I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

On the night she moved in, Zeng Li invited many people from the entertainment industry to celebrate the occasion, and Cheng Sheng was no exception.

That night was truly a feast for the eyes, as Zeng Li's friends were mostly stunning beauties in the entertainment industry.

Cheng Sheng and the other men were dazzled by what they saw.

Downstairs lived Da Tian Tian and Wang Zhi, and across the street lived Zeng Li. Cheng Sheng could be said to be surrounded by beautiful women.

Every day after returning from the studio, Zeng Li would invite him to her house for a meal.

Cheng Sheng would certainly not refuse this; who would want to eat takeout and fast food every day when there are home-cooked meals available?

While Cheng Sheng was busy with the film's post-production.

The premiere of "Descendants of the Sun" has arrived.

Victory Studio.

Wang Zhi looked at Cheng Sheng as he walked into the company and asked in surprise, "Director Cheng, didn't you go to the editing room today?"

From the time Cheng Sheng started working on post-production for films, he rarely came to the studio, spending his days editing films in the editing room provided by China Film Group.

"I won't go today. How have you been lately? Has filming wrapped up yet?" Cheng Sheng said with a smile.

"No, I took two days off to come back and shoot a commercial," Wang Zhi said.

Because of the film "Buried Alive," Wang Zhi became somewhat popular and landed several advertising deals.

"Keep it up, you'll definitely become a big star when 'Crazy Stone' is released."

Cheng Sheng encouraged Wang Zhi and then went to Xing Aina's office.

He wanted to know about the recent situation at the studio.

"Director Cheng."

"Changchang, what are you doing here?"

To Cheng Sheng's surprise, he actually saw Su Chang in Xing Aina's office.

"Boss, Changchang will be one of our company's employees from now on," Xing Aina said with a smile.

"Yes! Cheng... no, I should call you boss now. Boss, please take good care of me in the future," Su Chang said with a smile.

"Manager Xing, how did you manage to poach Changchang from Tianxing Film and Television Company?" Cheng Sheng was stunned.

The current Su Chang is not the same obscure celebrity she used to be.

Since playing the female lead in "The Great Tang Dynasty 1" and winning the Best Newcomer Award at the Venice Film Festival, Su Chang's fame has skyrocketed, and she is now a top-tier actress.

Shouldn't Tianxing Company keep a close eye on artists like this?

Xing Aina smiled slightly, glanced at Su Chang, and said, "This is all thanks to Changchang. If it weren't for her insistence, we might not have been able to dig it up."

"Changchang, what's going on?" Cheng Sheng asked Su Chang.

Upon hearing this, Su Chang blushed at first, then lowered her head and said, "My contract was supposed to expire in two years, but the company has been exploiting me for the past year, and I really can't take it anymore, so I don't plan to renew it..."

“Wait, this kind of thing is normal in the entertainment industry. I want to ask you, your contract hasn’t expired yet, so how did Tianxing Company let you go?” Cheng Sheng interrupted.

In the glamorous entertainment industry, the contracts between artists and their management companies act as an invisible bond, maintaining the cooperation and responsibilities between the two parties.

If one party terminates the contract or breaches the contract during the contract period, in accordance with the spirit of the contract, paying corresponding compensation is often an unavoidable consequence.

For example, Chen Xiao, who would later become famous, signed with Yu Zheng Studio in 2011. During their six-year collaboration, he rose to prominence with works such as "Palace 6," "Swordsman," and "Legend of Lu Zhen," becoming a highly anticipated young actor in period dramas. However, as their careers progressed, disagreements gradually arose between the two parties regarding resource allocation and career planning.

Ultimately, in order to terminate the contract smoothly, Chen Xiao chose to film three dramas without compensation. This "hidden price" brought about a peaceful breakup with Yu Zheng's studio, marking a relatively amicable end to the collaboration.

And the name 'Deng Ziqi' that many people will know in the future is actually her stage name. Her real name is Deng Shiying. When she debuted, she was still young, and her contract was signed by her mother on her behalf.

Due to unfamiliarity with industry rules, this contract not only transferred the ownership of the stage name "Deng Ziqi" to Hummingbird Music, but also the copyright of all the songs she sang belonged to the company.

In 2019, Deng Ziqi had a dispute with Hummingbird Music over copyright and agency matters, which eventually went to court. The court ruled that she should compensate Hummingbird Music for part of the losses, amounting to approximately 900 million RMB.

This fee became the clear price she paid for breaking free from the constraints of an unreasonable contract.

There's also Yuan Jieying, who missed two opportunities to play the classic role of "Zhao Min" in 94 due to contract issues—she was initially considered for the role in both the Yizhou version and the TVB version of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber".

Because she was also signed with a record company and needed to focus on practicing singing, she was unable to take on filming, and ultimately had to decline the offer for the Yizhou version, for which she paid hundreds of thousands of yuan in compensation.

In those days, hundreds of thousands of yuan was undoubtedly a huge sum of money, which shows the weight of the cost of breach of contract in different eras.

The biggest breach of contract case involved Zhao Lusi, who was owed 4 million yuan in damages.

Zhao Lusi signed a "global contract of servitude" when she was 17 years old, with a penalty of 4 million yuan for breach of contract, which is equivalent to 10 times her annual income.

This is no exaggeration—former SNH48 member Huang Ting was ordered to pay 350 million yuan for terminating her contract and was directly listed as a dishonest person subject to enforcement by the court, with even her accounts being frozen.

If Zhao Lusi follows in her footsteps, she might even lose the capital she used to open a noodle shop.

In response, Zhao Lusi directly attacked the supply company online.

Posting a depression diagnosis and accusing the company of misappropriating funds constitutes a violation of this agreement.

This contract termination dispute exposed three major cancers plaguing the entertainment industry:
Unfair contract terms: 83% of artist contracts contain unfair terms such as "selling oneself globally" and "exorbitant compensation".

Capital exploitation: Entertainment companies treat artists as "cash cows," neglecting their physical and mental health, which intensifies the industry's internal competition.

Dilemmas in protecting rights: High costs of contract termination and difficulty in obtaining evidence lead many artists to choose to swallow their anger.

Zhao Lusi's experience is not an isolated case, but a microcosm of the entire entertainment industry.

When the arrogance of capital crosses the line, the law should be a shield to protect artists, not a shackle of oppression.

These examples demonstrate that it is by no means an easy task for artists to switch agencies or terminate their contracts.

Tianxingji would only let Su Chang go if the people at the company were crazy, or if Su Chang, like Chen Xiao, agreed to make three films for Tianxingji for free.

"This one……"

Su Chang hesitated for a moment, seemingly a little embarrassed to speak.

"Boss, let me speak for Changchang!"

Upon seeing this, Xing Aina stepped forward and spoke.

"Oh! What's troubling you?" Cheng Sheng asked curiously.

"I promised Tianxingji Investment to produce three of our idol dramas, and that's why they agreed to let Changchang switch to our company. Boss, you won't blame me for taking matters into my own hands, will you?" Xing Aina said.

Cheng Sheng's lips twitched. He thought there was something difficult about it, but it turned out that the company had used its profits to buy Su Chang's contract.

“No wonder. Buying Changchang’s contract with the investment rights to three idol dramas is a good deal,” Cheng Sheng said. (End of Chapter)