I became famous in the entertainment industry by burning incense

Chapter 526 The conflict between fans and the company escalates

Jinli's personal response brought an end to the "college entrance exam hype".

From now on, she will not respond to this topic.

There are many trending topics on the internet, but very few receive a personal response from the celebrity.

Besides Lien Po-chi's commercial advertisement being purchased first, the rumors of March Band's disbandment also dominated the headlines, but they did not respond at all.

So as soon as Jinli responded, she immediately jumped to first place, instantly suppressing the controversy surrounding the disbandment of March Sky.

Her fans rushed to leave comments, and even some netizens who usually just watch the drama couldn't help but leave messages of support.

Don't pay attention to what others say, just look at what you do. I will always believe in you!

[Those people are just jealous of the high viewership of your live-streamed study sessions. They see you're about to take the college entrance exam, fulfilling your promises step by step, and aiming for even greater heights, so they're desperately buying trending topics to smear you!]

I watched every single one of your live streams. I studied in your live streams, which is why I got the idea to take the civil service exam. I understand that you're definitely not just starting out to create hype, as some people say.

It is said that one should not advise others to be kind if one has not experienced their suffering.

But one or two netizens who never watch live streams, and even those who do watch but never enter Jinli's study room, were indignantly saying things like "The Chinese entertainment industry is finished," "Chinese celebrities are just trying to gain fame," and "Chinese celebrities are so unethical"...

Isn't that a bit too absolute?
Jinli has always believed that "you have no right to speak if you haven't experienced it firsthand." Now the internet is very open, and there is a lot of information available, but some of it is true and some is false.

If you only hear what others say about a person, that's just hearsay.

Only those who have truly met a person are qualified to comment on them.

Jinli has a fan club.

However, her fan club is not as well-managed as that of other celebrities.

Other celebrities' schedules are disclosed by their fan clubs, which also mobilize fans to boost rankings, promote endorsements, and so on.

However, Jinli doesn't disclose her schedule, and her fans are mostly in their prime working years, many of them busy with work and not online 24/7, so they aren't quick to respond to rumors and negative information.

At the same time, none of the brands that signed Jinli's endorsement contracts stipulated a certain amount of sales she had to achieve, so Jinli did not need fans to boost sales.

Her fan club is entirely organized by fans who love Jinli.

Sometimes, fans get a sudden urge and create a compilation of Jinli's recent schedules. When netizens browse through it, they can see several different styles of posters.

Everyone is very casual and free, quietly liking a celebrity.

After Jinli responded, her fan club quietly did something big.

The fan club spontaneously raised funds, hired a lawyer in Beijing, and issued a lawyer's letter, deciding to sue three major marketing accounts for spreading rumors that Jinli was "using the college entrance examination to hype herself up"!

As soon as this news came out.

Fan clubs that used to only make their presence felt in ancient-style online arguments have made a big splash and made it into the top ten trending topics.

[6! We only see celebrities suing those who spread rumors, but we've never seen fan clubs suing marketing accounts]

[This is awesome! So awesome it's giving me goosebumps! Is this the kind of drive our older brothers and sisters have? They're so rich!]

[Throughout the article, the fan club's wording is clear, concise, and precise—even more effective than Chenxi Entertainment's legal team!]

[This is what a fan club should be like! Jinli's fan club is amazing!]

The official blog of Chenxi Entertainment also left a message under the fan club's post, which was a very heartwarming message.

【How could we let you pay for this? Please have the fan club president contact me privately. You don't need to sue the marketing accounts, we'll do it ourselves!】

Jinli Fan Club: [@Chenxi Entertainment, no need, we have money, and we're fed up with those spreading rumors. Any Tom, Dick, or Harry can become a big influencer these days. The world is going to the dogs! (Angry) (Angry)]

A netizen commented: "I have a feeling that Jinli's fan club will be sending out lawyer's letters more frequently than Chenxi Entertainment!"

A company is a collection of interests; people work simply to survive, and they may not necessarily be passionate about what they do.

But for the fans, they gave their only favoritism to Jinli.

Jinli's fan club is the first to try to resolve any issues she has online, even before the company does.

At least netizens can see that, despite the news circulating for so long, Chenxi Entertainment has not intended to sue the marketing accounts, but the fan club has even hired a lawyer.

This is "fan speed"!
After Jinli responded, she stopped looking at the blog and instead sent a message to Gu Cheng.

