Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

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With Xu Qingyan, it was the opposite; it was the first time I'd seen someone lower their asking price.

"Asking for less and you're not happy?" Xu Qingyan didn't answer directly.

"Well, I hope you would ask for more." She spoke earnestly, "'Qing Tian' didn't have a music video and indeed made a lot of money. I have money now so I hope you do too."

For Pei Muchan, a hundred thousand wasn't much, and this discount was not needed at all. Rather than money, she was more in need of high-quality lyrics and music, and she hoped even more that Xu Qingyan could earn more from this.

Cooperation for mutual benefit was necessary for a relationship to last.

Moreover, the entertainment industry always had plenty of good singers but not as many good songwriters. Unlike internet hit songs or pop songs, a truly good song was often priceless.

Normally, songwriters charged between thirty thousand to a hundred thousand, with very few asking between a hundred thousand to five hundred thousand for a song, except for the good ones.

Some had a hit style that could be replicated in dozens or hundreds of songs, still selling them at a high price.

Seasoned songwriters with varied styles like Xu Qingyan were few and far between, and the true divas of the music world were all claimed by these people. In short, the good songs would never end up in Pei Muchan's hands.

This was also why Pei Muchan was anxious, her face displaying a "have you been courting others behind my back?" expression. Was this their final parting price?

"I really do want to make money; that's why I asked for ten thousand less." Xu Qingyan looked puzzled, "Aren't you going to participate in 'I Am the King of Song' and make an album?"

"Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Of course, it's related. You'll need to buy songs for the competition and for the album." He spoke earnestly, "For the competition, you'll need at least five or six songs, and seven or eight for the album."

"Together that's thirteen songs, which means you need to give me over two million. In half a year, the album might not be finished, and the songs for the competition can't be directly monetized, so you can't come up with over two million all at once."

"You need a lot of liquid assets, so I figured I'd ask for less. The million and more saved could help you become popular faster, and then I could charge others an exorbitant price in the future."

"Although the songs are valuable, so is time! To a certain extent, even though I'm asking for less, I'm not giving up my share of the earnings. I also have cash on hand, and when you become popular, I can actually earn more."

The deposit is not given upon contract signing if funds are tight, it's usually dragged out. Some royalty settlements are monthly, others are calculated biannually; it varies greatly.

When buying "Qing Tian," Pei Muchan offered a sky-high price, even considering selling her house. Her claim of not lacking money wasn't actually that affluent, and she would certainly drag out actual purchases.

Can an album be made without a music video? Other promotions would definitely need to follow through, even though these would be part of the process after participating in "I Am the King of Song," but he could roughly guess.

However, he was just giving an example, and in reality, thirteen or fourteen songs were not necessary, at most six or seven.

Regarding the new album, Pei Muchan would definitely find a way to ponder a few songs to add, otherwise the originality of her album would be less valuable.

For the album, Pei Muchan had to write the songs herself. A singer-songwriter who doesn't compose will eventually lose their enthusiasm.

So, calculating it all, his workload wasn't that big, leaving plenty of time to arrange music. But Pei Muchan didn't have a library of songs to copy; she had to write them genuinely.

Funds would definitely be tight halfway through album production, and when exactly the album could be finished was unpredictable.

It'd be better to ask for less so Pei Muchan could pay the song deposit on the spot.

As the revenue from "Qing Tian" trickles back, he'd get his share. By then, she'd probably have written some originals, and the money for producing the new album would almost be gathered.

For Xu Qingyan, this was what you'd call a win-win.

Pei Muchan paused, thinking it sounded somewhat reasonable, but still felt something was off. With so many points of contention, she didn't know where to start criticising.

"Can you really write a dozen songs? Even if your inspiration is constant, wouldn't that mean I'd be taking advantage of you?"

"Next time, you can let me take advantage, right?" Xu Qingyan continued to look at the music score, not lifting his head, "Compared to this concession of tens of thousands, it's more important for you to make a comeback sooner."

