I Became an All-round Artist

For any music production company ranked within the top 100, the importance of this list is self-evident.

In a way, the ranking on this list represents the company's overall strength within Qi Province, and it serves as a crucial bargaining chip when negotiating deals.

As a result, every music production company in Qi Province pays close attention to any changes in their ranking.

Starlight Music squeezing into the 100th spot may seem insignificant at first glance.

On the surface, Flame Music appeared to be the only casualty.

But that didn’t stop companies ranked close to Starlight from feeling the pressure, especially once they realized the reason Starlight Music had broken into the list:

“All because of one person?”

“Is this composer Xianyu really that impressive? In such a short time, he completed two five-star orders, including a 3-million-yuan theme song for Thunder’s major TV production?”

“Our position isn’t stable.”

“This Xianyu is something else. How many companies in the top 100 rely on just one person to carry them?”

“If Xianyu keeps performing at this level, companies ranked in the 90s and below could all be at risk of dropping down.”

The sense of unease mainly affected companies ranked 90th and below.

Companies ranked above 90 weren’t too concerned about Starlight threatening their positions.

After all, Starlight Music’s setup had its limitations. No matter how talented Xianyu was, he was still just one person.

So, while companies near Starlight felt the heat, those ranked higher—above 90—were mostly watching from the sidelines.

The fire wasn’t going to reach them.

Still, the idea that one person could single-handedly push a company forward left many in the industry amazed.

They might not care about Starlight Music itself, but they definitely weren’t dismissing Xianyu.

In fact, after Xianyu completed those two orders, many in the Qi Province music industry began to take notice.

At the top end of the contractor rankings, Lone Wolf Music, sitting comfortably at 13th place, wasn’t concerned with the squabbles of lower-ranked companies.

To Lone Wolf, any company ranked below 50 was just small fry. And as for those not even in the top 100? They didn’t even count as small fry.

At this moment, Lone Wolf’s composition department was holding a team meeting. The manager was giving a pep talk:

“Red Moon Music is competing with us for the Seven Star Entertainment order. We must secure this deal, even if it’s just to beat Red Moon. I want all of our senior composers involved. I’ve already distributed the client’s requirements to each of you. Feel free to brainstorm. And don’t worry, the company will distribute the profits based on your contributions.”

That’s right.

Because this is a competitive order from Seven Star Entertainment, five companies were vying for the project.

But to Lone Wolf, there was really only one competitor from the start—Red Moon Music, ranked 15th on the list.

As for the other three companies Seven Star had approached?

In terms of sheer strength, they couldn’t compare to Lone Wolf or Red Moon.

Seven Star Entertainment likely knew this as well.

Although they had contacted five companies, the real competition was between Red Moon and Lone Wolf.

The other three? Well, calling them placeholders might be harsh, but in the end, their involvement was little more than a shot in the dark.

Seven Star Entertainment was just hedging its bets. When it came time to make a decision, those three companies might as well not even be there.

Red Moon had a similar view of the competition.

Of the five companies, three were just there to try their luck.

Red Moon’s true competitor was Lone Wolf.

However, while Lone Wolf was confident, Red Moon had at least done some research on the other three companies.

This was part of Red Moon’s policy—perhaps tied to their company culture.

In their conference room, the manager began the usual meeting routine: “Besides us and Lone Wolf, the other three companies are ranked 38th, 55th, and 100th…”

A few composers couldn’t help but laugh.

38th and 55th were one thing, but a company ranked 100th?

They’d barely made it into the top 100.

The deputy manager chimed in with an explanation: “You might not pay attention to these smaller companies, but the one ranked 100th is called Starlight Music. They recently completed a 3-million-yuan order.”

“What?”

“Three million?”

“They must have some real talent.”

“A star composer?”

The composers at Red Moon quickly put aside their earlier dismissiveness. Regardless of luck or other factors, a 3-million-yuan order was no small matter.

If it were, Red Moon wouldn’t be holding a special meeting to discuss their own 3-million-yuan order from Seven Star Entertainment.

Of course, it wasn’t just about the money. Red Moon and Lone Wolf wouldn’t be taking this so seriously if it were only about the amount.

The real reason was that Red Moon saw this as an opportunity to defeat Lone Wolf and climb the rankings.

After all, Red Moon and Lone Wolf were very close in rank.

The two companies were in a direct rivalry, with one’s rise likely leading to the other’s fall.

That’s why Seven Star Entertainment had chosen both Red Moon and Lone Wolf. They saw the competitive dynamic between the two and used it to ensure they would get the best possible outcome for their project.

“It seems you understand now,” the deputy manager said with a nod. “That’s why our company policy is to go all out for any competitive order. Besides Starlight Music, the other two companies in the 30s and 50s have also been performing well recently. Don’t underestimate them. Qi Province has seen its fair share of major companies faltering on big orders—it’s a lesson learned from the blood, sweat, and tears of those who came before us…”

Even if Seven Star was hedging its bets, they weren’t just randomly picking from the pool of contractors.

There was a method to their selection.

Though Red Moon and Lone Wolf didn’t view the other three companies as major threats, they weren’t completely dismissing them either.

After the meeting ended, the manager smiled at the deputy manager and said, “Why were you being so cautious? We’ve handled plenty of competitive orders, and we’ve never botched one.”

The manager was planting a flag.

“I just wanted them to stay focused,” the deputy manager shrugged. “The real target is still Lone Wolf. But Lone Wolf hasn’t ever botched an order either. It’s not that easy to mess up.”

The deputy manager was planting a flag of his own.

To both of them, planting flags was just a way to add some humor to the job, especially when the situation seemed so clear-cut.

For Red Moon and Lone Wolf, losing to each other wouldn’t be considered a failure—they were both strong competitors.

But losing to any of the other three would be a real failure, as their capabilities were far below those of Red Moon and Lone Wolf.

So the idea of “botching the job” was more of a joke.

After all, there were two cars in this race, not just one.

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