Peninsula's Life Begins in 2016

Chapter 111 Contract Terms

Are you nervous?

"It's alright." Jiang Yan took out the dark blue fountain pen Jin had given him from the drawer and tucked it into the inside pocket of his suit. "By the way, can you take a look and see if this outfit is too old-fashioned?"

Lin Xiaolu tilted her head and looked him over for a while, then floated in front of him and gestured vaguely at his collar: "Your collar could be a little looser, you look like an insurance salesman right now."

Jiang Yan looked down at his shirt collar and reached out to unbutton the top button.

"Much better." Lin Xiaolu nodded in satisfaction, then took two steps back and looked him up and down again. "Overall, not bad. He looks like a proper producer now, but his face is too young and he can't command the stage."

"Should I get a mustache?"

"You can try it, I won't stop you."

Jiang Yan rolled his eyes, picked up his car keys, and went out.

The white Hyundai drove out of Hongdae, crossed the Mapo Bridge, and headed towards Hannam-dong.

In mid-to-late April in Seoul, the cherry blossoms lining the streets have begun to fall, their petals blown by the wind onto the sidewalks, creating a light pink carpet.

At 10:45 a.m., Jiang Yan arrived at THE BLACKLABEL.

Today, a young woman wearing glasses appeared at the front desk. She looked him over carefully as he entered, then immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "Producer Jiang Yan, the president is waiting for you in the conference room. Please follow me."

Jiang Yan was slightly taken aback.

The president? Yang Hyun-suk came in person?

He followed the receptionist up to the third floor and stopped in front of a conference room that was larger than the one in the previous studio.

A frosted glass panel was embedded in the door, through which one could vaguely see figures moving about inside.

The receptionist opened the door for him and stepped aside.

There were three people sitting in the conference room.

The man in the main seat directly opposite the door was a middle-aged man in his early fifties, wearing a distinctive baseball cap.

He was wearing a loose black hoodie, with a laptop in front of him, his fingers sliding across the touchpad.

Yang Xianshuo.

Even though he was dressed more casually than any of the employees, the aura he exuded made it clear at a glance that he was the true owner of the room.

Teddy was sitting to his left. He was unusually not wearing a baseball cap today. His hair was neatly combed, and there was a stack of printed contract documents in front of him.

Sitting to his right was a middle-aged man in a dark blue suit, whom Jiang Yan knew without a doubt that he was from the legal department.

Teddy saw Jiang Yan and waved, "You're here, come in and sit down."

Jiang Yan entered the conference room and bowed deeply to Yang Xianshuo, who was in the main seat: "President Yang, hello, I am Jiang Yan."

Yang Xianshuo raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping up and down Jiang Yan from under the brim of his hat, and then gestured, "Sit down, make yourself at home."

"Yes." Jiang Yan sat down in the empty seat next to Teddy.

Yang Xianshuo skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point. He tapped the touchpad and turned the laptop screen toward Jiang Yan. "Have you looked at the contract? Teddy should have sent you the electronic version last night, right?"

"Yes, I've seen it." Jiang Yan took out the dark blue fountain pen from the inside pocket of his trench coat and placed it on the table. "I have no objection to the overall terms, but I would like to confirm a few details with this lawyer."

Attorney Kim adjusted his glasses and opened the copy of the contract in front of him: "Jiang Yan, please speak."

"First, Article 8, Paragraph 3 of the contract, regarding the settlement cycle for arrangement revenue, states in the contract that it is settled quarterly."

"But as far as I know, the actual receipt period for music revenue is usually more than six months. If it is settled on a quarterly basis, I need to pay taxes in advance, which will put some pressure on my cash flow. I hope to change it to settlement within 30 days after the actual receipt."

Attorney Kim turned and glanced at Yang Hyun-seok, who nodded slightly.

"It can be changed." Attorney Jin picked up a pen and made a mark on the contract.

"Secondly, Article 12 of the contract, regarding the non-compete clause," Jiang Yan continued. "The contract states that I cannot engage in similar work within two years of leaving the company. This clause itself is legally controversial. Moreover, I believe President Yang should already know the reasons for my departure from SM. I do not want to jump out of one cage only to jump into another."

Yang Hyun-suk's eyebrows twitched slightly, and a faint smile seemed to curve at the corner of his mouth under the brim of his hat.

Attorney Kim then looked at Yang Hyun-seok.

This time, Yang Xianshuo didn't nod, but spoke up himself: "This one won't be changed."

Jiang Yan didn't rush to refute, but met his gaze and waited quietly for what he would say next.

"The non-compete agreement must be retained, not to lock you out, but to lock out the song."

Yang Hyun-suk pushed his laptop forward and placed his hands on the table with his arms crossed. "The songs you write can only stay at YG. If someone offers you a lot of money to poach you, and you leave, I won't stop you, but you can't take the songs with you when you leave."

He paused, his eyes beneath the brim of his hat looking directly at Jiang Yan: "This is my bottom line."

The atmosphere in the meeting room became slightly tense.

Teddy cleared his throat, about to speak up to smooth things over, but Jiang Yan nodded first: "Okay, I accept this."

Teddy paused for a moment, and Yang Hyun-suk's eyebrows twitched again.

Jiang Yan then changed the subject, "But I request that a supplementary explanation be added after the non-compete clause."

"you say."

"During the non-compete period, if I participate in projects as a producer in other settings and am credited with my English name instead of my real name, Jiang Yan, it will not be considered a violation of the non-compete agreement."

Attorney Kim frowned: "What's the difference between this and having no non-compete clause at all?"

"The difference lies in the songs." Jiang Yan smiled slightly and looked at Yang Hyun-seok. "As President Yang just said, the non-compete agreement is to lock down the songs, not the person. I use my English name to work outside, and the songs I write don't carry YG's style or resources. I'm just continuing to make music under another identity."

"If President Yang is worried about the loss of core assets, then this supplementary clause will actually ensure that I won't touch YG's signature style after leaving YG."

Yang Xianshuo was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand and pointed at Jiang Yan, "You're even more shrewd than Teddy said."

He pushed his hat brim up, revealing a pair of narrow eyes. "Okay, add this one, but the copyright ownership of the English name must be clearly stated. If you write a song using the English name, the copyright belongs to you. However, if the style of that song highly overlaps with the projects you participated in during your time at YG, YG has the right of first refusal."

"Okay," Jiang Yan agreed without hesitation.

Attorney Jin was taking notes rapidly beside him, a thin layer of sweat already beading on his forehead.

In all his years as a legal professional, this was the first time he had ever seen a newcomer so unyielding in negotiating terms with Yang Xianshuo, and what was even stranger was that Yang Xianshuo actually agreed.

"There's a third point." Jiang Yan picked up the pen and twirled it between his fingers. "Article Fifteen of the contract, regarding the right of authorship."

"The contract states that the work created by Party B is to be credited to Party A. I would like to change this clause to: the work created by Party B is to be credited to Party A and Party B through negotiation, and Party B shall have credit rights no less than those in industry practice."

This time, Yang Hyun-suk didn't hesitate at all and nodded immediately: "This one is fine too. Are there any other questions?"