Chapter 76
It is said that movies are the art of light and shadow, and this stage seems to be the same. The interweaving of light and shadow is very impressive.
Until the end of the performance and the song was finished, Su Ning's previously anxious heart gradually let go.
Shen Mingzheng sat next to him, half hugging him out of habit, sensing the change in his aura, and asked, "They've been in the industry for so long, are you still nervous now?"
Su Ning: "Of course."
He knew in his heart that these seven people were already mature idols who had experienced ups and downs, but after all, they were artists he brought up, so he was always worried about them.
Everyone's performance was better than he imagined!
Su Ning, in a good mood, asked the people around him, "Zhu Lan later introduced someone from the TV station to come here. How was it? Did the negotiations go smoothly?"
Shen Mingzheng nodded: "Don't worry, everything will go well."
It is not easy to establish these relationships. It would be difficult for him and Su Ning if there was no one to lead the way.
When Zhu Lan first came, he and Su Ning had discussed that no matter what Mr. Shen's purpose was, he was here. Zhu Lan had his own behavioral logic and work philosophy. This person was not easy to get along with, but if used well, he could be a help.
Now that they have gradually established a foothold in Haicheng, they are starting to cooperate and deal with external platforms or companies.
Although I was not very excited, everything else was looking up, and the company was clearly on the right track and thriving.
Su Ning was nervous when the evening program was broadcast. Shen Mingzheng looked like it was nothing and even joked with him. However, he was actually very concerned about her. He hugged Su Ning before going to bed at night and did not forget to take a look at the real-time data provided by the company before going to bed.
Su Ning couldn't sleep either, so he went over to take a look. However, the interface seemed unfamiliar to him, and it didn't look like the common lists in the circle, so he asked.
"This is a list made by our company. We have invested in some streaming media platforms before, and we can get some stable data sources from them," Shen Mingzheng turned the screen around and showed her the content, and then replied, "The last time the Glory incident reminded me that it is not only Emotion that has evaluation standards, in fact, we also have our own."
Previously, the Internet troops used by Emotion to whitewash the company deliberately slandered Glory, saying that its data was fake. However, whether it is true or not, people who really understand it can clearly see it. It’s just that the audience outside may not have such a source of information.
Today is the era of streaming media, and the entertainment industry is at the forefront of streaming media. At the same time, they also need to understand the audience's trend at all times, rather than working in isolation.
Shen Mingzheng had this idea a long time ago. He invested in the media not only to influence public opinion, but also to plan other things. So he started to do it some time ago. Coincidentally, he had a lot of exchanges with other platforms during this period and also introduced some other databases.
"It's still in the trial stage. It's not easy to connect databases, and there's still a lot of work to do, so we're just looking at it internally first, and I haven't had time to tell you yet," Shen Mingzheng said. "I think if it's mature and has some results, we can start trying to release it to the outside world."
They may not be able to create an "Audience Choice Award" like Edelweiss in the short term, but they should take a step forward, have their own voice and confidence, and gradually build influence.
After dealing with the public opinion regarding not winning the award last time, no one said anything and it seemed like it was in the past. But in reality, everyone kept it in mind and was working hard to make further progress.
After the promotion show that day, Su Ning watched the audience's comments and feedback on the song and saw that the data was rising in real time and continued to rise until the end of the show.
The seven members of the Glory group are also very concerned about this.
The new album was officially released the next day. During the interview, they secretly checked the sales on their phones and kept reading fans' comments on the new album. Even though they had seen countless "good" feedback, they were still very nervous when they saw the sales increase.
But when the formal interview started, these people perked up.
After all, Glory is still young, so fans used to jokingly call them "not very smart" and "looks easy to deceive." In fact, even the smartest people need time to adapt when they first enter the circle, but looking at them now, it seems that their eyes are much clearer.
After watching and experiencing a lot, I can see more clearly what I want to do. This change is especially obvious when talking about albums.
Their first album, from music to stage, all aspects were arranged by Shen Mingzheng and Su Ning. All they needed to do was to listen to other people's experience, follow the company's arrangements, and perform well, just like the group did.
But the second album was very different.
Not only the three carefully crafted stories, but also many parts of the album are filled with their own thoughts, so there are many real feelings that can be expressed in the interview.
