Chapter 166: Promoting the Song
Tong Shenwu knew that videos roasting artists generated huge traffic. If they remained passive out of fear, the artists’ images would still be damaged.
In this dilemma, Tong Shenwu found a way to take a different approachâexpanding the negative evaluations of the artists.
Wasn’t Wu Yongzheng being scolded for not knowing how to film because of Empress Zhangsu? Then they would share videos from the filming site. In the videos, Wu Yongzheng was explaining the scenes to everyone. He would use “flying pages” (on-the-fly script changes) rather than following the script, because the female lead, Lu Chi, hadn’t listened to the director during filming and insisted on acting according to the “original script.”
The plot of Empress Zhangsu had major issues, but under the spamming of the lead actors’ fans and the production company’s water army, all the bad reviews had been suppressed.
When more and more people who had watched the drama saw the videos of Wu Yongzheng using “flying pages” at the filming site and Gao Zhimei not stopping him, they would naturally discover that the plot in the “flying pages” was the one that made sense. The director and screenwriter had both been unfairly smeared.
Rebellious netizens would spontaneously analyze from the clues who was truly responsible for the failure of Empress Zhangsu.
Yishangâs goal would naturally be achieved, and the reputations of Wu Yongzheng and Gao Zhimei would return to being clean. Directed by Wu Yongzheng and written by Gao Zhimei, Empress Zhangsu 2, which would have no interference, would maintain a high level of outside attention from the preparation stage.
By then, when those video bloggers who had previously insulted Wu Yongzheng and Gao Zhimei received lawyer’s letters from Qianyuan, the netizens would cheer for justice instead of defending those “truth-telling” bloggers.
The same operation, with adjustments to the process and rhetoric, could be applied to other artists as well.
“Endless-9 is being roasted for having no more song-and-dance stages after the survival show ended. What do you plan to do?” Gu Wanrong didn’t know if Tong Shenwu would let them go on the existing music programs in the domestic entertainment circle. If there was such an intention, she wouldn’t agree.
Tong Shenwu seemed to have planned the boy group’s song promotion plan long ago and said without hesitation, “Endless-9 has already signed contracts with several popular variety shows. After recording the programs, our companyâs team will be responsible for setting up and recording the song promotion stages, which will be broadcast in the variety show’s main episodes.”
Fortunately, they didn’t plan to go to those existing music stages. Popular variety shows were a good option; they provided exposure, and since their own team was doing the recording, there wouldn’t be bizarre incidents where the recording used one audio track but the broadcast swapped it for another because the sound pickup was poor.
Tong Shenwu continued to explain the reason: “Idol 101 had amazing ratings, so other platforms followed suit with similar survival shows, and some platforms even created music promotion stages. But their mechanisms are poor, the scripts are obvious, and they haven’t made any impact. Therefore, Endless-9 won’t go on those stages; it brings them traffic for no benefit and might even result in them being sabotaged.”
What Tong Shenwu described had actually happened in Gu Wanrongâs past life, which was also the reason she didn’t agree.
However, Gu Wanrong believed that since Yishang had already trained a team capable of filming stages comparable to overseas idol groups, Yishang could take a piece of the “music promotion stage” cake that no one had successfully eaten yet.
Thinking of this, Gu Wanrong asked, “We have the determination to manage Endless-9 well. I think we can cooperate with a TV station to create a music promotion stage.”
“The difficulty of implementation is extremely high, but there is a possibility of completion.”
“As far as I know, overseas stages are nearly mature but still can’t make a profit. Singers promote their songs by paying for their own stage setups.”
“The domestic audience group isn’t large either; we would need to spend a lot of energy and money to expand the market space.”
As soon as Gu Wanrongâs proposal came out, everyone was not very optimistic. Mainly because in the current environment, platforms wanted to make quick money and lacked the determination to succeed. The stage decoration, lighting, makeup, and photography were unsuitable everywhere. Furthermore, the land area of the Xia Country was too large, and the schedule of singers flying back and forth during the promotion period of new songs was too exhausting. There were problems at every turn.
But on second thought, Qianyuanâs starting point far exceeded theirs.
They had a complete stage filming team, sufficient financial support, and a good relationship with Huanyin, the largest music company in the country. There was a chance to create a music promotion program.
Huanyin Entertainment was a subsidiary of the Iner Group. Iner not only had its own developed Yuele Music but had also acquired shares in several other music apps. By cooperating with Huanyin, Huanyin would only need to support the chart data and then sit back and wait for the results.
As for the musicians signed to Huanyin, for the sake of cooperation, they wouldn’t refuse invitations to the music promotion stage.
The foundation had been laid; the rest depended on Tong Shenwuâs skills.
“Tong Shenwu, when Endless-9 records stages for TV variety shows, you can test the waters. First, I only want a broadcast on the main station. Second, we don’t need time slots like the early morning or dawn. They can set any other conditions.”
Gu Wanrong tapped her fingers back and forth on the tabletop, wondering if there was anything else she needed to add.
She continued, “The most important point is that this is not a reality show. It doesn’t need a script. The focus must be on the stage.”
Recalling the reasons why domestic music promotion stages failed to make an impact or were poorly executed, besides those mentioned above, there was one more point: the “show” part.
A music promotion program actually had a script. They would arrange personas for the artists and write scripts for them; first, they would act, and only then would they promote the song.
Gu Wanrong thought for a bit and had nothing else to add. She said, “Unless the investment exceeds the Idol 101 period, you don’t need to report it to me.”
“Understood, Chairman Gu,” Tong Shenwu said.
The total investment for Idol 101 had exceeded five hundred million. None of the subsequent survival shows in the country could surpass it, yet even so, they were all S-level variety shows for the platforms.
Tong Shenwu packed her documents while reminiscing.
Next was the report related to the Xiyuanlai Food Company. The new product R&D team had developed new products and was preparing to put them on the market after the beginning of the year.
The various food formulas Gu Wanrong had previously provided were also entering the market for sale one by one.
“OK.” Gu Wanrong repeated her usual refrain, “I want to emphasize food hygiene and safety again. Whether it’s employees or machinery, everything must be hygienic. Also, for the ingredients, the formulas I gave don’t contain chemical components like additives or preservatives. The R&D team must also take this as the standard.”
“We’ve detected excessive metal content in samples of raw materials we’ve purchased. Similar problems occur every month,” Tong Shenyi mentioned this phenomenon after Gu Wanrongâs emphasis.
He proposed a solution: “I think we can expand the scale of the Groupâs farm. In addition to ensuring the supply for the corporate cafeteria, we should strive to achieve self-production and self-marketing.”
Translator’s Note: “Flying pages” (éŁéĄľ – fei ye) is a common term in the industry for scripts that are being written or changed as the cameras are rolling. Also, the mention of “water armies” (ć°´ĺ – shui jun) refers to paid internet posters used to manipulate public opinion. Gu Wanrong is really looking to revolutionize the C-pop industry by creating a proper music show (like Music Bank)!
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