1990: Starting from Baojia Street

In the afternoon, Zhou Yan received a call from Yang Dongsheng.

As soon as the call was connected, Yang Dongsheng smiled and said, "Congratulations, Teacher Zhou, your new book is a big hit."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "It has just been released, and we don't know if it will sell well yet."

"It's definitely a big seller. When I went to the bookstore to buy books this morning, I met many people who were buying this book. I also asked the cashier, and the cashier said that this book hasn't been so popular in several years. I have finished reading the book, and it is indeed very good."

Zhou Yan didn't expect that Yang Dongsheng actually had time to buy the book and had already finished reading it.

"Never Let Me Go" has 200,000 words. Even if you read fast, it will take about three hours to finish. If you read slowly, you may not be able to finish it in a day.

"Thank you Director Yang for your support."

"You must show up, but you have to give me an autograph later."

"That's easy. I'll sign a few copies for you later." Zhou Yan agreed with a smile, and then asked, "Director Yang, you called me now, aren't you just calling me to congratulate me on the success of my new book?"

"I have something I want to ask you about. Can the Taimiao concert be held on May 4th?"

They had previously agreed to hold the concert at the end of May, but now it will be held almost a month earlier.

"Is this what the station meant?" Zhou Yan asked.

Yang Dongsheng smiled and said, "I don't know if it was the intention of the station, but the leader of our station told me so and asked me to ask you."

Zhou Yan asked this because he wanted to know whether it was the station's idea or his superiors' idea to hold the concert on May 4th.

But whoever it was, it didn't seem to be a big deal. Zhou Yan thought about it and said, "There should be no problem with the time."

Although it is almost a month earlier, they still have two months to prepare, which is more than enough.

"Teacher Zhou, please stop saying yes. Can you give me a definite answer? Once we are sure, we will start preparing." Yang Dongsheng was silent for a moment, and suddenly whispered, "The station is quite concerned about this matter. Last year, foreign musicians wanted to hold a concert in Zijing City, but the relevant departments rejected it because of you. If this concert is delayed, our station will also be under pressure."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Actually, my time is very easy to arrange."

He took out his schedule from the drawer and roughly flipped through it. There was no schedule for May 4th, so he nodded and said, "No problem, let's set it for May 4th. I will let Zhang Youan contact you for the specific preparations."

After receiving a positive reply, Yang Dongsheng smiled easily, "Okay, I will report to the leader in a moment and the date will be May 4th. This year, our station has also decided on a special program for May 4th."

Zhou Yan curled his lips and said, "So it's all for the May Fourth special program."

"It's just a matter of convenience. If we want to hold your concert now, let alone the May 4th program, we may not even have the energy to hold the May 1st program."

"Is it really that exaggerated? It's just a concert. How much energy can it take up for you?"

"That's not an exaggeration. The station takes this concert very seriously. Teacher Zhou, you should also take it seriously. We agreed before that we will be responsible for matchmaking and live broadcast filming, but you have to do all the on-site arrangements yourself."

"Yes, it was agreed upon, but we also said at the time that if we wanted to hold one show, we would have to hold at least three or four shows."

The cost of setting up a concert in the Temple of Heaven is not low, and if there is only one show, the cost would be too high.

If more events can be held, the cost of setting up the venue will be spread out, reducing losses.

That’s right, Zhou Yan wanted to reduce losses rather than make more money.

Because he knew clearly that this concert would not be able to make money. Not to mention losing money on one concert, even if there were ten shows in a row and they were all sold out, he would still lose money.

The conditions of the Temple of Heaven are limited, and there are only so many places available for setting up, so the ticket revenue will be very low.

Zhou Yan roughly estimated that it would cost at least three to four million RMB to decorate the Taimiao.

This is still a conservative estimate, because Zhou Yan has not actually measured it on site, and he has no expertise in this area, so he can only make a rough guess.

It costs so much money just to set up the site, and other places also need to spend a lot of money, the cost is at least several million.

As for the ticket revenue, even if one show earns 400,000, 10 shows would only be 4 million, which would still be a loss.

However, this kind of concert has to be held even if it means losing money.

Besides, the loss is only superficial, and subsequent copyright income and CD income can also recover a lot of money.