When they talk about their creative ideas, their thoughts on design, and what they want to express, they all speak from the heart, so, in the words of their fans, they look "a lot smarter" as a group.
Just looking at the styles of the two albums, you can see the changes.
The first album had songs like Apollo and the Pirates that were all very illusory and fantasy-like. The second album also had some songs of that style. Some of the title songs actually had some fantasy elements to them, but they also had a more down-to-earth feel.
It was like the first stage design, breaking the illusion of light and shadow, and they themselves were standing there in reality.
This change is very bold, as many groups will stick to their original style after becoming popular, as it is their comfort zone but they are also afraid that their fans will not accept it.
But the idol circle is constantly changing. By the time they release their second album, new talent shows have already started and new idols have debuted.
Fans may say they love you forever, but countless facts have proven that anyone will be attracted by new people unless they are constantly growing and staying fresh.
The basis for all this is that this album is really well made. Good songs are good, bad songs are bad, and they can't fool the audience. In addition, the music production team of Shen's Films is getting stronger and stronger. Only when a song is good can it let everyone understand more about the concept and details of the production.
The public can see these efforts, so the feedback is very enthusiastic.
The album's sales were the most immediate.
Generally speaking, this digital album with eight songs is priced at around ten or twenty yuan in the industry, and there are some that are more expensive, priced at thirty yuan. If it is a physical album, it will be even more expensive.
Moreover, each song has a MV, and comes with free viewing rights for the three title song stories. It is much richer than the previous album, and in comparison, it also has more content than other groups' albums.
At first, the company set the price at 18 yuan, which was considered very affordable and was in the lower middle of the market. However, Su Ning looked at it and felt that it was unnecessary to sell it at such a high price. It would be better to lower the threshold. Fans would pay for it no matter how much it cost, but if the price was too high, it would not be worth it for the average passerby, no matter how good it was.
So, despite public opinion, the price was changed to 9.9.
The last mini album released had sales of over 20 million copies and grossed over 100 million, which is considered quite profitable.
The album had a high number of pre-orders this time, so sales started off very well, breaking records all the way. But fans who happily bought the album not only got to listen to the songs, but also received unexpected rewards!
This MV and the three stories are really special and well shot! They look great even without the fan filter.
At first, many people thought that Tong Feifan just shot it casually to make money, but a closer look reveals that it is really well-made.
The public is usually quite critical and generally negative about idols filming movies, but if they really perform well and the quality is really high, the audience won’t say anything and will give praise where it’s due.
There are also some amazing people in the Glory fan group. I have edited some stage clips before, but there are also many straight shots of Li Chu that have exceeded 10 million views, but most of them are relatively short, about two or three minutes.
But this time is different. There are many areas for creativity. The creators cut out some particularly eye-catching clips from the three stories and re-created many excellent secondary works, such as "Glory: Three Lives and Three Worlds of Reincarnation", which has a very high number of views on the platform.
The creativity of the masses is limitless.
Short videos and long videos each have their own advantages in terms of publicity. For some stories, Su Ning watched them several times on his mobile phone, clicked the "like" button and voted three times in a row, and carefully read the fans' excited discussions in the comment section.
He encourages this kind of work. Maybe some companies think it is an infringement, but only clips and not the whole album can also help attract traffic to the album. There is no need to go too far in this regard. The freedom that should be given should also be given. Su Ning even takes the initiative to contact some scissors and bloggers to spend money on promotion.
Perhaps because the quality of the idol dramas broadcast by Yuedong during this period was not very good, there were no high-profile dramas aired for a while. This period was not a hot period for broadcasting dramas like the summer vacation, but there was a period of gap between the old and the new.
Although Glory's short play is not long, it is better than other plays of the same period in terms of quality and performance.
Originally, some audiences paid no attention to the idol circle and hardly watched the stage, but now they are attracted by this show and have come to learn a little bit more. The group’s “breaking the circle” effect is very obvious.
The fans of Gua Tuan, who had been holding their breath, were filled with all kinds of materials and the stage. They jumped up and down excitedly for the quality of the works, shared their feelings with their colleagues, and took every opportunity to promote the works to the attracted passers-by.
"Nine dollars and nine cents can't buy you a loss, and you can't buy you a scam!"
"Our seven kings of Gua Tuan will never disappoint you!"
