A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 143 Genius!

The song ends and everyone disperses.

Lin Chien-lu did not stay at the hotel arranged by the Golden Horse Awards and quietly slipped away.

He now has a family in Taipei.

However, before leaving, he did find Liang Yongqi and comforted this rather temperamental young beauty. He promised her that he would definitely take some time before the Spring Festival to go to Hong Kong and spend a few days with her. Only then did she feel a little better and obediently took a plane back to Hong Kong overnight.

In fact, today, December 14th, is the official release date of "God of Gamblers 3: The Early Stage," in which she starred. Wong Jing wrote the screenplay, and Wong Jing and Lam Ching-lung co-directed the film. It is a prequel to Chow Yun-fat's "God of Gamblers."

Starring Li Ming, Anita Yuen, Jordan Chan, Leung Wing-ki, and Francis Ng.

Wong Jing was clever; he wasn't afraid of scheduling conflicts. He flew over a day early, did some socializing, and flew back that same night, without missing the official screening event today. But Leung Wing-ki was different. She was willful and refused to leave. She stayed in Taipei and snatched Lin Chien-lu away from Brigitte Lin, monopolizing her for the entire night.

Now that they've received a promise, they're happy and have left.

Lin Jianlu turned off her phone and declined all invitations. She quietly slipped away from the reporters outside and got into a car that didn't attract much attention—Chen Shuhua picked her up, while Su Huilun was still in Hong Kong doing promotional work.

Chen Shuhua is good; she has no temper and is always gentle and obedient.

Even when Ge Fuhong and Zhang Aijia came over the next day to discuss Zhang Aijia accompanying Lin Jianlu to New York for recording, she sat next to them without making any attempt to interrupt.

Su Huilun has already thrown a small tantrum, saying she will finish the promotion as soon as possible and then fly to New York.

Lin Qingxia, on the other hand, recently acquired a luxurious villa in the capital and received a renovation allowance of five million. She is now focused on renovating her house and has not mentioned accompanying him to New York again.

A little after 10 a.m., Zhao Mingxin drove over by himself.

Two professional lawyers reviewed the contract for over half an hour, confirming that there were no problems, and then it was signed.

The signing fee was not much, just a symbolic HK$20 million.

Three years, two albums, with a commitment of at least 25 new tracks—no one knew Lin Jianlu's album release plan, nor did anyone know the detailed tracklist. Therefore, Sony Columbia was unaware that Lin Jianlu planned to include 15 songs in his first album, essentially making it a full-fledged album. A minimum of 25 tracks is generally expected when considering a third album, a format combining new songs and compilations.

But Lin Jianlu didn't care anymore.

Even before "Cold to the End" made him an overnight sensation, he understood this principle: before you are weak and have not yet risen, talking about anything else is nonsense.

Only when you can bring someone enough benefit to them, to the point that they are willing to tolerate you even if it means cutting off their testicles or enduring unbearable pain, is it a time when you can truly have a talk with them.

Just like now, when Lin Jianlu said he wanted to release an English album with Sony Columbia, even if Old Duan from Rock Records was unwilling, he didn't dare to stop him. He would rather amend the contract to remove the English license and make way for Lin Jianlu than cause a falling out.

The same applies to Sinic Columbia.

Talking about other things now doesn't give you enough leverage. Once you've finished an album and achieved great success, the other party will naturally back down without you even having to bring it up.

Moreover, even now, the conditions are already good enough.

Many singers who have been in the English music scene for years, released several albums, and sold a total of three to five million copies, may not be able to get such a generous contract—lyrics, composition, arrangement, production, and singing, totaling 33%!

In the market practice for English albums, excluding EPs, albums generally start with ten songs and are priced between $14.99 and $15.99. The specific price depends on the record company's forecast for your future sales. Simply put, it depends on how well your album sells after its release.

Thirteen songs, or even more, constitute an album. This is something that singer-songwriters usually do, because they write their own songs and only receive royalties regardless of the number of songs they choose. There's no issue of inviting or buying songs, which is why they pay more!
An album with 15 songs is generally priced between $18.99 and $19.99.

Basically, that means Lin Jianlu can earn about 6 million dollars for one album.

If he sells one million copies, he can earn 600 million US dollars before tax. In comparison, Rolling Stone recently settled sales of 612 million copies, which only amounted to 826 million US dollars. Of course, he is still trapped in his old contract with Rolling Stone. He only gets a maximum of 15% for the entire process, from lyrics and composition to arrangement, production, and singing.

