Huayu96: My Thirty Years of a Prodigal Son

Chapter 83 You're really going too far with that!

Looking around at the slightly resentful glances from everyone who had received such an outrageous share of the profits, Qin Sheng smiled.

"Everyone, I don't need to tell you, as a newcomer to the industry, what the main source of income for singers is."

To put it bluntly, popularity and widespread appeal are far more important than the paltry profit from album sales.

Once you gain recognition and your songs become popular, why worry about not getting commercial deals? Why worry about not making money?

Why bother arguing with me about such a small amount of money in album royalties?

Harlin, Lin Zhixuan, and the others all nodded after hearing this.

None of us are new to the industry, so of course we all know that Qin Sheng's words make sense.

If a singer relies solely on selling albums and earning a share of the profits, they will eventually starve.

People like Qin Sheng, who can earn millions a month just from album revenue sharing, are extremely rare, a very small minority.

The real bulk of the profits comes from external orders.

But that's the logic, but that doesn't mean you can rip me off my album sales like that!

A 40% cut? That's way too much!

Harlin and the others gritted their teeth, wanting to argue with Qin Sheng, but Lin Linan waved them off.

Lin Linan also looked pained, but after gritting his teeth, he finally looked at Qin Sheng with a determined gaze and said:

"Sheng, the revenue sharing ratio has never been a problem. We at Sony are willing to give you any percentage you want."

But you have to promise us good songs!

Harlin, Meng Tingwei, and the others were quite surprised to see that Director Lin Linan, who was usually so domineering and assertive in front of them, was now so easy to talk to.

Wait, what's going on? Mr. Lin, have you taken the wrong medicine?

You dare to agree to these conditions?

Are you trying to become Li Hongzhang?

Although Lin Linan was heartbroken, he dared to agree to this outrageous condition because he had the confidence to back it up.

Before Qin Sheng set off, Lin Linan, who was also a music director, had already had in-depth discussions with Chen Heping in Beijing.

At the time, Chen Heping said: "This kid, Asheng, is an absolute genius!"

He's not only a genius in creation, but also a genius in market trends!

He seems to have an intuition that he knows what songs listeners love to hear.

Li Nan, you're an insider, you should know how terrifying this ability is!

To date, I haven't seen a single song by Ah Sheng that isn't popular with listeners.

Not a single one!

Every single one of them is a huge hit!

So, Linan, if Asheng agrees to your request for a song, listen to me, agree to his conditions at any cost!

You definitely won't lose out!

Lin Linan listened to Chen Heping's words.

He also lowered his own psychological bottom line very much.

But after hearing Qin Sheng's offer, Lin Linan realized that his bottom line was still a bit too high.

Forty percent, that's really ruthless!

But to become Sony's music director, Lin Linan's boldness is certainly beyond that of ordinary people.

After a brief deliberation, he quickly made up his mind.

Forty percent of the asking price? No problem!

But it has to be a good song!

Seeing Lin Linan looking at him with a pained yet hopeful expression, Qin Sheng remained silent for a moment, then smiled and said:

"Mr. Lin, I know your concerns. I can tell you this: all the songs I can present are ones that I think are of good quality."

However, I must tell you in advance that although I think the quality is up to standard, I cannot guarantee their sales volume.

"Sales figures are something you can't predict, Mr. Lin. You're an expert, you should know that nobody can say for sure."

Lin Linan sighed inwardly after hearing this.

Logically, he can understand it.

Sales figures, what the audience likes—he's been in the industry for so many years, of course he knows it's a very mysterious thing.

But promising a 40% cut without any guarantees makes it really hard to make a decision.

After pondering for a long time, Lin Linan finally gritted his teeth and agreed.

"Okay! Ah Sheng, let's not talk about any guarantees. As long as it's a song you provide, 40% is fine, we're willing to sign it!"

Lin Linan's teeth were practically grinding to powder!

If it weren't for Chen Heping's repeated guarantees, and if it weren't for the phenomenal success and critical acclaim of the "Too Softhearted" album, I would never have agreed to this outrageous condition.

But isn't there a good reputation and impressive results to speak for themselves?

According to my sources, Qin Sheng's album is very likely to break the highest record in the Chinese music scene, and may even break into the top ten globally!

And the fact that it's entirely original is unique among the top ten best-selling songs in the Chinese music scene!

With this reputation and Chen Heping's endorsement, Lin Linan felt he could take a gamble.

After all, no matter how high the revenue share is, it's still just a revenue share.

Even if the bet is lost, the company will only lose the cost of releasing the song, and the consequences are something I can completely accept!

After reaching an agreement, Lin Linan pointed to Harlem, Meng Tingwei, and the others, and said to Qin Sheng with a smile, "Sheng, why don't we start by collaborating with these singers here?"

Do you have any songs on hand that are suitable for them to sing? Could you show them some?

Works of art are always the most convincing.

Although unpublished works have not yet been tested by the market, current evaluations cannot be taken as accurate.

But those present are all experts; they will naturally have their own judgment on the quality of a song.

Upon hearing that they were going to release a work, Harlem and the others finally put aside their other thoughts and looked at Qin Sheng with anticipation.

Although we've long admired your reputation, who among us wouldn't want to see Qin Sheng's true colors in person?

Qin Sheng chuckled.

This kind of test of creative reserves would likely have been too much for most people to handle today's situation.

After all, even if a songwriter has a lot of talent, having a few dozen songs in their collection is already quite impressive!

How much more can there be?

Dozens of songs may not be enough to match the types of singers we're discussing today.

But as a ruthless transport machine, Qin Sheng's reserves are virtually limitless!

He's really not afraid of that!

After a moment of contemplation, Qin Sheng looked at Harlem and smiled, "Brother Harlem, I heard you're releasing a new album soon. I happen to have a song in my library that would suit you well. How about I let you audition for it?"

Harlin exclaimed excitedly, "Really? That's wonderful!"

Because of the events of tonight, Harlem's excited performance just now was somewhat flawed and seemed a bit exaggerated.

But Qin Sheng didn't nitpick about that; on the contrary, he admired Harlin's dedication.

For a singer to achieve this level of acting skills in the music industry, in terms of professionalism, it can be considered the pinnacle.

Lin Linan asked his assistant to borrow a guitar from outside. Qin Sheng took it, played a simple chord, and then looked at Harlin with a smile.

"Harlem, I hope you like this song, 'Spring Mud'."

He cleared his throat and began to sing.

"Words from all directions"

A jumble of noises fell into my ears

You and I remain silent and do not respond.

Holding your hand

But your eyes were red from crying.