Huayu: Starting from Fahrenheit

Chapter 452 Xue Zhiqian Acquires Gold Typhoon
"I'm sorry."

Xue Zhiqian gave an awkward smile.

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhuo roughly understood his thoughts.

He and Xue Zhiqian had a good relationship when they first met, but later they gradually lost contact due to work reasons.

A couple who are apart for a long time will drift apart due to the distance.

If this is the case for lovers, then it goes without saying that it's the case for ordinary friends.

Childhood friends are fine, but it goes without saying that friends like Wu Zhuo and Xue Zhiqian, who have only met a few times and whose chats never last more than a few hours each time, are even less likely to be friends.

Perhaps because their relationship had become distant afterward, Xue Zhiqian felt that their relationship had become very distant, so he didn't dare to take the initiative to contact him.

“We’re old friends, so you don’t need to be so reserved. Just be like before.”

Wu Zhuo sat down on the sofa next to him.

"So you're here today to submit a song?"

"Yes, my contract with my original record company has ended."

I wrote some songs myself and want to find a company to invest in producing them into an album.

I thought about it and felt that Legend might be a good fit for me, so I came here.

Perhaps Wu Zhuo's words made him relax a lot. He was no longer so reserved and handed Wu Zhuo the A4 paper filled with lyrics and music.

Wu Zhuo took the lyrics and music and looked at them, somewhat surprised.

Surprisingly, all the songs inside were very familiar.

"Ugly Monster", "Accident", "What Else Do You Want From Me", "Actually", "Within a Few Miles"

In an instant, Wu Zhuo suddenly realized something.

He remembered that these songs were all from Xue Zhiqian's classic 2013 album "Accident".

To be honest, Xue Zhiqian's album is a true classic.

All of these songs are very popular.

Most of Xue Zhiqian's representative works come from this album.

It was this album that brought Xue Zhiqian back into the spotlight after many years of silence.

The song "Ugly Monster" even went viral.

"Okay, I think these songs are great. I'll have the company sign you."

Don't worry, the company will put in a lot of effort in terms of production and promotion, so you don't have to worry about being sidelined like before.

I can guarantee that.

Wu Zhuo returned the song to him and asked the receptionist to call Shi Rencheng, who was still upstairs.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Wu!"

In Xue Zhiqian's eyes, Wu Zhuo only glanced at the lyrics and music, and didn't even look at the song seriously.

Without even checking it carefully, they directly promised to produce this album for themselves, and also guaranteed to invest a certain amount of money in its production.

Xue Zhiqian saw this behavior as a sign that Wu Zhuo valued him.

At that moment, he couldn't help but feel his eyes redden, and a feeling of "a scholar would die for a friend" welled up in his heart.

He's really been badly taken advantage of by his former employer over the years.

Although he still released albums while with his former label.

But because his former employer had changed owners, the new owner didn't value him at all.

We simply followed the contract and went through the usual procedures to produce his album.

There was virtually no publicity or promotion.

This directly caused him to fall from being a rising star to the point where no one would pay attention to him if he said his name on the street.

Last year and the year before, he used the money he earned from running a hot pot restaurant to produce two albums for himself.

The result is self-evident.

Independent singers, to put it nicely, own all the copyrights and such.

But the independent singer industry is really not for the average person.

Because of limited funds.

There was no publicity or promotion.

Even though the songs on his two albums were of pretty good quality.

The result was shockingly poor sales.

It's a good thing he almost couldn't keep his hot pot restaurant afloat.

In the end, having no other choice, he could only become a comedian on Weibo to earn some advertising fees.

The failure of his two albums taught him that without financial backing, success would be extremely difficult.

So, after he had prepared the songs for the new album, he set his sights on these big companies.

He approached several record companies, but none of them were willing to produce the album for him.

That's why he turned his attention to legends.

Legendary has its advantages compared to other companies.

Firstly, it is already a listed company with substantial funds.

A music department was also established.

However, Wu Zhuo is currently the only person in the music department.

Wu Zhuo is the boss, and his records are only produced by Legendary, while Sony is responsible for all aspects such as distribution.

Therefore, overall, Legend is currently lacking a leading singer.

Although I haven't been doing very well these past few years.

But Xue Zhiqian still has some ambition; he also wants to become a pillar of a company like his former friend Zhang Jie.

For him, if he could truly become a legendary pillar of the music scene, he would have nothing to fear.

