, while he delegates other matters to others.

When Liang Liang arrived, this guy was hunched over his desk, struggling to compose a song, almost to the point of internal injury.

Just as he was frowning in distress, he looked up and saw Liang Liang come in.

Huang Jie was stunned for ten seconds.

"You've become nearsighted? You don't recognize people anymore?"

Huang Jie quickly stood up: "President Liang! What brings you here?"

"I heard you're doing quite well since you came back from Germany. I've come to give you a little nudge, so you don't forget who you are."

"Hehe! No way! I've been working non-stop since I came back from abroad. I was just writing a song with a long face."

"I don't care what songs you write, but your little theater isn't doing very well! Let me see where the problem lies."

"I don't understand either. The equipment and environment are not bad, and there are many bands, but they are not full."

"Take me around."

Without saying a word, Huang Jie took Liang Liang for a walk around the small theater.

The main hall for small theater performances has two floors, while the auxiliary building to the north has three floors.

These auxiliary buildings are rehearsal rooms, dormitories, warehouses, and so on.

It looks rather magnificent from the outside.

Liang Liang also consulted someone about the location of the small theater, and there weren't any major problems with the feng shui.

The facilities and equipment in the small theater were top-notch, if not the best at the time.

Liang Liang couldn't see any problems with the hardware, so he could only work on the software.

As for the software aspect, it naturally refers to the performance content. Liang Liang filtered through all the songs performed by the bands from Shucun and couldn't find any problems.

The pieces were all composed according to his requirements, without any extraneous or trivial content.

Liang Liang frowned and thought for a long time.

Is it a matter of fame?

"Didn't your band do any promotion after coming back?"

Huang Jie asked in confusion, "What are you advertising?"

"Publicize that you participated in a performance in Germany! This is an opportunity for your band to gain fame, why didn't you take it seriously!"

Liang Liang had a general idea of ​​why the small theaters in the capital were not doing well.

The absence of a famous band is a problem.

Beijing is the rock center of China, and the audience here is very knowledgeable. You can't just throw together a couple of unknown bands to fool people.

Even if Liang Liang's little theater didn't fool them at all, it wouldn't work.

People in Beijing treat outsiders like dirt; they won't even give you a second glance unless someone famous is there to back you up.

"We wanted to promote it when we came back, but would anyone believe it?"

Indeed, despite the great fanfare they generated in Germany, which was reported by many German newspapers, featured on television, and even led to publishers buying the copyrights to their songs, it's true that they were very successful.

However, within China, in an era when communication was not well-developed, virtually no one knew about this.

You yourself say that you've done this and that in Germany, maybe some people in a small city would believe you, but in Beijing, you'll be in trouble.

People in the capital are well-informed and knowledgeable; almost everyone there is eloquent and capable. Do you expect them to believe this? Unless you can provide solid evidence.

In the small theater business model, although it is a niche market in other cities, as long as there is such a venue, there will be people who like it and will be willing to pay for it, thus achieving satisfactory business results.

But that won't work in the capital.

"Print some posters with photos of your performance in Germany. After a while, we'll release CDs and tapes of our performances in Germany and do an advertisement on TV. That will improve our business here."

Ideally, CCTV would produce a special feature on the performance, which would increase the night sky's visibility and benefit the small theater.