"Become a queen of the music industry soon, dear sister, so I can ride your coattails and scrape some meat off the bone."

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The sun was nearing its zenith, and the empty office was flooded with sunlight. Two desks pushed together looked somewhat cumbersome, with desk ornaments and green plants stretching out, casting a long, narrow shadow under the sunlight.

Pei Muchan stood beside the desk, her eyes long and gentle as she gazed at Xu Qingyan, who was engrossed in working on a melody, a fine golden edge coating her gaze in the dust-moted golden sunlight.

She had been lost in thought for quite a while, a gentle smile on her face.

"You're really good to me."

"Hm?" Xu Qingyan looked up, confused, "No, it's the same price for Lin Wanzhou as well."

That was the end of the conversation.

The smile on Pei Muchan's face vanished in an instant. She sat back in her seat, muttering to herself furiously. If cursing with voodoo dolls was effective, at that moment Xu Qingyan would have been struck through the heart with a thousand arrows.

...

As dusk approached, Xu Qingyan drove to Lin Wanzhou's place. They had already moved out of the recording studio.

Wen Yun got a friendly price from a friend, taking over a sublet studio located five or six kilometers from the city center at a low price. It wasn't too good, but at least they were not living at another's mercy.

Whether it was Pei Muchan, Lin Wanzhou, or Xu Qingyan, even though everyone seemed very wealthy, they all gave off the impression of not having much cash on hand.

Running a studio was just like that; money was spent everywhere.

Pei Muchan, having started her independent career earlier, had saved up some money, but with a disenchanted heart, she bought two condos and planned on settling down, barely having enough money to keep the studio going.

Releasing the song "Qing Tian" involved getting paid after the release, and the money earned was then invested in the studio and a new song "Always Very Quiet", and today she also signed "Late Marriage".

The money just earned was nearly all spent, and while not exactly stretched thin, there definitely wasn't enough to spend freely. If Xu Qingyan insisted more fiercely, Pei Muchan would have had to transfer her Audi A8 to him.

Lin Wanzhou was even more strapped for cash, spending money to buy time, and when terminating the contract, still owed Cloud Wing Entertainment a million she hadn't completely gathered. Releasing the song "The One I Miss," all the costs were still owed.

She signed a pile of IOUs until "The One I Miss" was a bestseller on the first day. It was more than a week later that Xu Qingyan received his share of the money.

On WeChat, Lin Wanzhou said that she had paid off the debt to Cloud Wing. It was only yesterday that Wen Yun finally secured the studio location, and took the opportunity to settle the recording fees as well.

By now, Lin Wanzhou could finally claim her own first song. Though she was once famous at Cloud Wing Entertainment, since leaving, she hardly had any money left.

Xu Qingyan was no different, with the money pretty much spent, he had been gradually transferring the tens of thousands he recently earned to his mother. With most of the money earned, the incoming cash was not returning as quickly.

Though all three were wealthy and earned quite a bit, they truly didn't have much cash on hand. There was a sense of starting over from scratch with a kind of boldness, which simply meant they hadn't earned enough.

The studio was not out of the way but was somewhat hard to find.

He drove around a few times before finding the right spot. With a bang, he closed the car door, and Lin Wanzhou was already there waiting.

The sun was setting, and the fiery red sunset fell in large patches on the open space. It made Lin Wanzhou's tender skin appear almost like a ripe apple, her clean cheeks glowing softly.

She wore a cotton white dress, hair lightly tied at the back of her head. Her long lashes hid clear eyes that held an indescribable shyness as she quickly approached.

"You're here?" Her voice sounded a bit naive.

"Yeah, I heard your studio was relocating, came to have a look and to sign the contract." Xu Qingyan pulled out an exquisitely designed glass wind chime from behind him, the tinkling sound catching her attention.

"This is for you, wishing your new song a big hit and a soaring career."

Lin Wanzhou's gaze was completely captivated by the glass wind chime, her eyes bending warmly.

"Thank you, I really like it."