We cannot have all resources without any shortage.

They will earn more money.

Most importantly, the legend is Wu Zhuo's company.

Although he hadn't been in contact with Wu Zhuo for a long time, he felt that he could still talk to him.

So he chose to approach the legend.

As for why they didn't just call Wu Zhuo directly...

Actually, what he wanted was for Wu Zhuo to discover him, rather than for him to approach Wu Zhuo on his own initiative.

Although both attracted Wu Zhuo's attention, they represented completely different things.

"Brother Rencheng, this is Xue Zhiqian, and he is also a very good musician."

Shi Rencheng came downstairs shortly after and walked straight over.

Wu Zhuo pulled Xue Zhiqian aside and introduced him, saying:
"I think the company should find one or two singers to kick things off. I think he's pretty good. Rencheng, tomorrow you should prepare the best contract the company can offer him, and then arrange a time to start producing his album!"

"The best contract?"

As Shi Rencheng asked the question, he looked at Xue Zhiqian with a scrutinizing expression.

"Yes, I think he deserves the best contract. Besides singing, he also writes his own songs. He has already written the songs for his album. You can take a look."

Wu Zhuo looked very serious.

"Thank you! Thank you, Mr. Wu. Actually, you don't need to offer me the best contract, I..."

Xue Zhiqian really wanted to cry at that moment.

He had visited several companies before, but they wouldn't even give him a second glance.

On the contrary, here, Wu Zhuo not only did not ignore him, but also offered him the best contract.

This moved him deeply.

“You are very talented, and I think the best contract can keep you.”

Just consider this a gift from me to keep you from leaving!

Wu Zhuo said with a smile.

In reality, Wu Zhuo was bestowing a favor.

Given Xue Zhiqian's current predicament, the better the contract he offers, the more it demonstrates his respect for him. This way, Xue Zhiqian will naturally remain loyal to Legendary Entertainment in the future.

As for whether Xue Zhiqian will become a traitor.

Wu Zhuo wasn't too worried about that.

In his previous life, Xue Zhiqian approached several record companies but was rejected by them all, and then he turned to Ocean Butterflies Music.

Ultimately, Ocean Butterflies signed him and had music director Xu Song personally help produce his album.

Xue Zhiqian remembered this kindness for more than ten years.

In his previous life, even before Wu Zhuo's transmigration, Xue Zhiqian never left Ocean Butterflies, demonstrating his utmost loyalty.

After receiving confirmation from Wu Zhuo that he would be signed and given the best contract, Xue Zhiqian left happily.

Wu Zhuo then exchanged a few words with Shi Rencheng.

"Xue Zhiqian has a lot of potential. You're in charge of the company's music department now, so you can try to give him more resources."

"His songs are indeed very good, and they have a very distinctive personal style."

Shi Rencheng was still looking at Xue Zhiqian's songs, nodding as he read.

From the perspective of a professional musician, Xue Zhiqian's album is indeed of very high quality.

As he spoke, he suddenly looked up.

"By the way, what's your opinion on the invitation from 'Super Boy' to be a judge?"

I think it's worth a try, and we can also find some promising talents for our music department.

Last year, Zhejiang TV launched the large-scale music talent show "The Voice of China".

This talent show, once launched, completely ignited the talent show market and broke multiple records.

It became the most popular talent show in China.

At the time, The Voice of China invited Wu Zhuo to be a judge, but he declined.

Then, Hunan TV, in order to preserve the Super Boy and Super Girl talent show brands, took action.

This year's Super Boy contestants have sent invitations to several famous singers across the country.

This includes Wu Zhuo and Jay Chou, among others.

The responses from Zhou Jielun and others were all the same: if Wu Zhuo attended, they would go.

Therefore, the Hunan TV Super Boy program team kept pestering and offering higher prices, hoping to invite Wu Zhuo to be a judge.

"I probably won't go! I don't have the time."

Wu Zhuo shook his head.

He really wanted to be a judge; he went on The Voice of China last year.

Since I didn't go last year, I certainly won't go to Super Boy this year.

"That's a pity. Hunan TV said that if you go there, they will try to gather the new Four Heavenly Kings together."

If they really have that ability, the show's producers will likely create a huge buzz.

Shi Rencheng looked regretful.

He is now the legendary music director in charge of the music department.

But there are very few singers on the Legendary side.

He wanted to make a name for himself, so naturally he had to recruit new talent.

