PERFECT SUPERSTAR

“What do you think of this new anchor?” Fang Shaohui dropped his signature pen and the penstock rolled half a meter away along the smooth table.

The projection on the wall was on pause showing Lu Chen who had just put down his guitar after he sang “Blue Lotus”.

His eyes swept through all the faces of the company executives present. No one clearly understand what he meant with that question.

Tonight’s PK theme show is the biggest promotion and publicity campaign of [Whale TV] in the past six months. It was also set up by Fang Shaohui, the general manager. It has an investment of more than 5 million.

Although the project and funds are not big, Fang Shaohui, as a well-known young leader in the industry, is eager to use this event to boost the popularity and morale of [Whale TV] as a bolster for reviving [Whale TV]’s past glory.

So, in the evening, all the executives gathered together in the conference to pay attention to the progress of PK theme show.

The 24 anchors’ performances were coming to an end. And every one of them were showing their best performance!

One executive hesitated for a moment before saying, “This anchor’s real name is Lu Chen and he should be the biggest highlight of the show. I think we should give him a better contract.”

In front of them, there is a detailed information about the participating anchors.

Actually, Lu Chen only has an ordinary contract plus 50,000 signing fee, which is obviously not in line with his current popularity.

Fang Shaohui expressionlessly nodded.

Another senior official said, “His songs are very good. Are they really his original works?”

Immediately the brokerage department manager explained, “They are really his original works, and I didn’t believe it either at the beginning…”

The 30-year-old white-collar lady praised Lu Chen: “We have inquired in the Greater China Music Library. All the copyright of the songs is under his name. He really is a very talented young man!”

“I also think we should give him a better contract and promote him to a larger market!”

After Fang Shaohui took charge of [Whale TV], he intentionally spread the platform anchor resources to a larger area and set up a corresponding entertainment company. The main responsibility of the brokerage department is to discover new stars that is worth training.

The big entertainment circle is really a big cake, and of course, this is where one could find the fiercest competition.

[Whale TV]’s idea was not to immediately have people competing each other, but it is undoubtedly the company’s strategic goal to make better use of its own resources and earn more and have greater benefits in the future.

In the same way, their biggest competitor, StarryLive, is already doing the same thing, and they are doing it very well!

Fang Shaohui revealed a smile on his face.

The brokerage department manager, keenly aware of the change in his look, continued, “We can customize a project for him, buy his copyright, produce an album, and package him into a talented idol…”

“Manager Wang, please wait…”

She was talking incessantly about the plan she had conceived. As she was getting more and more excited, a voice from the side interrupted her words.

Manager Wang became upset, but the one who interrupts her is Wu Hongming, [Whale TV]’s operations manager, so she can only hold back her dissatisfaction and ask with a smile, “Manager Wu, what’s your opinion?”

Wu Hongming is one of the founders of Whale TV and a senior figure in Whale Technology.

Although Manager Wang is Fang Shaohui’s trusted aide, Wu Hongming’s opinions cannot be ignored.

Wu Hongming asked quietly, “How much are you going to pay for his copyright?”

Manager Wang was stunned. She didn’t think Wu Hongming would ask this question. She thought about it and answered, “My idea is for him to sign an artist’s contract for 5 years and give him 300,000 annual salary plus a 10% benefit bonus and all the creative copyrights must be included!”

In the brokerage department manager’s opinion, this contract is undoubtedly very generous. For young people like Lu Chen, he should be happy that he could get the opportunity to be promoted into the entertainment industry. It should be known that there are many people that are eager to embark on the road to become a star!

With a salary of 300,000 plus a 10% benefit bonus, she felt that it was already a high offer.

Wu Hongming said, pointing to the projection screen, “This song that Lu Chen just sang is called “Blue Lotus”. As far as I know, he has sold the copyright of this song to Light Rain Media Company in Beijing.”

“The price is 200,000!”

“Impossible!”

Manager Wang was the first to shout, staring at him and saying, “This is the price of the top famous artist!”

Among the executives present, those who know the market are also very surprised: “Is this true?”

