Chapter 118: Yang Xiaomi’s Analysis
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After hearing Zhou Yanran’s full plan, Su Bai was still somewhat dazed.
According to Zhou Yanran’s proposal, Tiancheng Entertainment—his company—would join forces with Zhou Yanran’s Xingyue Media to establish a new company.
The problem was that Xingyue Media currently had no artist with enough popularity to set the entire internet ablaze.
Su Bai would therefore need to sign with the newly established company and serve as its flagship artist, effectively becoming an advertisement for it.
In this way, the common difficulties faced by both companies could be resolved at once.
Although Xingyue Media currently lacked much prominence within the industry, it was nevertheless a veteran entertainment company with more than twenty years of history. It had, for the most part, earned the recognition of the other established firms.
That was also why Huiding Capital coveted Xingyue Media’s empty corporate shell.
Xingyue Media did not possess as many resources as the top entertainment companies, but it still had some connections. At the very least, it had basically established ties with television stations across the country.
The fact that Xingyue Media had secured the exclusive right to organize the nationwide song solicitation campaign for the promotion of Palace Museum culture was enough to show that it still possessed a certain degree of influence.
A partnership between Su Bai and Xingyue Media would bring a fresh surge of vitality to the latter. To a certain extent, it would resolve the awkward situation created by the depletion of Xingyue Media’s roster of artists.
Otherwise, once word spread that every artist under Xingyue Media had defected, the company’s reputation would immediately plummet.
By then, Xingyue Media would be affected across the board—whether in music, film and television, or variety entertainment.
This partnership would also resolve the predicament Su Bai currently faced.
He would gain access to Xingyue Media’s existing resources. Even if someone wanted to blacklist him, it would be impossible to block every resource under Xingyue Media.
Su Bai would still have opportunities for exposure.
For an artist, exposure meant the hope of returning to the summit.
But once all exposure vanished, everything was truly over.
Zhou Yanran also explained to Su Bai that this model of cooperation would be better than Yang Xiaomi’s studio arrangement.
For one thing, the share of the profits would be greater than what he could receive through a studio.
For another, given Su Bai’s current circumstances, it was by no means certain that any major entertainment company would be willing to sign him under a studio agreement.
Artists like Yang Xiaomi had struggled in the entertainment industry for many years and had already accumulated abundant resources and connections.
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Only then would a company choose to sign them under such an arrangement.
If you were an artist with nothing but popularity and traffic, without resources or connections, you probably would not even be qualified for such a deal.
Although Zhou Yanran’s words were not particularly pleasant to hear, Su Bai had to admit that she made sense.
For a partnership to work, the resources contributed by both sides had to be more or less equal.
Otherwise, it would not be this kind of cooperation.
“How about this? Let me think it over. After all, Tiancheng Entertainment is a company Song and I established together.”
“The way Xingyue Media acted before was truly chilling.”
Zhou Yanran understood that matters like this had to proceed gradually; it was impossible to make a decision on the spot.
She merely asked Su Bai to give her good news when he had reached a decision, then left.
When Yang Xiaomi walked back in, Su Bai said helplessly, “You could have stayed. There was nothing I needed to keep from you.”
Yang Xiaomi smiled. “I wasn’t worried that you’d misunderstand. I was worried that President Zhou would.”
“I just happened to step out for some fresh air.”
Su Bai did not say anything, and Yang Xiaomi did not ask a single question about what had passed between them.
Nevertheless, Su Bai told her everything without leaving out a word.
When it came to the unspoken rules of the industry, Su Bai knew he was not as knowledgeable as Yang Xiaomi. He wanted to hear her opinion.
After listening to his account, Yang Xiaomi said seriously, “In a certain sense, everything Zhou Yanran said is correct.”
“My studio’s contract with Jiaxing Media really does earn me less than the arrangement you’re considering.”
“And Xingyue Media is indeed a veteran entertainment company. Although it has not been very prominent in recent years, its resources are still fairly decent.”
“I’d heard that the person in charge of Xingyue Media had recently been replaced by a young woman known for being decisive and formidable. So that was her. She really is beautiful.”
“Based on what you’ve told me, the arrangement Zhou Yanran proposed is definitely much better than trying to fight your way forward alone.”
“To be honest, I was worried that the situation she described might occur. That’s why I introduced you to my friends when you were at the height of your popularity.”
“My original thought was that however many resources you could retain would depend on your own ability.”
“Once you made it big, you might remember that I had helped you. And for me, it would have been nothing more than a small favor.”
Hearing Yang Xiaomi so candidly admit her intentions, Su Bai could only give a bitter smile.
At the same time, his favorable impression of her rose another notch.
At the very least, Yang Xiaomi was being honest with him now.
She had directly told him what she had hoped to gain.
“But…”
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The moment Su Bai heard that word, a trace of helplessness crossed his heart.
He had known there would be a “but.”
“Have you considered one thing? What Xingyue Media needs right now is an artist with extraordinary popularity—someone who can raise the company’s profile.”
“That would help it survive the public-relations crisis it is currently facing within the industry.”
“To be honest, Xingyue Media was already suffering from a public-relations crisis.”
“A veteran entertainment company built on resources should not have only one top-tier star.”
“And now, that one top-tier star is about to leave.”
“That will have an extremely negative impact on Xingyue Media.”
“If things go badly, Xingyue Media may be removed entirely from the list of companies recognized by the industry.”
“So she needs you to help her get through this crisis.”
“According to what she said, only you would sign with the new company, while Xingyue Media’s own artists would merely send over a few insignificant names as a token gesture.”
“Once they had weathered the crisis, what would stop them from withholding every resource from the newly established company?”
“What would you do then?”
After hearing Yang Xiaomi’s analysis, Su Bai broke into a cold sweat.
She was right. This new company would merely be one in which Zhou Yanran’s Xingyue Media held a stake.
If Xingyue Media stopped directing resources toward it, while Su Bai remained signed under its name, would that not amount to destroying his own future?
From that point on, the company would have to expand the market through its own efforts.
Zhou Yanran would then become someone who could lie back and effortlessly take half of his profits.
Seeing the wariness in Su Bai’s eyes, Yang Xiaomi said helplessly, “In truth, every artist faces choices like this.”
“An ordinary entertainment company would not usually do something so foolish as killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.”
“After all, the more popular an artist under its banner became, the greater the profits the company would receive.”
“So what I described is only the worst-case scenario.”
“When I signed with Jiaxing Media, I had similar concerns. But looking at things now, that worst-case scenario never happened.”
“Still, such things have occurred in the industry.”
“When they do, however, the trap is usually laid in advance.”
“Someone is deliberately targeting the artist.”
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