Even so, the sales revenue from releasing English albums is twice that of releasing Mandarin albums—it's purely a matter of pricing! The English-speaking market is economically developed, and cultural products generally sell well!
After the contract was signed, everyone shook hands, and Lin Xilei took many group photos. Then she opened the champagne that Zhang Aijia had specially brought, and everyone symbolically drank a glass.

In fact, following previous reports from Hong Kong media, it wasn't just about Lin Jianlu's alleged womanizing with Chen Hong and Yu Feihong; they also went so far as to serialize the story of Lin Jianlu going to Columbia Pictures in New York. Rolling Stone is already planning to deny the rumors, stating that Lin Jianlu didn't switch companies, but the photos are irrefutable evidence. For now, many media outlets in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and even Southeast Asia are discussing Lin Jianlu's alleged job-hopping.

However, Lin Jianlu himself didn't care, and New Century Columbia wasn't in a hurry to uncover the matter.

The secrets will be revealed little by little once the album is finished, which will also help to boost the publicity. This time, he went to Columbia Pictures' headquarters in Washington with Ge Fuhong. Although they eventually negotiated a B+ publicity package, the price was that the production company, Sony Columbia, had to pay half of the costs upfront and sign a performance-based agreement. Only if the album sold more than one million copies would these costs be gradually refunded.

A B+ level marketing campaign is a resource worth five million US dollars!

Sony Columbia's business has been doing quite well in recent years. Thanks to the booming Chinese music scene, they still have a balance in their accounts, but 250 million US dollars is still not a small amount of money.

In addition to the signing fees, there were also HK$2000 million in expenses!
It can be said that, despite having three previously recorded tracks as a foundation, everyone was very confident. However, for Sony Columbia and for Zhao Mingxin's personal career, this was still a huge gamble!
This isn't a problem that can be solved by selling a million copies!

For the album to sell close to two million copies, the distributor, Columbia, will actually start making money. Once the distributor makes money, half of the distribution fee that Sony Columbia advanced will be refunded, and the company will be relieved of pressure, turning from a huge loss into a huge profit.

Therefore, two million copies sold was the true life-or-death line for Lin Jianlu's first English album.

If it passes, the advance payment will be refunded, and the HK$2000 million signing fee will be instantly recouped, plus an extra large sum of money. If it fails—well, things will be a bit bad.

"Come on, best wishes for success! May Deer's first English album be a huge success!"

"A huge success!"

After finishing his drink, Lin Jianlu put down his glass, turned around, patted Chen Shuhua's hand beside him, and said with a smile, "Please wait a moment, everyone!" Then he got up, walked past Chen Shuhua, and went straight upstairs to his study.

A few minutes later, he took a stack of papers that he had prepared in advance from his suitcase and handed them directly to Zhao Mingxin, saying, "My two agents will take the necessary measures later, and then you can take them."

"This is the complete selection of tracks for the new album."

In the villa's lobby, everyone was completely bewildered.

Zhao Mingxin was dumbfounded, holding a thick stack of musical scores in his hands.

So much so that when Sylvia Chang reached out to grab it, he was caught off guard and instinctively let go—who would have thought it would be so fast! Zhao Mingxin had even rented a villa for him in New York, planning for him to stay there for six months to a year, immersing himself in English-speaking culture, and slowly creating and developing this album!

Now you're telling me you've already finished writing the entire album?

Just go straight to work and finish recording?
Dude, that's a bit too much of a joke!

But suddenly, Zhang Aijia's voice, which was quite loud and filled with surprise, woke him up. "You're going to do rap? This is rap, isn't it?"

Zhao Mingxin snapped out of his daze and instinctively snatched the manuscript back.

The first page I looked at was titled "Lose-Yourself".

Just by looking at the rhythm and beat, you can tell it's rap even if you read ten lines at a glance!
He looked up in surprise and asked, "You want to do rap?" A Chinese person, speaking Mandarin, going to the English-speaking world to make rap music?
This joke has really gone too far!

Rap is something that native-born American whites aren't very good at; it's something that black people excel at!

However, Lin Jianlu simply shrugged and raised her hand, "It has everything. A hodgepodge. See for yourself!"