The price of 200,000 is definitely a high price among famous artists. Without the verification of the market, a new comer being able to sell his works to 200,000, really sounded like a fantasy novel.

Wu Hongming said lightly, “Nothing is impossible. I’ve already inquired about it to my friends in the capital circle. Many people already know about this matter. Earlier on, some brokerage company wanted to sign him, but were rejected by him.”

“So, I suggest we give up on the copyright requirements, and don’t expect to sign an ordinary artist contract with him. Let’s talk about changing it to a top artist contract!”

Manager Wang disagreed: “Manager Wu, are you so sure he won’t sign it?”

Wu Hongming sighed and said, “Then you can talk to Lu Chen. This young man is very opinionated and assertive. I don’t think he will be impressed unless we give him a top artist contract.”

Wu Hongming’s understanding of Lu Chen comes mostly from his niece Wu Shanshan, who is closely related to Lu Chen and usually keeps a high level of attention on him.

As the operations manager, he can’t ignore this new anchor who is fast becoming popular on [Whale TV].

And Lu Chen’s live broadcast on the PK theme show tonight deepened his inherent impression.

Top artist contract?

All the executives looked at each other — How is that possible?

Manager Wang couldn’t help but want to refute again. Fang Shaohui first asked, “Then let Manager Wang talk to him about the artist contract first. If they can’t talk about it, how about discussing with him the new contract?”

Wu Hongming answered calmly, “I have no objection, but don’t forget that we have many competitors.”

Fang Shaohui’s breath suddenly stagnated.

In the past two years, other companies have poached popular artist from [Whale TV] by offering higher pay, especially by StarryLive. This really was a big blow to [Whale TV] and most of the new artist were bought cheaply by the other company.

The activities of PK theme show have not only enhanced the popularity of the website, but also attracted coveted eyes.

A newcomer like Lu Chen, who has only signed a common contract, is simply the best target!

If at this time, the [Whale TV] is still undecided or still hesitating, maybe they will lose a star!

Originally, Fang Shaohui didn’t take Lu Chen seriously. He just wanted to set up a model for his project. Now, after hearing Wu Hongming’s words, he finally took him seriously.

“Talk to him about the new contract at the end of the event…”

The general manager hesitated for a moment before saying, “Manager Wu, you will talk to him about the new artist contract!”

At this crucial moment, he chose Wu Hongming. He has full trust in his vision and character.

Wu Hongming nodded and said, “I’ll bring some people to Beijing tomorrow morning and talk to him face to face!”

The executives here were all surprised. They never expected Wu Hongming to pay so much attention to Lu Chen.

The last time Wu Hongming personally interviewed an anchor was last year. That was when he signed the current [Whale TV] no.1 female anchor, Qinger Baby.

Moreover, it’s as far away as the capital.

A senior official couldn’t help saying, “Well, we should have given him a better contract in the first place.”

Better contracts have longer time limits and higher degree of binding.

But regarding this low-level belated effort, Wu Hongming simply despised: “On the contract of 50,000, the finance department almost gave it back!”

[Whale TV] has a lot of venture capital, and the Finance Department has a lot of authority on funding management.

The other party suddenly became silent.

The finance department manager, Lao Wang’s face twitched and decided that he’ll just work tirelessly1.

Wu Hongming then asked, “How much authority will be given to me this time in this negotiation? If it’s less than 500,000 signing fees, then I won’t do it and you can find someone else.”

Then, he unintentionally looked at the brokerage department manager.

The eloquent young woman was silent, and if Wu Hongming had said at the beginning that he would give Lu Chen at least 500,000 signing money, no one would have agreed.

But now she understood the situation, knew that Lu Chen has sold the copyright of his song for 200,000 and that 50,000 signing fees are nothing.

In her mind, she even regretted that if Lu Chen could be signed with an ordinary artist contract, her brokerage department would hold a trump card.

A true trump card!

_________

TN: Original text was “decided to be a dead dog”. I’m not sure if I translated this correctly. Please comment below if you know the correct translation or a better one.1