Chapter 750 Slamming the Table and Giving a Hard Look
Lu Yanhe recorded "City Travelogue," but only one episode was recorded.
Although he still wanted to continue recording, he wanted to take advantage of the rare time he had now to release his album.
Yes, it's the digital album that was released on music platforms last September.
According to Chen Ziyan's plan, the physical album will be released at the end of April.
A press conference was held specifically for this purpose.
Lee Ji-baek and Yoo Ji-eum attended as singers and performed "Bewitched" and "The Girl with Wings" on stage.
Only 50,000 copies of this physical album will be released.
Limited edition.
Whether there will be further issuances depends on market conditions.
At the press conference, Lu Yanhe reiterated his promise: "This album will not be commercially operated. Like the digital album, all proceeds, after deducting costs, will be donated to Project Hope. It is both a gift from me to everyone and a gift from everyone to me."
Some fans are wondering if Lu Yanhe will release another album in the future.
"I'll never limit myself. I'll never say I definitely won't do something. Who knows?" Lu Yanhe said with a smile. "Maybe I'll release a similar album in the future. By the way, I've also thought about holding a concert. I'm currently preparing for it."
Upon hearing that Lu Yanhe was going to hold a concert, the audience erupted in loud screams.
Lu Yanhe said, "Don't get your hopes up yet; it's still uncertain when it will happen."
One fan shouted, "No matter when, we'll keep waiting!"
Lu Yanhe smiled at the fan and said, "You said it. I hope to see you then."
Lu Yanhe rarely, or rather, very rarely, holds such fan meetings.
Because this was an album launch event, several hundred spots were made available for fans to attend.
Therefore, fans have the opportunity to see Lu Yanhe up close.
Tickets were snapped up like crazy.
After the press conference, Lu Yanhe said to Liu Zhiyin, "Sister Zhiyin, when I hold my concert, I will have to invite you to be a guest."
Liu Zhiyin nodded with a smile.
She said, "You gave me the song 'The Girl with Wings,' which led to my performance on this year's Spring Festival Gala, a solo performance. I never even dared to dream of it."
Lu Yanhe: "That's because you're very popular. Nowadays, when the Spring Festival Gala invites artists, it prefers those who are currently popular."
“But there are only three soloists,” Liu Zhiyin said. “I am one of them.”
Singing a solo at the Spring Festival Gala is a very prestigious achievement.
Every year, the Spring Festival Gala has some "split the pot" programs, which try to cram five or six artists into one song, all of whom are popular stars.
Everyone knows what happened.
Only solo or duet performances are the kind of treatment that truly recognized singers or top-tier actors can receive.
The song "The Girl with Wings" is so widely sung and has a positive and uplifting tone that it certainly meets the standards for the Spring Festival Gala.
Lu Yanhe asked, "Sister Zhiyin, are you going to continue doing concerts this year?"
"We have a tour planned for the second half of the year," Liu Zhiyin asked with a smile. "How about it, would you like to be a guest performer?"
“It would be great if you had time, but I expect to be on set for the rest of the year,” Lu Yanhe said. “We’ll see how things go then, and I’ll try to do one show. Are all your tour shows in China?”
Yoo Ji-eum said, "There will be two events overseas, one in Singapore and one in South Korea."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
Yoo Ji-eum debuted in a South Korean girl group and already had a considerable fan base in Asia.
In addition to her years of experience in Chinese music, she has a large number of Chinese fans.
All we can say is that those who can hold tours overseas have real strength.
The current trend of "political correctness" in Europe and America has created a chaotic environment within their own arts and culture circles. However, for Asians, regardless of their artistic field, it presents a significant opportunity to access overseas markets.
Lu Yanhe believes that music is actually more likely to transcend cultural barriers than film and television dramas.
Especially popular singers like Ryu Ji-eum, who have both a K-POP background and have accumulated several years of experience in Mandarin pop music after returning to Korea.
She could actually try to balance both the domestic and international markets, especially the Asian market.
The biggest difference between singers and actors is that singers, especially pop singers, are usually associated with a cultural symbol.
Compared to actors who connect with audiences through their roles, singers are often cultural symbols that intertwine their personal musical personality with their life experiences.
Liu Zhiyin's voice isn't exactly top-tier or exceptional, but she definitely has a solid foundation as a pop singer, no problem at all.
