Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 974 The Goose Egg and the Rolling Stone's Plan
Bian Lang saw Sun Minghao's provocative YouTube post after finishing his rice noodle soup with Lao Tan at LAB. Without thinking, he immediately replied: "Your South Korea isn't even a third the size of our Yunnan province. You're such a tiny country, I don't know where your sense of superiority comes from. We support the national team, it has nothing to do with their strength or anything like that, it's simply because we are Chinese!"

No sooner had I finished sending this than Wu Hao called: "Bian Lang, are you still in Chuncheng?"

Bian Lang wasn't sure why Wu Hao was calling. Normally, this leader would contact Tiger directly; was it personal or official business? After mentally reviewing recent events, Bian Lang answered the phone, saying, "Good morning, Minister Wu. Are you on duty for the National Day holiday?"

Wu Hao had no time for idle chatter with Bian Lang and went straight to the point: "Could you revise the domestic version of your song's music video again? The General Administration of Sport wants to do a super league-style grand alliance, which would also be a way to cheer you on..."

After listening, Bian Lang politely declined, saying, "That's no problem, but we have to wait until things are settled. After all, we've already made a big boast, and it wouldn't be good if domestic fans blamed the Football Association if it didn't work out in the end."

Before making the call, Wu Hao had already anticipated that Bian Lang would most likely refuse. If Bian Lang simply said no, he had even prepared an excuse for him, nothing more than the copyright sponsorship thing. The General Administration of Sport wouldn't pay for that, and it would just be passed on to the Football Association, and then there would be no more trouble.

He never expected that Bian Lang's excuse would be so flawless!

"Once everything settles down, the General Administration of Sport will probably have forgotten all about it. And then what about the cultural sector... well, never mind, this isn't something a lowly official like me can worry about." Thinking this to himself, he said aloud, "Alright, I'll tell them that. Oh, and there's something else. A documentary film crew from CCTV contacted me looking for a collaboration. I find that a bit odd..."

Bian Lang was completely unprepared for this: "How did they end up looking for you? Is it someone you know?"

"We didn't know each other directly; they went through several roundabouts before finally finding me. Could you have someone make contact with them?"

Since that's the situation, Bian Lang stopped thinking about it when he couldn't figure it out: "Okay, thank you, Minister Wu. Can you attend the music festival?"

"I'm not going. Your show 'The Big Band' has caused quite a stir, and your music industry creative park is really hot right now. My shift this time will probably be to receive visitors. Make sure you arrange for people to stay here properly, don't all go out, otherwise when real visitors come, there won't be anyone to give a tour..."

Bian Lang immediately assured him, "No problem, I'll arrange it right away."

After hanging up the phone, Bian Lang said to Lao Tan, "Lao Tan, during the National Day holiday..."

"No, I'm a rebellious person. I'm afraid that if I see those officials, I might not be able to control myself and cause trouble for Rolling Stone. You should find someone else!" Old Tan was not lying. According to his estimation, no one in the entire company except Old Pan could take on this job.

Those who were mild-mannered either didn't understand the park or weren't in a suitable position. Bian Lang thought about it for a moment, then went downstairs to find Zhu Yan.

……

After the haters' plans completely failed, the final episode of "The Big Band" aired on October 2nd as scheduled without any surprises.

Having benefited from the promotional screen in the city square last time, the shopping malls didn't feel the same sense of complacency as before. They were all actively trying to secure more bands to perform at the event.

Most of the Rolling Stones bands had gone off to prepare for music festivals, and the other two finalists also had music festival commitments. In the end, Dianhai, relying on its old relationship with Rolling Stones, managed to get Bian Lang, the "only" free person, to participate. However, due to the ban, Bian Lang also invited Luo Lin.

The Faces band wasn't without offers, but Luo Lin also had his own band, and until things were sorted out, Faces wouldn't accept any gigs other than for "The Big Band." The other musicians in Luo Lin's own band were also upset about this, so they weren't taking any gigs during this period either.

