Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 971 The Game Resumes
With just this one song, Bian Lang's reputation as a "poet" once again went viral online.

Riding the wave of popularity from "The Big Band," it surged ahead. With the added boost of three popular figures—Liu Yao, Xia Yuxi, and Guo Sichu—Bian Lang's popularity on Weibo's entertainment section surpassed that of "The Big Band" on the top headlines.

For an artist who has already been temporarily "banned," this high level of popularity is quite rare.

Those who made the decisions above looked grim: "What's going on? Isn't there any way to reduce the hype surrounding this person? What kind of magic does a rock musician possess?"

This wasn't out of curiosity; the things these people consider are ultimately different from ordinary people. They don't care about the true nature of things, but rather how much benefit they can ultimately gain from them.

In the past, once something was defined by them, it was difficult to reverse it. But this time, facing Bian Lang, it seems that these people's wishful thinking has all backfired.

However, they were not giving up. If they thought that this alone would stop them from doing anything, they would be underestimating their power and methods. After a series of coordinated actions, the capital that hated Rolling Stone so much began to act once again.

This time, the support for Bian Lang is louder than ever before. According to Du Ziteng's analysis, "Whether it's casual observers or fans, they all love to see the drama of slapping the official in the face. This tactic has never failed us throughout history. Unfortunately, right now, there's only one person in the entire industry as tough as Bian Lang."

Seeing the traffic generated by netizens, various media outlets eager to get a piece of the pie were quite cautious. After all, the law doesn't punish everyone, and at that time, they only said Bian Lang was not allowed to perform; there were no other restrictions. Bian Lang simply didn't want to cause trouble for Rolling Stone, so he stopped speaking on domestic social media.

Media outlets are directly controlled by relevant departments. If they follow public opinion and support Bianlang, warnings and deletions are minor issues; the real danger is losing their accounts altogether. However, if they go against public opinion and criticize Bianlang, anyone with a bit of influence would still be hoping for future collaborations with Rolling Stone, so they wouldn't do such a thing.

However, those marketing accounts that didn't care about the fate of their accounts have started to systematically stir up trouble under the influence of an undercurrent, and their main battleground isn't even in China. These domestic marketing account matrices, seemingly indifferent to the fate of their accounts, consist entirely of screenshots and reposts of foreign bloggers' statements, followed by seemingly fair but actually veiled criticisms of Bianlang.

As for those bloggers abroad, that's naturally the result of a collaboration between CAA and certain domestic entertainment companies.

Moreover, some foreign music bloggers who previously had some fame on Bilibili have started to criticize and spread negative rumors. It's worth noting that Bilibili is essentially the headquarters of Rolling Stones, so this situation is extremely rare.

When domestic rock music fans saw this, they naturally rallied to attack it; how could they not see that someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes?

"Heh! Is this what foreign countries call freedom of speech? Looks like it's easier to make easy money abroad?"

"What a joke! What about your principles and stance? It's all just talk; in the end, everything comes down to money!"

"How much per strip? Let me see if this dirty money is really that easy to earn?"

Once the online feud started, domestic media outlets that hadn't yet caught up with the trending topics naturally began to jump on the bandwagon. However, to avoid offending Rolling Stone, they simply reposted the content without offering any commentary.

However, that's enough. According to the principle that the moon is rounder in foreign countries, the majority of those who don't understand will naturally be led down the path of the black-edged waves.

"Foreign musicians definitely understand rock better than domestic ones, so your ridiculous praise is nothing but clown talk in the eyes of foreigners!" Under the guidance of such remarks, although the Black Border Wave incident did not reach the level of a nationwide celebration, it did give the higher-ups a sense of relief.

This at least proves that their methods were not entirely ineffective.

Some so-called strategists suggested banning "The Big Band" as well, but the higher-ups obviously wouldn't do that. Although they also felt it would be a huge loss of face...

It's clearly stated that Bian Lang cannot appear in domestic media or commercial performances, but look at this episode of "The Big Band." Although there's not a trace of Bian Lang in person, nor does his name appear even once, which rock music fan could resist praising him after watching this episode?
If it were shut down directly, the rock music fans who support Bianlang would riot, and the backlash would be much bigger than it is now. The people in power aren't stupid.