Who leaked the news that you were going to disband?

She didn't consider whether March Band deliberately leaked the information to shield her from attention. What artist would be so foolish?

There are no friends in business, let alone March Sky, who are artists under Tianding Entertainment.

It's even less likely that Tianding would announce its disbandment at this time.

The paparazzi started by mentioning "unsuccessful contract renewal," and then used an informant to reveal that "the team disbanded." Clearly, this was a ruse; the paparazzi's real intention was to expose the latter.

After all, whether or not March Band renews their contract with Tianding Entertainment will not affect their status in the industry.

In the entertainment industry, it's rare to see a star who becomes a top-tier celebrity fall to the second tier simply because their contract with their former agency ends.

Perhaps it's true for lesser-known A-list celebrities, those who rise to fame solely through resources provided by their companies.

But popular top artists like March Band would never lose their status just because they changed companies.

On the contrary, the news of "March Sky disbanding" is something that can really cause March Sky to fall apart and suffer a great loss of vitality.

Gu Cheng replied quickly, seemingly unaffected by the paparazzi's revelations.

[We're still investigating, but we already have someone in mind. It was probably Ming Yingyue who leaked the information. She persuaded us in the meeting room this morning, and she knows the contents of our contract. She didn't know about it before.]

"Ming Yingyue?"

Jinli murmured to herself, "This name sounds familiar."

Upon closer reflection, she remembered that Pearl had complained about this celebrity in front of her.

Jinli: [Is this serious? How are you going to handle this in public relations?]

Gu Cheng: [It's serious in some ways, but not in others. We never intended to disband; we were just delaying the renewal of our contract with Tianding.]

This leak will cause us to lose many brand collaborations, and ongoing co-branding negotiations will stall. However, it can also put pressure on Tianding, preventing them from forcing us to sign renewal contracts as they did before.

Jinli raised an eyebrow and asked with interest, "So, you've actually benefited from this misfortune?"

Gu Cheng: [This is just an unexpected stroke of good luck. We didn't expect Ming Yingyue to be so impulsive and thoughtless.] Gu Cheng: [You have an exam this afternoon, you should get some rest.]

After ending his chat with Jinli, Gu Cheng put away his phone, the sound of Yan Xingdong and Guang Ge talking on the phone constantly ringing in his ears.

It is said that a large group of paparazzi surrounded the villa, all trying to rush in.

Fortunately, this area is an affluent neighborhood with top-notch property management, which prevented the paparazzi from finding an opportunity.

Guang Ge has been communicating with the company's senior management to discuss how to reduce the heat and appease the fans' emotions.

They also condemned the company for having an inside job and demanded a thorough investigation into the artists and company staff who knew about March's contract renewal.

On Yan Xingdong's side, many brands called Guang Ge, but couldn't get through, so they had to call him to ask what was going on.

As the team leader, he has saved the phone numbers of many brand managers, and sometimes he has to come forward on behalf of March Sky to liaise with them.

Sometimes, the person in charge wants to speak directly with March Sky, which is something the agents can't prevent no matter how hard they try.

After a while, Guang Ge put down his phone and turned it off.

He patted Yan Xingdong on the shoulder and showed him his phone, which was switched off.

Yan Xingdong found an excuse to end the call and promptly turned off his phone.

Zhang Guang asked, "Did you already have a plan in mind? Who deliberately leaked the information to the paparazzi?"

Zhang Guang didn't believe that this informant was just someone he randomly picked.

Which informant is so resourceful as to know all the important details of March's contract renewal? This must mean there's a problem within the upper echelons.

Yan Xingdong's voice was a little hoarse. Just as he was about to speak, Chen Lin immediately said, "Captain, let me speak. You take a rest and drink some herbal tea to soothe your throat."

"Brother Guang, it must have been Ming Yingyue who leaked the information. This morning, when we were negotiating the contract with the company, Ming Yingyue, for some reason, appeared as the company's accomplice and advised us to lower our standards."

I confronted her, saying she betrayed the artist hierarchy and helped the company exploit us. She left looking very upset.

Guang Ge frowned: "I know you have some conflicts with Ming Yingyue, but I didn't expect your conflicts to be so deep."

He had heard a bit about it that morning, but didn't know the details.

If someone is truly driven away by criticism, it's normal that they might be unable to remain rational and leak information to the public in a fit of anger.

