HuaYu: Starting with Photography to Navigate the Entertainment Industry

Wang Peng sat behind the boss's desk, Li Xiaolin sat on the single sofa to Xu Lang's left, and Wang Jun sat on the single sofa to Xu Lang's right.

Xu Lang, on the other hand, sat alone in the middle of a large sofa.

To be honest, being surrounded and stared at by three big shots like this made Xu Lang feel quite uncomfortable.

However, this was an opportunity he had worked hard to obtain, and he couldn't afford to waste it.

After a moment's hesitation, Xu Lang looked at Wang Peng and said with a smile:

"Mr. Wang, don't worry, I won't ask for an exorbitant amount. In fact, what I'm giving you is more of a benefit than a condition."

"Oh?"

Xu Lang's words only made Wang Peng's heart clench.

To be honest, what he hoped for most was for Xu Lang to ask for money—300,000, 500,000, or even 1 million. As long as Xu Lang nodded, Wang Peng would immediately agree.

Compared to a sponsorship contract worth tens of millions, is one million even a big deal?

Moreover, even if he were to actually spend a million, it wouldn't be his money; with the title sponsor as a major financial backer, money wouldn't be an issue.

But once Xu Lang said that, it wasn't about money anymore.

Sure enough, Xu Lang said:

"My first condition, or rather, my benefit, is very simple: I want the exclusive print photography and publishing rights for the 2005 Super Girl national finals."

"Um?"

Wang Peng never expected that Xu Lang would want this right.

"Still photography? Exclusive?"

Seeing Wang Peng frown, Xu Lang explained:

"My photography skills don't need me to prove them anymore, right? Next year, I'll be in charge of still photography for the Super Girl finals. I'll create a set of personalized portraits for each contestant. Isn't that a perk?"

"Yes, that's true."

Wang Peng and Li Xiaolin both agreed with Xu Lang's statement, after all, Zhang Hanyun this year was an example.

Wang Peng nodded, indicating his approval of Xu Lang's photography skills, but then frowned and asked:

"What do 'exclusive' and 'release' mean?"

"It's very simple!"

Xu Lang spoke with great confidence.

"I don't trust anyone else to be in charge of still photography. I can use people from Hunan TV in the photography team, but they must be selected by me. I also need to ensure the quality."

In addition, I have my own website that can cooperate with our official website. You can designate it as the official image publishing website. I will usually post some unofficial images on it for netizens to view.

Wouldn't that also help generate buzz for our competition?

Seeing that Wang Peng was still undecided, Xu Lang added:

"Mr. Wang, I only need still photos; I won't touch the videos!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Peng immediately felt relieved.

"For singing competitions, the core is still video and audio; photos alone aren't a big problem."

After a moment's hesitation, Wang Peng nodded.

"Yes, I can agree to this. We'll be partners from now on."

"good!"

Xu Lang spoke calmly, but he was secretly overjoyed.

This one was something he had carefully designed:

Still photography is his forte. When he takes photos of the contestants, it's called taking photos, but there are many shady things going on.

The simplest one:

If you want to promote someone, just put more effort into them, make them look better, and their popularity will naturally increase.

Similarly, if you want to suppress someone, providing fewer photos or taking less-than-ideal photos can significantly impact their popularity.

Moreover, his own website was designated as the official partner platform for the 2005 Super Girl competition, which meant that exclusive photos from the Super Girl competition could be published on his website.

The Super Girl competition in 2005 was incredibly popular!

Xu Lang's website became a popular site instantly without any promotion, and its page views skyrocketed!

Secondly, by controlling the release of exclusive photos on the website, the popularity of contestants can be greatly influenced, and even the direction of viewers' comments can be swayed.

If the photos are well-taken and attract attention, and the popularity increases, then Tianyu Entertainment won't be the only company that can influence the competition.

"If Li Yuchun wants to win the championship, he'll have to ask me if I agree!"

For Xu Lang, this was a grand strategy:

If he plays it well, riding on the momentum of Super Girl, wouldn't his own website, studio, and artists all take off?

Suppressing his joy, Xu Lang continued:

"The second condition is even simpler. Zhang Liangying, that young girl from earlier, will also participate in our Super Girl competition next year. I believe that her participation will be of great benefit to our competition."

"That's great, no problem."

Wang Peng immediately agreed. He had just heard Zhang Liangying sing "Always Quiet," and he was sure it would generate buzz for the competition.

Seeing this, Xu Lang nodded and added:

"However, I plan to sign her to my studio, so she can't sign a contract with EE-Media."

"This one?"

Wang Peng hesitated after Xu Lang said that.

The 20004 Super Girl contestant suffered because of this:

Zhang Hanyun, who was the most popular contestant, was unexpectedly snatched away by Li Xiaolin's Tianzhong Culture, which made him somewhat upset.

Previously, he had already made up his mind that he would definitely promote the singers under his management in the 2005 Super Girl competition.

Zhang Liangying is good, but since Xu Lang snatched her away, why don't I just stop promoting her?

Do you think I can't find someone who can compare to her?

Wang Peng didn't believe it.

It was this confidence that made him readily agree.

"No problem, that's fine."

Upon seeing that Wang Peng had agreed to the terms, Xu Lang was overjoyed once again.

Having been reborn, he knew all too well how harsh the contracts Tianyu Media offered to the Super Girls in 2005 were:

8-year contract!

In reality, Tianyu Media takes 9% of the revenue share.

There are numerous restrictions on singers, while Tianyu Media has virtually no obligations.

Even if a singer becomes famous, they will be completely locked out by EE-Media.

If you want to leave, you'll have to pay an exorbitant penalty for breach of contract.

This is absolutely the most outrageous and unfair contract in the entertainment industry.

Xu Lang's move was specifically designed to guard against this tactic.

Now that Wang Peng had agreed, he felt relieved.

"Alright, I have no other conditions. As long as the contract is signed, the song 'Sour and Sweet Is Me' is yours!"

"Great, that's satisfying!"

Xu Lang's two conditions didn't seem too unreasonable, and Wang Peng readily agreed, getting up to shake hands with Xu Lang.

Then he called over Li Xiaolin and Wang Jun, and the four of them shook hands and congratulated each other:

"It's a pleasure working with you!"

Subsequently, Wang Peng immediately ordered someone to draft the contract, and he and Xu Lang signed it.

Xu Lang also handed the song over to Wang Peng in its entirety.

The matter came to a temporary end, just as everyone felt they had gotten a good deal.

As Li Xiaolin walked out of Wang Peng's office, he spoke meaningfully.

"Brother, you really got a great deal on this!"

"Is it a good deal for me?"

Xu Lang denied it, instead pointing the finger at Li Xiaolin.

"Mr. Li, you are the biggest beneficiary, aren't you? Zhang Hanyun singing this song is like Super Girl and Mengniu promoting her together. The biggest beneficiary is you, the boss."

"Ha ha!"

Speaking of this, Li Xiaolin couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Xu Lang really did get a huge advantage.

Seeing Li Xiaolin so happy, Xu Lang chuckled to himself and said:

"Mr. Li, I gave this song to Zhang Hanyun, shouldn't you thank me?"

Upon hearing Xu Lang's words, Li Xiaolin immediately tensed up, frowned, and tentatively asked:

"How do you want me to thank you?"