So if things continue like this, and outsiders add fuel to the fire, they'll feel that's enough. Finally, some insignificant official media outlets will step in to cool things down, and the matter will be considered closed.

Following the line of thought provided by Dead Horse Man, CAA directly defined Bian Lang as a "tainted artist" in China.

Dead Horse Man also personally took to the stage, recording a video in an extremely unbelievable tone and posting it on YouTube: "As a Chinese person, I really can't understand why European rock fans are so crazy about the Rolling Stones and Bianlang? Don't you know that Bianlang has been banned in China?"
As an artist with such a bad record who has repeatedly challenged the values ​​of normal people with his works, I think he should be completely banned, both domestically and internationally... Moreover, as a Chinese person, I simply do not believe that Bian Lang has the ability to create the works that drive European rock fans crazy..."

The first person to see the news was Ma Yuan, who was working overtime to boost the online traffic of the "The Big Band" live album. As the popularity soared, all six songs featured in this episode of "The Big Band" unsurprisingly debuted on the new song chart.

Liu Xingwu, who was confident of securing second place for the month, was so angry that his mouth twisted in disbelief!

When "Crying Fist" was released, he felt that his second-place position might be in jeopardy. However, considering Liu Yao's personal influence, he built a ladder for himself and wasn't so angry anymore.

Let's just consider this a strategic failure. As long as we can maintain our top three position, we can preserve our status as one of the top four celebrities.

But who knew that "Hoping for a Warm Spring" would suddenly appear in fifth place, and at an unbelievable speed, it began to catch up with fourth place and him, who was in third place. This made him burst out cursing: "Xia Yuxi, are you fucking sick? You gave up being a proper idol and went to play rock and roll? And..."

He himself didn't know what to say next!

So the agent immediately started showcasing their "talents" and began seeking resources from the three major platforms. Meanwhile, Ma Yuan was in charge of the live album for "The Big Band," so anything related to it had to go through him.

He had just finished dealing with the demands of Liu Xingwu's agent when he searched for Bianlang on the internet and saw the video of Dead Horse Man.

By the end, he was so angry he laughed: "You, a sharp-tongued person whose account has already been banned in China, are now making easy money by educating foreigners about 'disgraced' celebrities. Isn't that just ridiculous?"

He originally intended to forward the link and then comment on it, but after thinking about it, he decided to share the link in Hakuba Shiryu's group instead.

Just as he expected, Bai Dao, that old angry young man, was the first to jump out: "We're all banned, so no one is superior to anyone else? He's actually getting a sense of superiority from being banned. None of you should say a word, I'm going to argue with him on YouTube..."

As for Pan Xiulong, he fell into deep thought after reading it. Now that he has left Magic Disc, he works as a producer for various programs and also takes on album and music production jobs. Although it sounds pretty good, he has also deeply experienced the atmosphere of the pop music scene and the entertainment industry as a whole.

Sometimes, as a music director, there aren't many things that he can actually decide directly in the end. For example, if he encounters a popular celebrity invited by a TV show, the celebrity's shallow musical knowledge might be at the level of an elementary school student in his eyes, but for the sake of work, he still has to call the celebrity "teacher."

All the changes to the arrangement had to be done according to what the other person wanted.

Having experienced the mindset of a victim of violence, he now deeply empathizes with Bian Lang, having once been one of the perpetrators of violence against him.

"Damn it! Think about how we, Magic Disc, used to be struggling to survive, and we even had to fight against Bian Lang... Now it feels like they're carrying the haters of half the entertainment industry. This kind of spirit is truly invincible..."

Although his relationship with Pan Jianhu hasn't been fully repaired, he still loves Chinese rock music to this day. His past stance led him to do many things against his conscience, but this time he wants to do something for Bian Lang and Chinese rock music.

Thinking of this, he naturally thought of the production team he was currently working with. They were filming a documentary, and the team had the backing of CCTV. Although he knew it might not work out, he still wanted to give it a try.

