Entertainment: Is this how you play music?!

Chapter 457 Chen Gang: I have a reason not to lose! I must win!
DP Band continues to send good news.

During this period, the efficiency of attracting fans has been astonishingly high, leaving industry insiders dumbfounded.

It's important to understand that DP has an extremely large fan base and very high popularity. Under these circumstances, there is an upper limit to how efficient they can attract new fans.

Unless something groundbreaking or exceptional is done, it's unlikely that such a situation could arise.

But Li Can and his team simply participated in the competition and then announced their current results.

Is this right?

Are you a human?

At Xinfei Entertainment Company, Song Ying, the department manager who was overwhelmed with the promotion of her artists, only took a short break in her spare time and saw promotional results that made her so envious that she was about to explode.

The speed at which DP Band is promoting itself is enough to make anyone in the industry drool with envy.

"It's so sour, really sour."

Song Ying sighed.

As an industry insider who frequently deals with marketing accounts, Song Ying naturally knew this.

While most marketing accounts are paid to do things, it's possible they might create content designed to attract attention.

DP's popularity came out of nowhere.

However, this level of popularity is not quite what the general public understands. Not many people will follow a marketing account just because it praised their idol. Most people will just glance at it and then forget about it. In reality, the impact is really negligible.

Even if some die-hard fans suddenly become interested in it.

In the future, some people may unfollow the brand because the marketing targets celebrities they don't like.

Anyone who's been in the know knows that marketing accounts are supported by people, so you need to quickly build up your following. Once you reach the required number of followers, you can earn a steady income by posting content.

As someone in the industry, Song Ying knew this even better.

DP band really didn't get paid.

If no money was paid, why should a bunch of media outlets and independent media spontaneously repost the official announcement?
I can understand it once or twice as a way to gain popularity, but isn't it a bit outrageous for them to keep following it?

Xingmei has been trying to suppress the flow of traffic and communicate with the platform to limit the flow in order to prevent it from becoming too outrageous.

Who used the freed-up bandwidth?
Song Ying knew all too well.

"Stop studying them, you can't learn from them!"

In the office, Deputy Manager Chen Qiao shook his head and offered a word of advice.

Unlike Song Ying, the head manager, Chen Qiao, the deputy manager, was actually the one truly in charge of business operations.

After all, Song Ying has a powerful background.

For Chen Qiao, getting Song Ying to achieve good results and thus promote her was the only way to get promoted.

He could only interject with a comment, telling Song Ying not to waste her energy on other things.

Song Ying nodded, but seemed to still have a lingering attachment.

"You tell me, why...why doesn't the overwhelming media coverage of the DP band cause such a strong backlash from the general public? It seems like they have very few haters, and most of the so-called haters are just trolls playing on abstract concepts."

The more I talk about it, the more envious I become.

Song Ying clicked her tongue in amazement.

"You mean if we could be like that too, then..."

"What else is there to ask? There are only two kinds of things that attract negative attention: trivial matters and insignificant people. Look at DP, where did they get involved? Do they just talk about what they ate for breakfast all the time, or is the DP band really that low-profile?"

Chen Qiao wanted to roll his eyes.

But after thinking about it, I forgot about it.

All I could do was patiently comfort them.

"It's hot as it is, and you can see it everywhere, but it's either a new work release or a proper concert-related event. The entertainment gossip is either truly outrageous and abstract or truly explosive awards. What's the point of studying this?"

"The reason why passersby find it annoying is because many celebrities' marketing is just empty talk. If they really have new works, new events, or some fun, no matter how popular or common they are, how many passersby do you think would find it annoying?"

Even longtime fans will say to newcomers, "Congratulations on discovering a treasure."

Song Ying nodded.

It's not that I'm stupid, it's just an occupational hazard.

They made a mistake that many industry professionals make—borrowing and referencing, trying to find and research replicas—but they haven't reached the final step.

Give up thinking.

When a successful marketing campaign comes along, people always try to study it, but after studying it for a long time, they find that it's actually toxic.

"I'm just wondering if there's anything we can learn from their business model and marketing methods, or any experience we can draw upon."

I heard this.

Chen Qiao almost lost his composure.

It's not that I'm afraid of big shots giving up thinking, it's that I'm afraid of big shots trying to use their brains.

The current tone is more serious.

