Why bother writing songs? Fast forward to the "Don't Laugh Challenge"

Chapter 20 Mutual Cooperation
Who else could he be talking to on the phone but Zhou Yumeng?
Neither of them seemed to have expected what the other had said, and they both remained silent for a while.

After a while, Xia Shen said, "You go first."

But at the same time, a voice came from the other end of the phone: "You go first."

The two: "."

Xia Shen patted his forehead.

He didn't continue to argue, but said directly, "Alright, alright, let me say it first. Here's the thing, I've also signed with a company and am now preparing to release an album. I'm missing a female vocalist, so I wanted to ask for your opinion. Do you have time to help me out?"

Of course, I don't want to put you in a difficult position. I know you're signed with a company, and they might not let you use your real name if you take on freelance work. You can just provide vocals.

As Xia Shen spoke, he began to wait for Zhou Yumeng's reply.

In fact, he was prepared to be rejected.

For Zhou Yumeng, this is the rising period of her career, and many things are different from before.

If it were in the past, he could have asked Zhou Yumeng for help without any guilt, after all, they had been good friends for so many years, hadn't they?
But now that Zhou Yumeng has a company and has officially debuted, her name represents even more.

Generally speaking, putting aside the nature of private gigs, they are definitely contrary to the practices of record companies.

The things he's doing now are, to some extent, stains on the reputation of any serious singer.

After all, how many singers who can actually sing and sign with a company are willing to do this kind of thing? Aren't they mostly independent musicians and musicians from small companies who are struggling financially?
Which big-name musician from a major company would make something like this? It's practically beneath them, lowering their own standards.

So he also suggested that all Zhou Yumeng needed to do was provide vocals.

However, to Xia Shen's surprise, Zhou Yumeng didn't seem to consider it for long and said directly, "Okay, no problem. It's true that the company contract stipulates that I can't use my real name, but I can use my vocals. By the way, let me tell you about my situation."

"Okay, go ahead and say it," Xia Shen nodded.

He was also somewhat curious.

What could Zhou Yumeng possibly need his help with?

The gap between the two has widened. He is still struggling in the mud, while the other has already soared to the top and has a bright and promising future.

The next moment, when Zhou Yumeng spoke, he was completely stunned.

"Here's the thing, after we collaborated once before, the company was very supportive. After I won the championship, the song's data continued to rise, and now it has officially gone viral. Congratulations in advance! Your bonus will probably be quite substantial when the data comes out next quarter."

After that initial collaboration, the company felt you had potential for deeper cooperation, so they asked if you were interested in signing with July Records as a songwriter? A long-term songwriter contract, providing songwriting services to our company regularly? The price is negotiable.

This was like a bombshell to Xia Shen, a shocking revelation.

After all, what does signing with July Records mean?
This is probably obvious to every musician.

If he had signed with July Records earlier, would he have needed to release this kind of stuff, create this kind of work, and struggle so much for data and traffic?
Not required.

With a prestigious record company like July Records paving the way for him, all he needs to do is refine his work and strive to improve himself.

Everything else, the company will pave the way for you!

The company will take care of everything for you!
But what is the actual situation?

The reality is that he had tried before, but all his attempts ended in failure.

The reason is very practical: his physical appearance is not good enough.

Yes, it's ironic that as a singer and musician, I was shut out because of my physical appearance.

Actually, given his appearance, he's definitely presentable among ordinary people, good-looking enough. While not exactly handsome, he's at least clean-cut and presentable. However, in the entertainment industry, to put it bluntly, he's considered ugly.

Perhaps thirty or even twenty years ago, if you weren't an actor but just a singer, whether you were handsome or not wouldn't have mattered.

This is not important.

Because back then, singers weren't judged by their appearance, but by their talent and their work.

Even actors of that era didn't place much importance on appearance; acting skills were king.

But times have changed.

Therefore, Xia Shen, who has no family background, no connections, and no external advantages, has no advantage whatsoever compared to his classmates who are generally from well-off families.

To put it bluntly, he's not even as handsome as Qi Yixiang and Zheng Xingqi.

Perhaps there is another way out for him: after graduation, he can take the teacher qualification exam and become a music teacher.

Otherwise, you could become a training instructor at an external training institution.

But how could he be content with that? He had to at least give it a try, right?

That's why he's in his current situation, still struggling in the mire, and only recently has he started to see some improvement by adapting to the times and reaping some benefits from the era and the flow of traffic.

Now, July Records has actually extended a collaboration invitation?
It's not an artist contract, but a creator contract.

But even if you gave him the artist contract now, he couldn't sign it; he's already signed with Visual Effects Culture.

Even being a creator is not bad.

Xia Shen thought to himself.

Does this mean that he now has the opportunity to write songs that can truly be called 'good songs'?

And it's not over yet.

As if afraid he wouldn't agree, Zhou Yumeng continued, "And now there's a great opportunity. I'm also releasing my first album, a debut LP. And this album will be a collaboration with the producers of 'Fairy Tale of Immortals and Demons,' with several tracks included in the soundtrack. This is a great opportunity, and you might miss it."

A Fantastic Tale of Immortals and Demons!
Original soundtrack!
Collaboration Invitation!
These blows struck Xia Shen's heart like heavy punches, leaving him dumbfounded.

Is this the difference between people?

While he was still struggling to make ends meet, others were already enjoying abalone and lobster.

Of course, it is undeniable that although the two have unequal resources, Zhou Yumeng does indeed have the ability.

Now that things have come to this point, Xia Shen felt there was nothing left to hesitate about.

"can!"

He agreed immediately.

Zhou Yumeng immediately replied, "Okay, it's settled then! I'll be back in Shanghai next week!!! See you then! I'll treat you to dinner! And you'll treat me to a massage!!"

Meanwhile, in another studio...

A young man frowned, looking unhappy.

Xia Shen, Xia Shen, damn it, it's Xia Shen again!

(End of this chapter)