Needless to say, the group laid a solid foundation on the stage during this period, and then there were various music promotion programs. Li Chu's straight-beat performance was always very good, and Glory's second album attracted attention in all aspects, so the album's sales continued to rise.
First it broke the record of the previous album, and then went on to break many other records.
The total sales volume of various platforms first reached the 30 million mark, and after a period of time, it exceeded 40 million. This number, both in terms of sales volume and sales amount, has already entered the top three of the entire historical list, far exceeding Su Ning's expectations.
This money is already a huge profit for the company.
Even though a lot of money was spent on music and filming, compared to the profits, the cost Su Ning spent was nothing.
Moreover, the bulk of idols' earnings come from endorsements and various commercial collaborations. When Su Ning was releasing her first album, she had to fight for some particularly high-profile endorsements, but now invitations are pouring in like snowflakes.
The second album proved that Glory's popularity was beyond doubt.
Not to mention that no one is complaining about not winning the Rookie Award, even if Glory wins the Best Group Award now, it is well deserved.
After that, it’s Fashion Week.
All seven members of the group were invited to visit exhibitions abroad, and several luxury brands offered them very good treatment. Zhou Chunqing naturally went with them, but Su Ning did not.
The group's results were there, and each person's development path gradually became clear at this time.
After the fashion week, if Ji Mowei and Qu Shoubai are willing, they can try to film a movie again. Not to mention, several companies have sent them scripts after watching the MV short film. Now that the two are popular again, they have more options. And there is a foundation before, the audience is receptive to them acting again.
Zhou Heng and Rui Song have put more effort into their creations and are planning to release two self-written songs in their next album. Su Ning has also secured them a drama OST. Wang Ruoyi has always been a frequent guest on variety shows. As for Li Chu and Lin Zhi, they both have many die-hard fans and the most personal endorsements, especially Li Chu.
He was the center of the show at that time, and now he is still the most popular thanks to his extremely powerful stage performance. This time when he went to the show, he was favored by those luxury brands.
Now that the album's initial promotion period has passed, Su Ning has shifted his attention from the idols to "The Ambitious Family" which has been filming for a while.
Oh, now it has been renamed as the crew of "White Hands Covering the Sky".
Ji Xue took on the role of Xia Hou Jin. She seemed quite satisfied with her performance, but she also had moments of distress. During this period, she also communicated with Su Ning from time to time.
Su Ning was worried about her because this role was very difficult to interpret. He knew that Ji Xue had talent but was young and inexperienced after all. He also had to keep an eye on the production of the show, so even if he was busy with Glory, he would still take time out to visit the Yaoshan Film and Television City.
When he came today, the accumulation of snow was the highlight, and Xiahou Jin's first counterattack.
The old emperor has died and the new emperor has ascended the throne. However, when the new emperor was the crown prince, the position of the crown princess had been vacant. There were several concubines, and they were fighting for the position. The heroine, who had become the empress dowager, favored Xiahou Jin, who was the most inconspicuous, did not like to compete, and had a kind personality.
But after becoming the empress, she became the target of public criticism.
She didn't have the best family background, and she wasn't the most favored in the East Palace. Although the mistress supported her, it was impossible for her to always be by her side and make decisions for her. Before long, Xiahou Jin took over most of the power to manage the six palaces.
That year, the emperor entertained his meritorious ministers at a palace banquet. This grand banquet was hosted by the empress. Xiahou Jin attached great importance to it and arranged everything personally.
But on the day of the palace banquet, someone still attacked her, wanting to embarrass her and let everyone at the palace banquet see how incompetent she was and how she was not fit to be the queen.
This year's palace banquet was held on the island in the middle of the lake in the palace garden. Just as the banquet was about to begin, the Queen accidentally fell into the water.
The emperor's first reaction was to get angry, and then he was worried about the palace banquet, not the empress. He hurried away, but saw that Xiahou Jin, who had always been cowardly and incompetent in his eyes, had not yet done her makeup and her face was pale after being rescued. However, she did not go to rest, but insisted on giving orders to the palace servants, just to ensure the smoothness of the palace banquet and the stability of the overall situation.
She looked very frightened at this moment. Her snow-covered hair was wet and her makeup was very light, almost non-existent. She exchanged a glance with the emperor who had rushed over. Her look, which contained a hint of grievance but still showed self-strength, made people feel pity for her.