In his view, The Voice of China and Super Boy are great opportunities.

However, the producers of both shows clearly wouldn't agree to let someone else reap the rewards.

Unless Wu Zhuo was involved in their production.

"Let's take it slow! The music market is uncertain right now, so let's not rush it."

Also, keep an eye on Gold Typhoon. Once we complete the acquisition, you'll have something to do.

Wu Zhuo offered a word of comfort.

The music market has changed dramatically in recent years.

The traditional music market is almost completely dead.

The singers rely entirely on music platform subscriptions to make a living, plus some commercial performances.

Even if Wu Zhuo single-handedly opened up the digital album market.

But this is not a path that ordinary people can take.

Apart from a few others, including Wu Zhuo and Zhou Jielun, who are among the new Four Heavenly Kings.

Almost all other domestic singers failed miserably.

Many record companies have now gone bankrupt and been acquired.

Among them, Gold Typhoon, once a top-tier record company in China, also met its end.

Currently, both Legendary and Warner are actively vying to acquire this record company.

"I feel that Warner is not going to give up so easily. If they want to acquire Gold Typhoon, the company will need to prepare more funds."

When the topic of acquiring Gold Typhoon came up, Shih Jen-cheng's expression became somewhat solemn.

"You don't need to worry about that. The company has already made the corresponding plans. Gold Typhoon is definitely a legend."

Wu Zhuo is confident about this.

Due to the sluggish record market, the acquisition price of Gold Typhoon, which was poorly managed, has also dropped significantly.

Wu Zhuo estimates that Gold Typhoon could be acquired for a maximum of 3 billion.

Some might say that Gold Typhoon itself is struggling and its members are all fleeing the country, so why would Legends be so foolish as to enter the market?

This brings us to the value of Gold Typhoon.

Some people may think that although Gold Typhoon is well-known in the country, its value is not 30 billion.

But the fact is just the opposite.

Gold Typhoon is indeed worth at most 30 billion now.

However, his future value is immeasurable.

Many fans and outsiders who are not familiar with the industry believe that Wu Zhuo's insistence on acquiring Gold Typhoon is an attempt to restructure his business and re-enter the record industry.

Yes, but that's not actually Wu Zhuo's main reason.

But for Wu Zhuo, the song copyrights behind Gold Typhoon number about 60, which is why Wu Zhuo and Legend Entertainment are willing to spend a lot of money to buy them. These song copyrights are not worth much now, but in the future, they will become the company's golden eggs.

In today's era of rampant piracy, record companies are finding it difficult to make money selling CDs, and many superstars are choosing to operate their records independently, with less cooperation from record companies. As a result, record companies have basically had to find their own way out.

However, owning the copyrights to past songs can make the company a lot of money.

Because as long as a singer performs, it can be played in karaoke, or even a compilation album can be released, it can generate revenue.

Therefore, for many music companies, including Sony, Universal, Warner, as well as Rolling Stone, HIM International Music, and B'in Music, whoever owns the copyright database is like owning a gold mine. For example, Rolling Stone Records sold off all its business, but thanks to its rich collection of Chinese music copyrights, it has been able to generate no less than one billion yuan in revenue every year since 18.

Gold Typhoon holds the copyrights to hundreds of thousands of songs acquired from companies such as Point Records and EMI.

The song copyrights owned under this period include those of Eric Moo, Phil Chang, Elva Hsiao, David Tao, Lollipop, A-mei, and Jody Chiang, among others.
Mainland singers include Xu Wei, the Hua'er Band, and Zhou Bichang.

Hong Kong stars include Justin Lo, William So, Leo Ku, and Miriam Yeung.

Most of the songs by these singers are now copyrighted by Gold Typhoon.

If they win the Gold Medal, all these copyrights will become legendary.

With 60 songs, even if most of them are ordinary songs, Wu Zhuo estimates that he will earn no less than one billion yuan in royalties every year in the future.

The acquisition now would only cost around 30 billion.

Even a fool knows what to do.

Therefore, Wu Zhuo will definitely not give up the Gold Medal Typhoon.

However, the more difficult thing now is that Warner Music is also determined to acquire Gold Typhoon.

Other record companies are also eyeing the market.

Most of these companies actually lack the capital to participate in the acquisitions.

But I'm afraid they'll become troublemakers.

Especially Warner.

One wrong move and the legends might pay an even higher price.

(End of this chapter)