I became a music industry godfather by writing confidantes.

Chapter 110 Appearing on the Spring Festival Gala

The story of "Gong Xi Fa Cai" begins when Yang Du returned to Beijing during the National Day holiday and visited Huo Xintong with a small token of his appreciation.

In Yang Du's view, the song "Gong Xi Fa Cai" was born for the Spring Festival Gala stage, and it would be a waste if it couldn't be performed on the Spring Festival Gala.

But what kind of place is the Spring Festival Gala?

It's not an easy task to fit a song into a slot.

According to the usual procedure, we need to honestly go through the collection channels and compete with thousands of works from all over the country for a single spot.

But things are different now. Yang Du has connections, and since he has connections, he must make use of them.

Instead of taking the elevator, Yang Du insists on climbing the stairs. He's never been a fan of sports.

Therefore, he asked Huo Xintong to help him get the song "Gong Xi Fa Cai" on the Spring Festival Gala director team's desk in advance.

"So fast?" Yang Du's face lit up with joy.

"Yes, the initial review has passed, no problem. The feedback from the production team is also good; they think the song has a cheerful melody and a pleasing theme, which perfectly matches the tone of the Spring Festival Gala. However—"

Huo Xintong turned around and glanced at Yang Du: "What are your thoughts on being a singer?"

This involves the operational model of large-scale galas like the Spring Festival Gala.

Historically, there have been two basic models for song performances at such large-scale galas.

The first approach is to decide on the performers first, and then on the song.

For example, if you want to invite a respected veteran artist, or if you want to attract attention and generate buzz, you must invite a few top young male and female stars. In that case, you must tailor-make a song specifically for the singer after you have confirmed the singer.

How many lines of lyrics do the top male idols get, how many lines do the top female idols get, and what are the lyrics for the duet? Can they sing high notes? Can they sing low notes? They have to sit in a row and share the fruit. Every aspect has to be carefully considered.

Another scenario is Yang Du's current situation: the song was chosen first, then the performers were selected.

The song demo was selected by the Spring Festival Gala production team, but the question of who would sing it was not without its complexities.

As a songwriter, composer, arranger, and producer, Yang Du wields considerable influence and can recommend singers he favors.

Unfortunately, so far, Yang Du has only collaborated with one male singer, Lin Xu. Oh, now it's one and a half, plus Wu Peng, who is yet to be collaborated with.

However, neither of them is suitable for "Gong Xi Fa Cai".

As for letting the Spring Festival Gala production team decide the singers?

There are even more risks involved.

Firstly, the Spring Festival Gala directing team will definitely prioritize stability, and secondly, the presentation of stage effects and the quality of the works.

The final version of "Gong Xi Fa Cai" may be completely different from what Yang Du envisioned. What if he invites a performer from within the system to sing it?

Secondly, if the Spring Festival Gala directing team were to coordinate with the singers and take on some of the production aspects, the nature of the songs would change.

After all this, it is highly likely that Yang Du will be asked to relinquish some of the master tape copyrights, or to share the distribution rights.

This contradicts the principle of Qiuniu Studio maintaining its own master tapes.

Therefore, after much consideration, the safest approach is for Yang Du to first find a suitable singer and then package them up to get them onto the Spring Festival Gala stage.

In this way, they can maintain control over "Gong Xi Fa Cai" without any copyright risks.

However, a problem arises: where can we find a suitable singer to perform "Gong Xi Fa Cai"?

Issuing notices and conducting auditions one by one is too troublesome and too high-profile.

As he pondered, Yang Du slowed his pace, his gaze gradually settling on Huo Xintong.

The answer is right in front of you.

"Director~" Yang Du smiled brightly and obediently.

Huo Xintong was startled by his address of "Director" and said irritably, "Stop it, just say what you have to say."

……

Jin Yong, 33 this year, is signed with an independent label called Tianma. He used to be considered a first-tier label, but now he's considered a second-tier label.

"However, I will soon return to the first-tier realm."

Jin Yong took out his phone and dialed his agent Cheng An's number.

The phone rang five times before it was answered.

"Old Cheng, I have an incredible opportunity to give you. The condition is that you have to get me to Jinshi Recording Studio before 10 a.m. tomorrow."

"I have a huge slap in the face, do you want it?" Cheng An, on the other end of the phone, was woken up by the call. He checked the time, "It's only... seven o'clock? If you had eaten a few more peanuts while drinking, you wouldn't be this drunk."

The manager was full of resentment: "What incredible luck? If you were really that lucky, you wouldn't have thought of getting into rap after your first album became a huge hit. You've just made yourself a second-tier artist."

Jin Yong wasn't annoyed by the lecture: "Old Cheng, I didn't expect you to have such a big problem with me."

"You know that much." Cheng An stretched and yawned. "Take my advice, keep singing love songs and say goodbye to rap. I'm hanging up now, I didn't get to sleep until 2 a.m. last night, I'm so tired."

"Old Cheng, I'm serious. Tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., Jinshi Recording Studio."

Cheng An's sleepiness vanished instantly. He had worked with Jin Yong for many years and knew that although Jin Yong could be silly and goofy at times, he was quite serious when it came to important matters.

"Really?"

"real."

"Fake?"

"real."

Half an hour later, Cheng An parked his car downstairs at Jin Yong's apartment building.

Seeing Jin Yong board the car with his suitcase, Cheng An quickly asked, "What exactly happened?"

Have you heard of Yang Du?

"Nonsense, I'm not some old fogey, how could I not know Yang Du? Come to think of it, he's your schoolmate. Why are you bringing him up... Holy crap!?"

Cheng An suddenly realized something, and his voice unconsciously rose: "Holy crap, don't tell me you're going to audition for Yang Du?"

Along with Yang Du's exceptional talent, what's also widely known in the industry is the difficulty of collaborating with him.

As is well known, Yang Du is a student of the Beijing Conservatory of Music, and his first collaborator was Tao Cheng, who also came from the Beijing Conservatory of Music. It is said that it was the Beijing Conservatory of Music teachers who acted as matchmakers.

Then, for some unknown reason, Jin Shi bewitched him, and the singers he collaborated with afterward, from Jiang Yan to Lin Xu, were all under Jin Shi's wing.

Lin Xu, as a newcomer, made his way onto the National Day Gala stage with two number one singles, making a remarkable splash.

The only audition was conducted internally at Kingstone and was not made public.

Heaven knows how many singers are desperately waiting for an audition opportunity to collaborate with Yang Du.

Jin Yong was very satisfied with Cheng An's reaction, and deliberately adjusted his cuffs slowly: "You can guess a little bolder."

Cheng An gasped, feeling her heart race: "Could it be that you've already made it to the final audition?"

As soon as I finished speaking, I realized something was wrong.

After all, he was Jin Yong's agent. Whenever there was an audition invitation, people would first call him for cooperation, and he would handle the coordination.

"Unless... unless it's someone you know who bypassed me and introduced the project to you privately? When did you get in touch with Yang Du?"

Jin Yong stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "The head of the vocal music department at Beijing Conservatory of Music called me and said that Yang Du has a project that happens to need a singer. Director Huo from the composition department recommended me to Yang Du. I'll be going for an audition tomorrow."

"As long as the audition goes well, I'll be the one chosen to sing this song, without considering anyone else."

Cheng An was stunned for a full ten seconds before rambling on incoherently, spouting a bunch of words like "awesome" and "amazing."

Jin Yong patted Cheng An on the shoulder to calm him down, and then dropped the second bombshell.

"Spring Festival Gala".