Lu Yanhe suddenly felt that if Liu Zhiyin had a company with global operational capabilities to manage her, her influence would be much greater than it is now.
Of course, this is somewhat to be expected.
In the arts, there are too many talented and hardworking people who have no chance to get ahead.
Those who manage to rise to prominence are all the result of a combination of luck, hard work, and the efforts of those behind the scenes.
Talent only has value when it is seen. When it is not seen, the more it admires itself, the more it wallows in self-pity, and the more worthless it becomes.
Lu Yanhe kept this in mind, thinking that if a good opportunity arose in the future, he could act as a matchmaker for Liu Zhiyin.
etc--
Speaking of which...
With so many Hollywood film projects under his belt, including some overseas companies that want to remake them, isn't that an opportunity?
Lu Yanhe hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Sister Zhiyin, how did you sign your contract with Xingyu?"
"Huh?" Liu Zhiyin was taken aback. "You want to poach me?"
Lu Yanhe said, "It's not about poaching you, but about seeing if there's any room for cooperation, such as overseas brokerage or agency for overseas film and television promotional songs."
Liu Zhiyin was taken aback.
Lu Yanhe said, "I see that you have the idea of going international. If you are willing, I think we can cooperate more deeply in this area."
Liu Zhiyin immediately said, "Give me some time, I'll go talk to the boss of Xingyu."
Lu Yanhe nodded and said okay.
-
Ryu Ji-eum's musical style is not suitable for singing OSTs (although she has actually sung several).
However, singing the promotional song is not a problem.
Many big productions have specially created promotional songs.
Why not reserve one or two such opportunities for domestic singers like Liu Zhiyin?
Often, all they really need is a stepping stone.
Just like after "Buried" became a hit, Li Zhibai received a constant stream of Hollywood offers.
After "Home Alone," Huang Feng, Liu Te-li, and Luo Weida became the top choices for Asian roles in many overseas films, especially for roles similar to those they played in "Home Alone."
Lu Yanhe shared this idea with Chen Ziyan.
Putting everything else aside, even now, Tu Song is still being personally mentored by Chen Ziyan.
Of course, Tu Song's singing career has also steadily progressed to the top tier in China.
He's not the kind of singer with a strong musical personality, nor is he the kind of person with a particularly strong individuality, nor does he have a particularly eventful life.
However, there is one advantage: under Chen Ziyan's arrangement, he studied at an overseas music academy for several years and is now making original music.
This is especially valuable.
What's even more remarkable is that Chen Ziyan has enough resources to support her in bringing her original music to the public, rather than keeping it to herself.
Lu Yanhe said to Chen Ziyan, "In the future, when we discuss film and television collaborations with overseas companies, whether it's an original work or a remake, we can add such a clause to the agreement. What do you think?"
“That would only be possible if we had more say and were in a stronger position,” Chen Ziyan said. “However, doing so would indeed be the fastest way to push some of our singers into the overseas market, and leveraging the popularity of film and television dramas is the fastest path.”
“Then let’s do it this way.” Seeing that Chen Ziyan had confirmed his idea, Lu Yanhe immediately said, “Whether the other party agrees or not is another matter. Let’s talk about it slowly. At least we can bring it up first, especially Korean dramas. TVN has bought so many of our remakes. We need to get the license.”
Chen Ziyan said with a smile, "Among the singers we signed, apart from Liu Zhiyin, very few of them actually speak Korean. Can they sing Korean songs?"
“Korean dramas have a lot of OSTs with English songs, right? Just pick the suitable ones. If that doesn’t work, whichever singer can put in the effort to master other languages, give them more of these opportunities,” Lu Yanhe said. “If they really want these opportunities, they should put in more effort themselves. They can’t expect you to feed them everything, can they?”
Chen Ziyan smiled and nodded: "That's right, you're right. Look at Jiang Jun, Jiang Yuqian, Li Zhibai, Yan Liang and the others. They forced themselves to learn English. Especially Li Zhibai and Yan Liang, I heard they put in a lot of hard work. Knowing that you wrote the script for the Hollywood movie for them, they started learning the language and taking oral classes early on. It's not easy."
Lu Yanhe: "They were put on the spot by me, and the arrow was on the bowstring, so they had no choice but to go. If I hadn't asked Li Zhibai to perform 'Buried Alive,' he wouldn't have made the decision to practice English with you."