If Zhou Yan is willing, he can also find two sponsors and let the sponsors give the money directly, so that he can make money.

However, Zhou Yan has many places to make money, so there is no need for him to advertise at this concert.

Yang Dongsheng smiled and said, "Okay, then let's arrange three sessions, starting on the 2nd and ending on the 4th, which just happens to span a weekend."

Zhou Yan thought about it and said, "No problem, let's start with number two."

There are very few legal holidays now, and Labor Day is only one day off. There is no short holiday as later, so not many people came to Yanjing for tourism at that time, and the concert in the Taimiao would not have much impact.

The 3rd and 4th are Saturday and Sunday, so tickets are easier to sell.

Although there are very few tickets and whether it is the weekend will not affect ticket sales, we still need to consider making it more convenient for the audience.

After the time was confirmed, Yang Dongsheng chatted with Zhou Yan for a few more words and then hung up the phone.

Zhou Yan hung up the phone and called Zhang Youan again.

After receiving Zhou Yan's call, Zhang Youan said with a smile, "You're calling to pick me up?"

"give you?"

"Didn't you know that I was going to America today, so you called to see me off?" Zhang Youan asked curiously.

"I didn't know you were leaving today."

"…Then why did you call me?"

"I'm calling you to tell you that the concert at the Imperial Ancestral Temple has been scheduled. It will be held from May 2nd to May 4th, three consecutive days and three shows."

"Why is it scheduled at this time? Didn't you say it would be at the end of May?"

"Yang Dongsheng called and told me."

Zhang Youan did not ask the reason. "This time is not bad. We have two months to prepare. I have previously arranged a professional team from the United States. It is a good opportunity to bring them over to have a look and finalize the stage setting plan as soon as possible."

"I'll leave this to you."

"Did Yang Dongsheng say when they were going to announce the news?" Zhang Youan asked.

"He didn't say that."

"If they haven't said anything, then they haven't said anything. We don't need to rush. We just need to wait for them to announce it first."

"it is good."

There is really no need to rush.

In China, when it comes to propaganda, who can compare with CCTV?

As long as CCTV takes the time to broadcast news related to the Taimiao concert, the publicity will be in place and they don’t need to do anything else.

As for publicity, they just need to follow CCTV's steps, which is cost-effective and efficient. "By the way, did Jeff Brown call you?" Zhang Youan asked again.

"Yeah, beat it."

After the Lantern Festival, Zhou Yan received a call from Jeff Brown the day after he arrived in Yanjing.

The purpose of Jeff Brown's call was simple: he just wanted to ask if there were any songs in "Time Traveler" that were suitable for Backstreet Boys.

Zhou Yan did not answer Jeff Brown directly, but told Jeff Brown that if there were any songs suitable for the Backstreet Boys, he would give them.

These words sounded like a promise, but also like a perfunctory one. Jeff Brown had no confidence at all after hearing them.

But after Zhou Yan said that, he didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything.

"A few days ago, he told me that he wanted to invite Wang Lihong to participate in the Backstreet Boys' performance. From what he said, he also wanted to ask me about Huanyin's background, but I didn't tell him anything."

"They are in the United States, so they are still not well-informed."

"Jive's business scope is still a bit narrow. It can't be compared with Sony and Warner. What information channels can they have? But have you promised them about Wang Lihong's matter?"

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "I have asked Xu Xiangjie to agree to this. The Backstreet Boys are doing very well now. Letting Wang Lihong participate in their performance will be beneficial to his development in the United States."

"Are you planning to let Wang Lihong develop in Europe and America?"

"It doesn't matter where you develop your career. If you sing English songs, you can release them in Europe and America. If you sing Chinese songs, you can release them in Asia. There is no limit."

"That's true."

Zhang Youan did not ask much about Wang Lihong's affairs. After all, Wang Lihong was from Huanyin, not from Tang Chen.

"That's it, nothing else."

"Well, I won't talk to you anymore. I have to catch a plane soon."

"I've arrived and I'm reporting safety."

"Forget about reporting that I'm safe. I have an appointment with Harry to have dinner together."

……

In the United States, on the morning of the 5th, Jeff Brown received a call from Huanyin.