As soon as he said that, Zhang Aijia immediately leaned over, followed by Lin Xilei, who, regardless of whether she understood it or not, craned her neck to look at the manuscript in Zhao Mingxin's hand. A moment later, even Chen Shuhua, out of curiosity, went over to take a closer look—rap? Rap has become increasingly popular in the West in recent years, but it seems that no Chinese person has ever done rap. Let alone English rap?
After a moment, Zhang Aijia turned the page and looked at it for a while longer. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Honey, your rhymes are so beautiful! Even the real American rappers can't rhyme as well as you!"

Ge Fuhong couldn't read the sheet music and didn't join in the fun, but she also knew very well what kind of weight the entire album was—so she couldn't help but stare blankly at Lin Jianlu, somewhat lost in thought.

The first English album is planned to have a total of fifteen songs.

Three songs have already been recorded: "Baby", "My-love" and "Shape-of-You".

This time, twelve more poems were brought out.

"Lose-Yourself", by Eminem.

"Yeah," by Usher.

"HandClap," Fitz throws a tantrum.

"Lose-Control" by Teddy Sweems.

"Believer", Imagine Dragons.

"Skin", Rag'N'Bone-Man.

"Uptown-Funk" by Bruno Mars.

"Bikini-Body", Dawin-Polanco.

"Moves-Like-Jagger", Maroon 5.

"Levitating", by Dua Lipa.

That Girl, by Ollie Morse.

"I-Surrender" by Celine Dion.

Rap, R&B, rock, funk, electronic music, folk, teen pop, and even adult ballads.

They threw them all in.

A hot pot of stew.

You say I'm a hodgepodge, then I'll be a hodgepodge, and a hodgepodge to the very end.

Anyone who wants to imitate me can try.

Moreover, it's not just a hodgepodge; it features the most hardcore rap and the most hardcore rock.

In fact, there's no need to discuss the entire album; just consider a single song, such as "Levitating." This song itself blends disco and electronic music while also having a distinct pop music flavor.

Stews and such are the best.

It's flavorful.

…………

It lasted for more than twenty minutes.

Ge Fuhong had already dismissed the lawyers she brought. In the villa's hall, Zhao Mingxin, Zhang Aijia, and Chen Shuhua hadn't even finished looking at the sheet music—they had already separated, each holding a few pieces, and were looking at and exchanging them.

The three of them would occasionally say "you" or "me," and then look up at Lin Jianlu.

Everyone was shocked.

Later, Lin Jianlu felt a little embarrassed and took the initiative to avoid him, going for a walk in her own large garden.

After quite some time, Lin Jianlu had even picked a bunch of flowers in his own garden and carefully removed all the thorns before a group of people poured out of the villa.

Zhang Aijia ran ahead and pounced on him, hugging and kissing him immediately.

"Lin Jianlu, I want a divorce! I want a divorce! Let me be your mistress!"

"I already told you, you're too ugly!"

"Hahaha! You're such a bastard! ...And you're a genius too! I love you to death!"

It took Chen Shuhua quite a while to come over. She had witnessed Zhang Aijia's declaration of love for her man once again, but she had no reaction and just looked at Lin Jianlu with admiration.

Then, a bouquet of flowers was handed over.

She took it, pursed her lips, and this usually elegant and poised person couldn't help but lose her composure at this moment, hugging Lin Jianlu tightly, "Husband, you're amazing! You're simply a genius among geniuses!"

Zhao Mingxin's expression had recovered somewhat, no longer so shocked, but it still carried the strong traces of being shocked, and there was also an indescribable excitement. "I think Lu could write Chinese lyrics for that song 'I-Surrender' and give it to Ms. Shu Hua to sing. It would definitely be a hit in Chinese music!"

Lin Jianlu casually replied, "Yes! I've had one for a while! Let's do it on the next album!"

"Wow... geniuses are truly beyond my imagination!"

At this moment, Lin Jianlu noticed that the sheet music had already reached Ge Fuhong's hands.

it is necessary.

Sylvia Chang said, "I think this album has potential! It's sure to sell well! I'm even really eager to hear how you're going to process them! There are so many melodies... they're all so interesting!"

Zhao Mingxin hesitated for a moment, "Isn't it a bit too mixed up? How about we remove one rap song from this album? Just put in one or two, and see how the market reacts first... OK! OK! Don't look at me like that, you're in charge, you're a genius! Ah Lu, I'll do whatever you say!"

(End of this chapter)