After Dead Horse Man and White Knife started arguing on YouTube, it naturally attracted the attention of countless netizens both at home and abroad.

Shortly after, another piece of bad news for Rolling Stone was reported.

Although the latest issue of Music Magazine hasn't been released yet, having already received payment, they've naturally started laying the groundwork for Strauss and Tirion not to be on the list.

One of the editors-in-chief of Music posted a message directly on his YouTube account: "I think it is very irresponsible to put some musicians we don't know very well on the list when the truth of many things has not been verified."

This was clearly the work of a seasoned strategist, and it made Ivo jump up and down in Hoffman's office in a fit of rage: "What does this thing mean by saying that? They're just a music magazine, not a politician's weapon. What are they responsible for? It's utterly absurd..."

Wang Wenhui has been accompanying his wife to work as a translator for Bian Lang these past few days, while also handling the details of the copyright transaction between Rolling Stone and DGM. He is currently in Yiwo's office.

After hearing this, he felt that Ivo might not have truly understood what the other person was trying to say, so he picked up Ivo's cup and went out to the break room: "I'll go get you a refill of your coffee!"

After he came out, he started reading this content and pondered it carefully.

Back in Ivo's office, Wang Wenhui handed him a coffee: "Mr. Ivo, I think the editor-in-chief of Music is slandering Bian Lang and Rolling Stone!"

Upon hearing the word "slander," Ivo slammed his coffee down on the table and asked urgently, "What does that mean?"

"Should we consider the truth behind many of the things he said in conjunction with the latter half of that traitor's statement?"

"Who is the traitor? What does that mean?"

"Dead Horse Man, didn't he question the authenticity of Bian Lang's original works?"

Hearing Wang Wenhui's deduction, Yiwo truly realized how ruthless music's tactic was. From a legal perspective, Bian Lang's works are flawless in terms of originality.

Even if the case is taken to the United Nations, it can withstand various investigations.

However, those who only believe what they already know will inevitably question these things when incited. If Bian Lang were a European or American, or even Black, he might not face this potential risk, but since Bian Lang is Asian, what can he do?

"That damn guy is absolutely wicked, but he didn't say it outright, so it's very difficult for us to hold him accountable from a legal standpoint..."

"Didn't I hear that the major instrument manufacturers are already putting pressure on them? If... I mean, if DGM could be a little more assertive, since you have the untapped market of China, is music recommendation really that important in Europe?"

This statement hit Ivo pretty hard. According to a survey conducted by an authoritative consulting firm, magazines like Music no longer have the same terrifying influence on clients as they used to.

Furthermore, with their collaboration with the Rolling Stones to enter the Chinese market, how can DGM win over domestic rock music fans if they don't strongly align themselves with the Rolling Stones in this regard?

The question is whether the authorities will treat them the same way they treated Bian Lang. The answer is simple: even if they are targeted, it's still much better than before when they had almost no options.

Moreover, if companies like Rolling Stone and Edgewave, which have only been around for a year, dare to go against them, then DGM, a long-established European brand, has even less excuse to back down.

"I understand. I will reach an agreement with the instrument manufacturers!"

As for the specific public relations tasks, they still fell to Evelyn.

Evelyn, who was dealing with such a complex public relations issue for the first time, was a little lost, especially after seeing all the news. She just laughed and said:
"Why bother with that kind of person? If he can somehow manage to blackmail me so badly that everyone in Europe hates me, then I'll change my mind about being a 'wanderer' (a derogatory term for someone who lives a carefree life). But he definitely doesn't have that ability!"

Although that's what Bian Lang said, as Bian Lang and Rock Records' overseas agent, she naturally couldn't do nothing. If she really did nothing, how could she demonstrate the importance of her role as agent?

After communicating with Wang Wenhui and getting a basic understanding of the situation in China, she began contacting the most influential leading media outlets in Europe.

Since everyone blindly trusts authority, let's see if Music or Time magazine is more authoritative?
(End of this chapter)