Luo Lin, who had no work to do and didn't want to stay in Beijing, brought his wife and children to Kunming for fun. As a result, the children went to Happy World and didn't want their father anymore, so he was easily conscripted by Bian Lang.

Unlike Dingding and her friends, who went to the milk tea shop to pretend to be employees for a quick flash sale, the two of them simply waited on the fourth-floor rooftop while drinking.

With half an hour to go, the square was already packed with people, and a temporary music market had even sprung up. Rolling Stone Records was the main player, and Goose Egg Music also took advantage of the event to hold a small on-the-ground promotion.

Although it was just a small-scale on-the-ground promotion event, Ma Yuan knew that Bian Lang had returned to Kunming but hadn't left yet, so he made a special trip to meet with Bian Lang and take charge of the event.

For an online music platform, offline events are basically just sponsoring performances and activities. But who would have thought that such a temporary event, without even any online promotion, would actually attract Ma Yuan, the music director?

So, when Bian Lang and his companion looked down from the fourth floor, they noticed that several staff members at the Goose Egg Music booth were working exceptionally hard. They were worried that Ma Yuan might appear out of nowhere and happen to catch them slacking off. After watching for a while, Ma Yuan also came to the fourth-floor terrace.

He brought over a cup of tea and, before even sitting down, asked Bian Lang, "Bian Lang, does this BJ tea still have any distributors? I'm already addicted to it, can we chat?"

Bian Lang obviously didn't know the specifics, but he would definitely give this person face: "You'll have to ask my sister for details. As long as it's not decided yet, we'll definitely give you priority."

Although the two hadn't crossed paths much before, Bian Lang had heard quite a bit from Liu Ziyang and Bai Dao. He felt obligated to repay the favor Liu Ziyang had done for the Rolling Stones at Goose Egg Music.

"Then it's settled! I really like this! If the timing is right, could you help me arrange a meeting with your sister this time..."

"OK, no problem!"

After clearing up this unrelated matter, Ma Yuan got down to business: "You guys really went too far last month. I feel like Liu Xingwu was about to be bullied to tears!"

The topic was naturally the new song charts. Although Bai Nilang hadn't paid much attention to them, he knew that all six songs from the previous episode of "The Big Band" had made it into the top 10, and the top three spots were firmly occupied. "This can only mean that they didn't plan well. 'The Big Band' airs every week, that's a done deal. If they want to gamble on not having a hit, then they have to be able to withstand the setbacks."

Ma Yuan agreed with Bian Lang's statement. He even felt that in the next two or three years, without collaborating with Rock Records, the chances of topping the new song charts would be extremely slim. Take this month for example, Liu Xingwu was the only outsider in the top 10, because there were also two songs from "Songs of the Past" and Bian Lang's version of Hedgehog's songs that appeared in "The Big Band".

Looking at this month, the situation is basically the same; it's just a matter of how much of a share Rolling Stone will get.

"We're thinking about whether we should adjust the timing of the new album from Rolling Stones. You're always contradicting yourself, which isn't very meaningful, do you think?"

Regarding the timing of the album release, no one in the entire company offered Bian Lang any suggestions; they all simply followed his lead. Speaking of this, Bian Lang himself was actually conflicted.

If "Omnipotent Youth Hostel," an album that is undisputed as a masterpiece in the history of Chinese rock, were to achieve less success on Earth due to Bian Lang's haste and carelessness, he himself would find it unacceptable.

With the current release frequency from Rock Records, both he and his label are bound to cause fatigue among fans and the market. The extent of this negative impact, or rather, its influence on the album "Wan Qing," is immeasurable. Therefore, he wants to hear the advice of Ma Yuan, the music director of this major record label.

"what do you mean?"

"Ziyang played me demos of two more songs. I think you should hold off on releasing this album until the right time!"

Bian Lang agreed with Ma Yuan's suggestion, but the timing was crucial. What if he felt tired later, took a break for a year or two, and when the industry had almost forgotten him, and new artists started claiming they could use Rock Records' reputation to climb the ladder, would releasing this album be a slap in the face? That might seem like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Or perhaps some special event occurred...