But if Ming Yingyue really wants to reveal something, it's definitely not just a simple emotional outburst. She must have a next step in her plan and want to get something, which is why she would reveal it to the public.

Luo Yi recalled Ming Yingyue's personality and what she had done over the past few years, and guessed:
"Could she be thinking that by proactively leaking information and letting netizens know that the profit-sharing percentage we proposed is too high, they will turn around and condemn us, thereby forcing us to give in?"

After these words, the others were speechless.

Even Chen Lin, who was the simplest of minds, thought it was impossible.

"Where is the 80% revenue share too high? The company can still make 20%, right? Besides, Tianding Entertainment is such a big company with so many artists under its umbrella. What's wrong with giving up a little profit?"
Besides, once an artist becomes famous, how much more effort does their company need to secure gigs? Don't the gigs come to them proactively? Why does she think netizens are biased towards Tianding?

Gu Cheng bluntly stated, "As cattle and horses, we can only sympathize with them."

If anyone truly cares about the company, it just means they don't understand how entertainment companies operate.

In any industry, an individual can never stand up to a corporation, never!
Unless an individual becomes so powerful that they wield absolute authority, they cannot force a group to submit.

It's the company that provides outfits for trainees who haven't even debuted yet, charging exorbitant interest under the guise of "advance payment with future installment repayments."

The company provides a channel to connect trainees with the trainees, arranges various performances, hires teams to produce debut songs, and covers all the costs. They lend money to trainees under the guise of loans, but the company ultimately places all the debut expenses on the trainees' shoulders.

This means that if you make money, you first need to settle all the upfront expenses and pay them off before you can make any money.

If you don't make money, and we even lose money to promote your debut, then you have to pay back all the money you lost before you can get a salary.

But how much money to repay is just a matter of the company's word.

Regardless of the training or debut of an artist, the artist and the company are a community of interests. It doesn't make sense that they make money together when they make money, but the artist has to bear all the losses when they lose money.
Not to mention that some companies will sign a bunch of good-looking ordinary people, just to make money from breach of contract fees.

What if we don't terminate the contract?
Okay, we don't have any announcements, and the artists can't go out to work. Let's just waste the best 10 years of their lives staying at home~
Oh, in recent years, artists in this situation have had another way out.

Taking the civil service exam!

Once you pass the exam, even the strictest companies won't dare refuse to release you. They'll have no choice but to obediently terminate the contract with the artist and won't dare say another word.

Even a peaceful termination of the contract without receiving a single penny.

Luo Yi said, "Moreover, the revenue sharing ratio reaches 80%, which is not unprecedented in the industry. Everyone in and outside the industry knows about Jinli's contract. Chenxi Entertainment has never hidden it."

Chen Lin: "Yes, although we are not as important to Tianding Entertainment as Jinli is to Chenxi, we are still the most famous team in Tianding, so why can't we reach 80%?"

Gu Cheng also said, "Sometimes the company receives tens of thousands of yuan in cash from the parties making the announcements. These accounts cannot be included in the tax calculation. It is impossible for the company not to make money."

Zhang Guang rubbed his temples, and his expression softened.

They have a point. If you think you can force March Sky to back down in this way, you're definitely mistaken.

On the contrary, the rioting fans could force Tianding Entertainment to back down.

Zhang Guang seemed to have thought of something and said in a relaxed tone, "When I was discussing the joint collaboration with you before, I thought about the issue of you going solo, disbanding, and then coming back. So I included a clause in every contract."

Considering that your return will bring more nostalgia and potentially higher popularity, a more flexible approach has been adopted in the compensation settlement, which is somewhat like a gamble.

If the bet fails, a portion of the profits will go to the brand; if it succeeds, the brand will pay a higher price. Now it seems I don't need to worry about you failing in your bet.”

Once fans' emotions are manipulated, the hype will only explode.

At the same time, Tianding Entertainment.

The moment the news broke, Tianding Entertainment's public phones were ringing off the hook.

The new operator had never experienced such a large-scale operation before, and seeing the veteran employee unplug the telephone line, he followed suit.

But while you can block telephone attacks, you can't block sonic attacks.

At some point, a large group of March Sky fans gathered outside Tianding Entertainment. They even spontaneously formed an organization and used several megaphones to shout messages.

"March Sky!"

"We will not disband!"

"March Sky!"

"We will not disband!"