Rock and Roll: Glorious Years

Since there was no office space available, Bian Lang took Chen Shuting directly to Paradise Records. After his brother-in-law arrived, Bian Lang completely became a hands-off manager, taking his guitar to the rehearsal room to continue reciting and copying songs.

In half a day, Chen Shuting and Zhang Fan drafted the contract for their collaboration with Nanyin, and Chen Shuting also outlined a general framework for the future studio plan.

And Zhang Fan's law firm naturally became the legal counsel for the studio.

As for the name of the studio, Bian Lang had already thought of it: Rolling Stone!

The next day, Pan Jianhu returned to Chuncheng, and the two sides began negotiations on the contract.

Meanwhile, in Beijing, a farce was unfolding at the Magic Disc headquarters.

After returning home, Huang Kai pondered for two days before finally meeting with the other members of the Magic City Band at the company today.

He didn't mention quitting at first. The lead singer immediately asked upon meeting him, "Kai, wasn't that variety show disgusting?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Kai became somewhat displeased: "How can you talk like that? It wasn't you who went, so you're making fun of others? You should really go and see how other people participate in the show, especially Bian Lang, play rock and roll!"

After being rebuffed like that, the lead singer's temper flared up: "You think you're so great just because you were on a variety show? I watched Bian Lang's video too. His guitar playing is alright, but can his other instruments compare to professional musicians? He's just fooling those who don't know anything about music! As for the song, it's just so-so..."

Hearing this, Huang Kai, whose mindset had changed, glanced at the lead singer and said, "They're really talented. Let me show you." As he spoke, Huang Kai took out his phone and handed the lead singer a video of his cover of two songs by Bian Lang, which he had gotten from someone else.

The lead singer was shocked after hearing this, but said, "I thought it was something special. It's just so-so. This Cantonese song is too pop. No wonder I heard he's going to fawn over Liu Piku."

The other three echoed this sentiment:

"The first song was alright, but nothing special."

"It sounds pretty catchy, but singing it on a variety show just looks awkward!"

"Damn it, we haven't released a new song in two years! You guys wrote and revised, revised and rewrote, but in the end, you still haven't produced anything decent. What are you going to do? Live off your past achievements for the rest of your lives?" Huang Kai was furious and resentful. Compared to Bian Lang's speed in releasing new songs, he just wanted to strangle his teammates.

"What do you mean, Kai? You've been out for a while and now you're looking down on us? If you don't want to play, then get lost!" The lead singer yelled, grabbing an ashtray and waving it at the other guy.

After Huang Kai dodged, he threw a punch as well...

Ten minutes later, in Pan Xiulong's office, Huang Kai, with bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, sat silently on the sofa. Pan Xiulong looked at his phone again and again, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

After watching it, he asked Huang Kai, "Kai, do you think this variety show will be a hit?"

"No matter what, I think continuing to be such a bully within the family is a dead end!"

Hearing this, Pan Xiulong began to ponder. Since Bian Lang and the others had withdrawn from the competition, could he send a few replacements to fill their spots?

"None of you are at fault for what happened today; you were all too impulsive. Just take a few days to rest. The Happy Music Festival is still a month and a half away, so don't rush the rehearsals. Focus on preparing for the next recording of the show. Talk to the contestants on the show more often in private."

Huang Kai also sensed something was amiss; Pan Xiulong was trying to have his cake and eat it too.

At this point, he was completely heartbroken: "Brother Xiulong, I don't want to stay in Demon City anymore. Find them a new bassist."

Pan Xiulong had seen this kind of thing many times before, so he didn't take it to heart: "Kai, don't say such hurtful things. After all, Mocheng is now a top-tier rock scene. If you leave, no one can take your place. We've been brothers for years, let's just bear with it..."

"Brother Xiulong, how can you expect me to put up with this? The band hasn't released a new song in two years! If we're not good enough, can't the company find someone to write for us? I don't think our two albums were good enough for us to live off for the rest of our lives!"

Hearing this, Pan Xiulong paused for a moment before saying, "There are only a handful of people playing heavy metal in China. If you can't write it, others can't either! Your position in the hearts of your fans is already very solid. If you rush out a new song and it flops, it will be difficult to recover..."

In the past, Huang Kai would have nodded in agreement, but now, after seeing Bian Lang perform two new songs on one show—one hard rock and one pop ballad—and both live performances were just as good, he knew it wasn't a matter of style, but rather a matter of the quality of the work and the performer.

As long as the work is good enough, most music fans won't take the hierarchy of contempt so seriously as they do in the music industry!

Besides, he felt that with Bian Lang's talent so far, there was nothing he couldn't do; it just depended on whether he wanted to...

"Brother Xiulong, I remember the favor you did for me when you rescued me from Shucun. Our band has been doing alright in the industry these past few years, and I think I've repaid what I owe you. I don't know much about terminating the contract, so whatever you say, I'll accept it! I don't want to play in Magic City anymore, and I don't want to stay in Magic Disc anymore either. Think it over and give me a straight answer!" After saying that, he turned and left the office.

Pan Xiulong was somewhat angry at Huang Kai for this, but just like when they signed Li Yiliang instead of Bianlang, now Magic Disc and the capital believe that the lead singer is the most indispensable part of a band, and song copyrights are the foundation of their company's profits!

Even if Huang Kai is incredibly talented, he's still just a bassist, so replacing him with a new one would have almost no impact on the band.

"Since your heart isn't in it anymore, then let it go..."

……

The negotiations with Nanyin went smoothly. Nanyin had few objections to the contract drafted by Chen Shuting and Zhang Fan, and the copyright betting agreement was also added to the supplementary clauses. However, Bian Lang and Pan Jianhu had not yet figured out how to bet.

Other conditions were naturally the highest in the industry, with resources shared between the two sides and Nanyin and Rolling Stone splitting the profits 2/8.

As for the studio's office location, Bian Lang and Chen Shuting decided to place it in the old building on Jianshe Road after discussing it. Firstly, the rehearsal room was there, making it convenient for everyone to work, and secondly, the rent for the upper floors of that old building was indeed cheaper.

Through Lao Tan's negotiation with the property management, Bian Lang directly acquired the 4th and 5th floors, totaling less than 2000 square meters, with an annual rent of 23 yuan.

Bian Lang currently has over 40 yuan in his account, and the 12 yuan from the variety show production team will arrive in the next couple of days.

In addition to the fixed performance fee of 60,000 yuan for the two episodes, the production team also gave 60,000 yuan for the copyright usage fee of the two songs. Originally, the production team's uniform price was 20,000 yuan per song, but because this was Bian Lang's first performance of a new song, the production team gave an extra 10,000 yuan per song. They also agreed with Bian Lang that the recording studio copyright would be released online together with the production team's broadcast time.

Therefore, Bian Lang, who was not under much financial pressure, paid a year's rent directly, and the remaining money became the initial capital for the studio.

They found a specialized agency to handle all the licenses and permits, and Lao Tan helped them find people for the renovations. Chen Shuting then started connecting with Moyin to gather resources and got busy preparing for Bian Lang's song premiere.

Although there's not much left to do in the initial publicity, there's still a whole month in July, giving Chen Shuting plenty of options.