"What's so commendable about that? Is that even marketing? His marketing tactics are just announcements in the industry—post a notice, that's it, but it went viral. What can you do about that? Is that marketing? If that's marketing, then what are we? Are we committing fraud?"

Song Ying was stunned.

"That self-media."

"If social media doesn't repost these things, are they going to repost what kind of jianbing (Chinese crepe) a celebrity who can't produce any work ate today? Wouldn't that just be going back to the old definition? There are only two kinds of things that will attract criticism: trivial matters and insignificant people. This one covers both."

That makes sense.

Song Ying was persuaded.

It has gone through the final stage that industry insiders go through when studying DP band marketing strategies.

Give up thinking.

The only reason why entertainment can still not cause resentment is that its core is still sound.

For artists whose works can withstand repeated scrutiny, marketing tactics are merely icing on the cake. The real truth is that their own works naturally generate popularity and traffic.

Another industry insider has given up on thinking about DP Band's unconventional operating model.

at the same time.

Chen Gang, far away in Moscow, also briefly gave up thinking about it.

"Oh no, Varian and I are going to run into each other in the first round of the semifinals."

The results of the draw were astonishing.

At this moment, the show's entertainment value was at its peak.

While Chen Gang was still in a daze, Wali's mind also began to buzz after learning the results of the draw.

"I'm going to run into Chen Gang in the semifinals? Oh no."

By the time the tournament reached the semifinals, it was already quite clear who the strongest champion seed was.

One is a top genius of the Russian school of piano, and the other is Chen Gang, who was personally mentored by Li Can.

Both are top-notch in terms of talent and teaching resources.

Even individual hard work yields similar results.

Judging from Chen Gang's performance during this period, no one would think that Chen Gang would neglect his piano practice because of his part-time job in the band.

The collision between Mars and Earth happened several rounds earlier than expected.

In an instant, everyone tensed up.

Not only the parties involved, or their friends, but even the judges became serious.

In the eyes of many judges, the duel between the two was worthy of a championship.

It's not that other people have no chance at all; the most common thing in a competition is the unexpected.

But as long as Chen Gang and Varian don't decline in form, their only hope of winning is a breakthrough on the day, a stroke of luck, and a chance for their performance to reach a whole new level.

"This judging must be serious. We must be able to convince the contestants, the industry, and the audience. This is a very difficult battle because these two are very evenly matched."

After undergoing a series of review processes, Li Can
Varian's teacher, Ms. Mikhail, another judge in this competition, temporarily left the judging panel.

Compared to the other judges' tense demeanor, Li Can and Mikhail chatted quite happily.

As I said before, in the eyes of the big shots, rankings and winning or losing are indeed not important.

Moreover, Mikhail is a professor at Moscow State University, and after the exchange program led by Li Can, he frequently travels to Xia Country for joint two-way training.

It's definitely not unfamiliar. "Mr. Li, how about we bet two hundred rubles?"

Mikhail looked at Li Can with interest.

“Ms. Mikhail, you can just call me Li.”

Li Can smiled and nodded.

Two hundred rubles? They're really making fun of their apprentice.

It's just for fun.

Is this still the stereotypical image of Russians? It doesn't seem quite right.

Mikhail laughed heartily, appearing to be in a very good mood.

In fact, Mikhail was also a serious professor. The reason he treated Li Can differently was entirely due to his student's progress, which was stimulated by Li Can.

During their initial exchange, Li Can's performance of "Spanish Smugglers" dropped a bombshell on the piano world.

Only students who are there in person and witness it firsthand will have the deepest experience.

As one of the top talents in the piano world, Varian learned the truth in Beijing: "There are always people better than you, and there is always something beyond your understanding."

Deeply affected, Varian entered a state of asceticism and enlightenment after returning home.

If it's just a thrill, perhaps it wouldn't be that serious.

But here's the thing.

Varian is a traditional, steady, and conservative Russian-style pianist, while Li Can is a flamboyant performer with a strong romantic flair, whose performance style emphasizes the tension of technical expression.

The ultimate debate between introversion and extroversion further spurred Varian to strive for the same level of performance, but with different styles.

The effect is remarkable.

The entire Moscow State University began to progress under Varian's stimulus.

Seeing that even a genius like Varian was so intensely studying, the other students naturally followed suit. Although Varian was far ahead, he had seen the world and knew that there were real demons beyond the world. Even though he was unique on campus, he never dared to stop and be complacent.