Chen Ziyan: "So I think you're right. No matter what, you have to eat what you want. You can't expect others to feed you."
Lu Yanhe: "I think Shihuo should add an English course for its signed artists."
"Forget it, if you want to learn, go learn it yourself," Chen Ziyan said. "I don't do this kind of thankless work. It's too much formalism, and there aren't many people who really want to learn."
Lu Yanhe: "Okay."
Chen Ziyan: "On the contrary, I require all the staff of Shihuo to be proficient in a foreign language. It doesn't have to be English, but they must be proficient in a foreign language. We only give them three years. All employees must become proficient in a foreign language within three years of joining Shihuo. The company will provide the corresponding channels for their language learning, so they don't have to bear the costs themselves."
“That’s a good idea.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “Sister Ziyan, do you want to expand Shihuo’s business overseas in the future? To turn Shihuo into an international talent agency like William Moss?”
“Of course,” Chen Ziyan said. “The Chinese market is so big, and the Asian market is so big. If our artists want to have a good career in Europe and America, they need agencies there to help them. If European and American artists want to come to China or Asia to make money in the future, they may not need Shi Huo to represent them. Anyway, the more people in the company who can speak a second foreign language, the more at ease we will be. We will not suffer any losses, and it will be more conducive to us to expand the market.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
He felt that Chen Ziyan was really good at planning ahead in this regard.
Shi Jin kept saying that he wanted to build a big entertainment industry, but Lu Yanhe felt that a truly great entertainment industry was like Chen Ziyan's, who was based in a small field but had a big vision and a big plan.
Just like now, although Lu Yanhe and others have agencies overseas, Shi Huo himself has been expanding his overseas business lines, using other artists under his management to practice and expand his business, accumulating experience and resources little by little.
They didn't choose to consolidate their business operations domestically just because big-name celebrities like Lu Yanhe had signed with other agencies overseas. Lu Yanhe has always strongly agreed with this concept—
Even if you seem to be a newcomer in a certain area, and it seems that it will take a long time and a lot of effort to reach a passing grade, should you retreat to your comfort zone at this point?
Staying in your comfort zone means you'll always only have one path to take.
However, one should always prepare a backup plan for oneself.
Therefore, in choosing partners, Lu Yanhe, despite already having a partner like Northern Lights Video, still wanted to establish a partnership with Icefield Video, and despite the video platform offering top-tier prices, he still wanted to cooperate with a traditional TV station like Yuehu TV.
The same applies when collaborating with Hollywood.
Even though you've already established a good working relationship with a partner, you still have to connect with an unfamiliar company and go through all those difficult, challenging, and adjustment-intensive processes all over again.
Now, Lu Yanhe is not afraid of falling out with any company.
Because no matter which company he breaks up with, he won't be fundamentally affected.
This is also why he is becoming increasingly bold in slamming his fist on the table and showing displeasure to any collaborator.
-
Liu Zhiyin didn't know how she negotiated with Xingyu Entertainment, but Lu Yanhe guessed she must have conceded some of her own interests, or even agreed to some more favorable terms for Xingyu. So, just five days later, Liu Zhiyin contacted Lu Yanhe, saying that Xingyu Entertainment had agreed to transfer the agency rights for Liu Zhiyin's overseas singing career and commercial performances to Lu Yanhe, without Lu Yanhe having to pay any price.
This was naturally due to the efforts of Yoo Ji-eun.
Liu Zhiyin is a very smart person and trusts Lu Yanhe. Since he has extended this invitation to her, he will definitely not disappoint her.
Lu Yanhe really didn't expect Liu Zhiyin to react so quickly.
He was surprised.
But I was also very touched.
This also signifies Yoo Ji-eun's absolute trust in him.
Helping a friend isn't always about getting something in return, but it can be disheartening when someone hesitates to offer help. Conversely, taking their hand without hesitation—this direct and honest trust—is the best gift you can give to that friendship.
Liu Zhiyin's agency rights were placed with Shi Huo.
Lu Yanhe also took the liberty of compiling Liu Zhiyin's information, singing videos, and influence in China and Asia into a resume, so that he could use it whenever needed.
At the very least, he will definitely give one of the promotional songs for the second "Home Alone" movie to Yoo Ji-eum to sing.
As for creating promotional songs for the movie, according to the distribution contract for the second film, Parameter was responsible for one of the English songs.