On the phone, Xu Xiangjie told Jeff Brown that he agreed to let Wang Lihong attend the Backstreet Boys' performance on the 16th.

Jeff Brown was very happy to hear this news. "Mr. Xu, I believe you will not regret the decision you made today. Leehom Wang and Nick will definitely bring a wonderful performance to the audience."

"Mr. Brown, thank you for giving Leehom such a good opportunity this time. We will send someone to contact your company about the specific cooperation process. The conditions will be the same as what you proposed before, and there is no need to modify them."

"No problem. There are still ten days until the performance. Please hurry up."

"They will be heading to your company tomorrow."

"Okay." Jeff Brown smiled, and then said, "I heard that Leehom Wang also studied classical music. Is he and Y..."

Xu Xiangjie smiled and said, "No, Y went to school in China, and Leehom went to school in the United States. We didn't have any intersection before. Besides, Leehom didn't study classical music, he just learned violin when he was a child."

There is no intersection at all... Jeff Brown was a little disappointed. He wanted to rely on Wang Lihong to get closer to Zhou Yan.

But before Jeff Brown could speak, Xu Xiangjie said, "Of course, although they had no previous contact, Y admired Leehom very much. It was after Y saw Leehom's performance in Taiwan that he decided to sign him."

"Sign him?" Jeff Brown asked in surprise, "What does that mean?"

Xu Xiangjie was also surprised and asked, "Mr. Brown, don't you know that Y is one of the bosses of our Huanyin?"

Y is one of the bosses of Huanyin...Jeff Brown was a little confused, he had no idea about this news.

Isn't Huanyin a Taiwanese company?

And he never thought that Y could open a record company.

But after being stunned, Jeff Brown started laughing again. Since Y is Huanyin's boss, wouldn't things be simpler?

He was also glad that he had made this decision before, as it was a pleasant surprise.

"Mr. Xu, I really didn't know Y was your boss. I simply admired Leehom, so I invited him to participate in Nick's performance."

"Yes, I know."

Xu Xiangjie actually knew that Jeff Brown didn't know the relationship between Huanyin and Y, and his surprise just now was just pretend.

The reason why he revealed this news to Jeff Brown was also at the instruction of Zhou Yan.

There was nothing to hide about this kind of thing, and they had no intention of hiding it. It was just that Jeff Brown's source of information was not good and he couldn't find it.

In this case, they should take the initiative to talk about it, so that future cooperation will be easier and no misunderstandings will arise.

Now that he knows that Y is the boss of Huanyin, Jeff Brown will definitely be more concerned about this cooperation and will certainly continue to seek cooperation in the future.

If Jeff Brown didn't know that Y was Huanyin's boss, he would have hung up the phone by now, but now he decided to talk to Xu Xiangjie again.

"Mr. Xu, is Y very busy recently? I called him a few days ago, but we didn't talk much."

Xu Xiangjie smiled and said, "Well, he is indeed very busy recently. His new book was just released in mainland China yesterday."

"Is it Shutter Island?"

Jeff Brown was not surprised at all to hear about the new book, because the news that Zhou Yan's new book "Shutter Island" was going to be released had already spread widely some time ago.

So when he heard Xu Xiangjie say that Zhou Yan's new book was on sale in China, he subconsciously thought it was "Shutter Island".

Xu Xiangjie said, "It's not Shutter Island, it's another novel."

"Another one? A novel? A new one?"

"Well, it's a new work. Because it's related to cloning, it's very popular in China recently."

Jeff Brown had also read the news about Dolly the cloned sheep, so he knew what Xu Xiangjie meant.

"Y's production is really high," Jeff Brown exclaimed.

How energetic does a person have to be to be so productive?

In such a short period of time, Y released a movie and two novels, and most importantly, the movie also contained many original songs.

"Because he is Y." Xu Xiangjie said with a smile, "I believe that when you see "Time Traveler", you will sigh again that this movie is full of musical treasures."

Jeff Brown had always wanted to know how many songs there were in "Time Traveler", and now Xu Xiangjie's words made him even more eager.

But soon his expectations will be fulfilled, because the pirated disc of "Time Traveler" that they asked someone to get is on the way and will arrive in the next two days. (End of this chapter)