This healthy competition and the resulting atmosphere are the source of Mikhail's great goodwill towards Li Can.

How could their attitude be bad?

"I bet Varian will beat Chen Gang, you bet the opposite, how about it?"

Li Can nodded in agreement to Ms. Mikhail's proposal.

If you win, you win.

If you lose, go back and tell Chen Gang that you lost a lot of money because of him, and tell him to calm down, practice hard, and work to pay off the debt.

As for how much a large sum is, I don't know.

Li Can wouldn't lie; one must always be honest. At most, he just didn't tell the whole story.

For some inexplicable reason, Li Can suddenly wanted to put some pressure on Chen Gang in advance to see how well Gangzi could withstand pressure.

Logically speaking, this is actually not a good thing.

But upon closer reflection, the main purpose of participating in the competition is still to compete and improve; winning awards is secondary, so it doesn't seem like a bad thing.

Resilience is also a form of training and experience.

Moreover, Chen Gang's performance piece this time is the fourth etude in the piano virtuoso series, "Mazepa," which might stimulate him and help him get into the right state of mind.

Chen Gang should thank himself for giving someone a buff!
So, on the eve of the competition, Li Can approached Chen Gang with a serious expression and immediately said something that made Chen Gang lose his composure.

"Gangzi, I've bought a huge amount of spinach, betting on you to win. You have to live up to my expectations and absolutely cannot lose!"

Chen Gang was stunned.

A large sum.

Damn it, even Brother Can said it was a huge sum, just how huge is this sum?!

The pressure came all at once.

"Huh? Brother Can, this isn't a good idea. Let me tell you, don't get into this kind of thing, it's not a good habit."

"No, Gangzi, there's a reason for this."

Li Can shook his head and sighed.

His face was serious, and he even gritted his teeth slightly.

"They've gone too far! How dare they say you're no good?! That you only got here because of me, because of luck?!"

"How can I tolerate this? I'm not short of money, I'm just short of pride! All the profits afterward are yours! I'll make sure she's bankrupt! Gangzi!"

A roar made Chen Gang stand at attention.

"Let them see what real strength is!"

"Leave it to me, Chan-hyung!"

Chen Gang's face was flushed.

All the pent-up anger inside me was released in an instant.

Damn it, who said he can only live off Chan-ge's fame?!
All the profits are yours!

Fight!

Although something felt off.

But Chen Gang had no time to think about who "she" and "they" really were, how big "the pen" was, or even about the Russians' spinach.

spell!
This mindset is perfectly suited to the competition entry, "Mazepa".

A flame burned fiercely in Chen Gang's heart, igniting the words "chui ha".

Li Can is very good at choosing his time.

Just ten minutes later.

The first match of the semifinals, Chen Gang vs. Varian, has officially begun!
As two highly anticipated seeded players, this is an important semi-final match.

Both contestants were invited to the stage at the same time.

On the stage was a Bösendorf grand piano, surrounded by a large, complete orchestra – the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.

However, in this competition, both of them chose a pure piano duel!

All judges were present.

The first four rows directly in front of us are all professional pianists.

The first four rows in the central area of ​​the large concert hall have a capacity of 160 people.

On the left are the contestants who were not selected, or those who will participate in future competitions.

On the right side, the seats were filled with media reporters from the classical music world.

Even the side areas on the second and third floors were full of people.

On the left side of the first row, to the right, there is an extra individual sofa, which is the seat reserved for the other performer when one person is playing.

Extremely eye-catching.

The two walked out during the judges' introductions.

Amidst enthusiastic applause, the two clasped hands tightly.

There may be hostility between noobs, but not among top players.

When two opponents are evenly matched, they will only respect each other and be full of fighting spirit.

To display one's greatest strength and fight one's opponent with all one's might in a fair and square manner—this is the quality a true king should possess.

Whether in defeat or victory, it will be glorious.

"I'm sorry, but I have reasons why I can't lose."

Chen Gang's eyes were filled with fighting spirit, and he spoke with overwhelming momentum.

Varian smiled.

After a moment of silence, he gave a firm response.

"I also have reasons why I can't lose!"

At that moment, a fierce spark seemed to fly between their eyes.

Amidst applause, a battle that is not a championship but feels like one is about to begin.

(End of this chapter)