Seeing that Bian Lang only nodded without responding, Ma Yuan continued to explain: "I have carefully looked at the data of all your songs released over the past year. Although the results are very good, the number of songs per song is actually showing a downward trend."

This year we have *The Big Band* and *Songs of the Past*. Those two are classics enough; releasing another one would just tire most music fans, unless they're seasoned veterans. You've got a year off, so why not wreak havoc on the European music scene too!

It has to be said that this plan is beneficial to Bian Lang, and it also coincides with some of Bian Lang's ideas and plans. However, Ma Yuan's tone in the last sentence was somewhat helpless, and Bian Lang instinctively felt that there must be many things behind this matter that he could not understand.

"I do have plans for an English single. If there's a collaboration opportunity with Goose Egg, just let me know, Lao Ma!"

When Ma Yuan heard that Bian Lang didn't want to beat around the bush, he stopped with the preamble and went straight to the point: "Did you know that Goose Egg Music has an overseas version?"

"Old Ma, you're underestimating me a bit. Your Goose Egg Music has an overseas expansion plan, how could I not know you have an overseas version?"

Ma Yuan, recalling the past grievances between Rolling Stone and them, laughed somewhat awkwardly, "Indeed, it's not that I felt the overseas version wasn't famous enough, so..."

If Lang still doesn't understand why Ma Yuan contacted him, then he's wasted this year following Chen Shuting: "The overseas copyrights are all handled by DGM. If you want to cooperate, just talk to them directly. Coming to me won't help..."

"Of course we'll contact DGM, but I'd like to reach an agreement with you first regarding some offline events!"

Upon hearing this, Bian Lang realized that his plan to spend the next year primarily in Europe had likely been leaked.

"That's no problem, but you know my principles and temperament. If it's like Liu Xingwu and I are on the same stage, then I can't cooperate!" Goose Egg's business and DGM have a mutually beneficial relationship, and with Rolling Stone's support, it's a win-win-win situation for all three parties.

Furthermore, Goose Egg is very wealthy. If Bian Lang wants to do something in Europe and needs sponsorship, he can bring them over at any time. Why not?

"Don't worry about that. What idiot would come up with that kind of plan?" Ma Yuan joked with a smile, but Luo Lin countered, "That's hard to say. After all, they're still one of the top four celebrities overseas, and Bian Lang has such a big reputation abroad. It's possible that some idiot planner might think of pairing these two up..."

"Rolin, shut up! With me around, that kind of plan will never pass! If we're going to do something, it'll definitely be an event with a rock theme..."

What Ma Yuan said was just a concept; in reality, they knew this would be difficult. After all, the main users of the overseas version are still overseas Chinese. To penetrate the foreign app community, it's not just a matter of usage habits; there are also issues like the thickness of copyright.

They had been promoting it for a while, but much of it turned out to be vanity projects at the national and ethnic level, with very little actually turning into profit.

But that's the responsibility a large corporation should have, and there's nothing wrong with that. However, now that Bian Lang and Rolling Stones have gained recognition in Europe and their relationship with Goose Egg has been repaired, why not seize this opportunity for cooperation?
Bian Lang, however, thought differently. If Rolling Stone wanted to avoid a repeat of the current situation in the future, it would need to have a strong voice abroad so that domestic capital would no longer dare to act presumptuously.

Now that the Rolling Stones have completed their European tour, there is a foundation for many things to be done, but neither DGM nor the Rolling Stones can act as major investors, such as expanding the Rolling Stones Festival overseas!
However, if DGM were to sponsor the project, the likelihood of this happening would be much greater, and the timeframe for implementation could likely be shortened as much as possible. DGM has no shortage of resources in Europe, and the Rolling Stones are a major driver of Chinese audiences in Europe.

With a major sponsor like Goose Egg, along with sponsors of alcohol, musical instruments, and so on, perhaps overseas Chinese music fans will be able to experience the charm of the Rolling Stones Festival in Europe next year!

(End of this chapter)