Lu Yanhe didn't intend to affect Parameter's own plans. He directly said to Liu Zhiyin, "Sister Zhiyin, I'd like to ask you to sing one of the promotional songs for the second season of 'Home Alone.' I have two options. One is that I think you should know some top music producers in Europe and America. I'll give you a production budget of $200,000. You can contact the composer and lyricist and find the people you know best to produce a song. The second option is that I'll find my agent in the United States, or Parameter, to produce a song, and you'll only be responsible for singing it. Which one do you want to choose?"
Liu Zhiyin said without hesitation, "I'll try to contact them myself. What are your requirements for the promotional song?"
“Everyone is already clear about the style of this movie, so there’s no need to create a song that perfectly matches the movie’s style. Just use it as a base and combine it with the musical styles you’re good at, like, or want to try. It doesn’t have to be too thematic. The main purpose of a promotional song is for people to enjoy the song through you and your singing, while also ensuring that the theme you’re expressing doesn’t conflict with the movie’s theme. That’s enough to attract people’s attention and let them know that the sequel is coming out,” Lu Yanhe explained.
Liu Zhiyin nodded, "I understand. Can I bring the production team to check out the second season beforehand?"
Lu Yanhe nodded: "No problem, you can contact me anytime, or Wang Biao, it's fine either way."
“Okay.” Liu Zhiyin nodded. “Yan He, you’re so cool. You not only gave me the opportunity to sing the second part of ‘Home Alone,’ but you also gave me such a generous budget to make my own music.”
Lu Yanhe said, "Sister Zhiyin, if you asked me to spend this budget on hiring you to write and arrange songs, I might not dare to. However, I fully trust you to be the producer and find top and suitable creators to make this promotional song. Your experience, the music you've listened to, the stages you've seen, and your understanding of world pop music are far superior to mine, or even Song Linxin and the others."
Yoo Ji-eum: "Only you would say that to me. Others would just say I'm an idol singer."
“When you sing on the stage of the top domestic award ceremony, or the Oscars, you will be a symbol of popular culture,” Lu Yanhe said. “I like your concert design. You are not an assembly-line idol singer. Those who say this about you have no taste.”
Liu Zhiyin burst out laughing.
Lu Yanhe said, "Home Alone 2 should still be released at the end of January or the beginning of February next year. It would be best if your song could be produced before December so that we can make promotional arrangements."
"Okay." Liu Zhiyin nodded.
“Maybe Parameter will foot the bill and put you on the stage of the top music festivals,” Lu Yanhe said with a smile, “or the most influential programs and stages in Europe and America.”
This is the impact of the movie "Home Alone".
Liu Zhiyin had clearly also considered the opportunity that singing the promotional song might bring.
She said confidently, "I will definitely do a good job with this promotional song."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
Besides, Lu Yanhe also thought for a while about whether there were any other suitable opportunities for Liu Zhiyin to sing, in addition to the promotional song for this movie.
He didn't want to help Liu Zhiyin get the opportunity to sing promotional songs in the domestic film and television industry. Firstly, given Liu Zhiyin's current popularity and status, she didn't need to do such a thing. Secondly, Lu Yanhe didn't want Liu Zhiyin to compete with domestic singers for a living.
If you're going to rob someone, go rob them overseas.
Then, Lu Yanhe thought of another play.
The third and final season of "The Seventeen Floors" is already in preparation for airing.
This show is currently gaining some popularity on overseas streaming platforms, belonging to the type of show with a group of die-hard fans.
Lu Yanhe contacted Jiang Lan directly to ask if the OST or promotional song for the third season of "The Seventeen Floors" had been made and if the singer had been decided.
Jiang Lan said that all the singers have been contacted.
Lu Yanhe asked, "What about the English version?"
"The English version?" Jiang Lan was taken aback.
Lu Yanhe said, "The third season of 'The Seventeen Floors' is very popular on streaming platforms now, so why not make an English version for them?"
Jiang Lan was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say.
Lu Yanhe said, "Jingtai is a large and well-established company now, it doesn't need the money to produce an English version, does it?"
Jiang Lan: "...Yan He, what do you want to do? Why don't you just tell me your thoughts? Do you think I wouldn't take it seriously?"
Lu Yanhe: "Hearing you say that makes me feel relieved."
He smiled from the bottom of his heart.
(End of this chapter)
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