Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 13 To Youth

Remembering Miss Liu's "fancy fist and embroidered feet," Song Ci awkwardly let go and loosened her ponytail.

He secretly regretted that he had been too impulsive and provoked her. He dared not make any further moves, for fear of being misunderstood as harassing a woman in the elevator.

The floor numbers on the elevator display screen kept changing, the elevator alloy doors kept closing, and people leaving the elevator one after another made the space less crowded.

When they arrived at the Tengda Culture floor, several people also walked out, and Song Ci and Liu Shishi followed them out of the elevator.

"Shishi, you're here too! Good morning! I didn't see you in the lobby on the first floor." Jiang Yuanyuan, who had just stepped out of the elevator, saw Liu Shishi and quickly came over to greet her with a smile.

Liu Shishi glanced at Song Ci. In front of outsiders, she decided to let him off the hook for now. She took Jiang Yuanyuan's arm and explained guiltily, "Maybe it's because I was squeezed to the very back, so you didn't notice me."

Song Ci glanced at the woman who was greeting Liu Shishi. The girl was chubby, looked energetic and kind. Judging from her enthusiasm in greeting Liu Shishi, she was easy to get along with and must be a new friend of Liu Shishi from the company.

Looking at Ms. Liu, who was pretending not to know her, Song Ci found it amusing. She had only been interning at the company for a few days; why was there any need for her to be so secretive? Unable to fathom Ms. Liu's thoughts, Song Ci shook her head and quickly walked into the company.

Inside the elegantly designed and exquisitely decorated office of the chairman of Tengda Culture, Song Ci slumped lazily in the soft executive chair. Perhaps because he had slept too late the night before, he looked tired and listless.

General Manager Wang Jing and Song Ci sat facing each other across a desk, heads down, intently reading a script.

After a while, Wang Jing closed the script in her hand and couldn't help but exclaim, "This script is really well written, with a strong storyline. It's no wonder it's produced by the great talent Song."

Wang Jing, with a background as an editor at a publishing house, has a basic ability to appreciate works such as novels and screenplays, and Song Ci's screenplays are indeed outstanding.

Seeing Wang Jing's approval, Song Ci nodded and immediately made the decision: "Then it's settled. The company's first self-produced drama will be 'So Young.' Urban romance dramas have a certain audience and the investment won't be too high, so it's suitable for our company to test the waters."

With the script for Song Ci in hand, Wang Jing was in high spirits and then shared some good news: "It's quite a coincidence that among the directors we've been in contact with recently, there's one called Teng Huatao who's good at youth films and family dramas, and he's very willing to work with us. I think we can ask him to direct 'So Young'."

Recalling Teng Huatao's resume, Song Ci nodded slightly and instructed, "The time is right, and everything is helping us. We have the script and the director, so let's get the 'So Young' project started as soon as possible."

Preliminary preparations can begin, including cost accounting, site selection, and publicity and distribution. Tasks should be assigned, and all departments should cooperate actively. The required funding should be budgeted and submitted to me for approval.

I know Teng Huatao's Song Ci. His works in his previous life, "Love is Not Blind" and "East China Sea Fortress", were very famous. Not to mention science fiction, Director Teng is quite good at urban youth films like "So Young".

Wang Jing patted her chest and assured, "I will personally serve as the producer of this project, and I will ensure it is of the highest quality. Would you like to be credited as the executive producer?"

"No need." Song Ci shook his head. He knew nothing about film and television production, so being a nominal producer was meaningless. There was no need for such empty titles.

Suddenly remembering that the company's talent agency department hadn't signed a single artist yet, Song Ci said with a headache, "How are we going to arrange the male and female leads and supporting roles? Since you want to get into artist management, Jing-jie, the company's projects can't just be given away to outsiders. Urban dramas like 'So Young' are really good at promoting people."

When Tengda Culture was first established, Song Ci had no intention of setting up an artist management department; he had little interest in this business. Artist management encompasses many aspects, including contract management, artist image building, and securing film and television projects. It's a complex undertaking, and to cultivate a successful artist requires not only substantial resources but also the artist's own luck.

If a lot of resources are invested and the artist becomes popular, the company can also make money, which is naturally a win-win situation. However, there are many actors who, no matter how much they are promoted, remain lukewarm. They can become slightly popular through promotion, but become truly famous by fate.

Of course, there is an even worse possibility: the company makes the artist famous, and once the artist becomes successful, they want to switch companies and go solo. There are countless examples of artists falling out with their former companies in the past.

At the same time, if a celebrity's scandal breaks out, the company may also be affected.

Moreover, in a few years, it will become mainstream for celebrities to set up their own studios, and the relationship between celebrities and film and television companies will be more like a partnership. Therefore, Song Ci is unwilling to spend energy on artist management and would rather directly invest in celebrity studios in the future.

However, it is still the mainstream for film and television companies to operate artist management businesses. With Wang Jing's insistence, Song Ci finally agreed to let Tengda Culture also engage in artist management.

Wang Jing blushed slightly. At the time, she had insisted on developing an artist management business, but the company had not signed a single artist in the six months since its establishment.

Even the position of department director is vacant, with only a handful of people in the department. However, things haven't been completely stagnant during this period.

Fearing that the boss would cancel the artist management business, Wang Jing quickly said, "The company has already identified several targets."

Among the male actors, Qiao Zhengyu is our main focus. He is not doing well at Donghai Guangding Culture. After we contacted him, he intends to switch to our Tengda Culture.

The male lead role in "So Young" is perfect for him; it's a good way to show the company's sincerity.

We plan to select a few promising students from the freshmen of the three major universities this year and nurture them.

After listening to Wang Jing's report, Song Ci remained noncommittal, only instructing her: "A snake cannot move without a head, and a bird cannot fly without wings. Recruit the artist director as soon as possible."

You can have a headhunting firm handle it. As for the artists, you can either poach them directly or train them from scratch.

Just don't exploit artists too much in their contracts. Companies should help artists develop long-term career plans. Even if they part ways in the future, maintain good relations; the company's reputation is very important.

He also plans to leverage the influence of celebrities to promote internet products, so Tengda Culture needs to have a good reputation within the industry.

Although Wang Jing did not understand the structure of Song Ci poetry, she approved of her boss's business philosophy, and her own consistent style of doing things was to be kind to others.

"Don't worry about that. The entertainment industry is only so big, and the company won't do anything that's detrimental to the industry."

Song Ci has no intention of interfering with the casting process, as long as the actors are not disgraced celebrities who were blacklisted by the film and television industry in her previous life. "Just let me know when the main actors are decided."

(End of this chapter)