Chapter 316: Official Announcement

PS: The previous chapter should have been 314; the chapter title can't be changed, but it doesn't affect anything.

Main text:

Having successfully tricked Avril into joining, Miss Luo Quan was in a great mood.

When she first established the company, it was purely with a playful mindset; she never took it seriously, and until now, the company's capital was only one yuan.

But she already had three signed artists, and two of them were teenage idols with quite high current popularity. Counting herself, the framework of a small company was already set up. As long as she hired some professional agents and rented a room, she would have the prototype of an entertainment agency.

It certainly couldn't compare to those large, long-established entertainment agencies, but Miss Luo Quan's artists all had immense potential, excellent images, and temperaments, plus her as the boss—a cheat code in the music industry. Getting famous would be as simple as turning over one's hand.

However, Miss Luo Quan had a lot on her plate right now. Avril's debut would have to wait for a while; once she was done with her current tasks, she would then start helping Avril produce her album.

After reaching an agreement with Avril, Miss Luo Quan went to the school's printing room and printed two copies of the contract.

The original copy of this contract was the one Junko and Jiang Yuner had signed. Miss Luo Quan had always kept the electronic file for future signing matters, never expecting it to come in handy so soon.

"The other two artists in the company use this contract. Take a look and see if there are any clauses you want to modify." As she spoke, Miss Luo Quan had already signed her name.

The contract duration was five years. Miss Luo Quan didn't give Junko and Jiang Yuner a signing fee, but she also didn't take any percentage from them; it was a nominal contract, basically involving no monetary transactions, just letting outsiders know they were artists of Miss Luo Quan's company.

But because Miss Luo Quan hadn't done much promotion for her own company, not many people actually knew about this.

Avril definitely couldn't be like that; after all, Miss Luo Quan and her relationship hadn't reached that level yet. Without an emotional foundation, she could only use cash to brush up Avril's favorability.

Although it sounded quite vulgar, it was effective.

Avril also signed a five-year contract. The signing fee was 1.2 million per year, and then all of the artist's future income related to the company would be split 30/70, with the artist taking 70%.

This condition could be considered quite good in the industry.

Although Avril wasn't a newcomer without any fame, her bit of fame was actually worse than having none. If she signed with other large companies, the annual signing fee would be at most around 200,000, and the split would be at most 70/30—the company taking 70% and her taking 30%!

Only after struggling in the industry for many years and having a considerable fan base, or debuting at the peak, with the first work becoming popular across the internet, could the split reach 50/50—which was the current split between the "Girls' Generation" members (except Wen Xia) and Penguin Company.

And the 70/30 split Avril now had was something only industry bigwigs could enjoy; without top-tier work or fame, it was impossible to get such a split.

However, there weren't that many rules at Miss Luo Quan's place. She had always treated people with utmost sincerity, exchanging heart for heart. Money was just an external object, and she didn't value it particularly highly.

And Avril clearly hadn't expected Miss Luo Quan to be so generous—offering a newcomer an after-tax annual salary of 1.2 million, and a 70/30 split!

Before, when she released songs, it wasn't like entertainment agencies hadn't approached her, but those agencies only valued her image, not her work.

The conditions offered were also "child labor" contracts—not to mention the low salary, the split was only 80/20. Compared to Miss Luo Quan's, it was like heaven and earth!

For the first time in her life, Avril felt the joy of being appreciated. She couldn't help but feel a bit teary-eyed, and she tremblingly signed her name on the two "indentures"... oh wait, contracts.

Miss Luo Quan smiled happily and put one copy into her schoolbag: "Keep this one yourself. Add me on WeChat, and send me your bank account number later... By the way, you need to change your stage name."

Avril was stunned: "Ah? Why?"

Miss Luo Quan explained: "Zhao Yan doesn't have much recognizability. 'Avril' sounds better and is quite trendy; the public will definitely like it."

Although Miss Luo Quan deeply disdains the behavior of artists who adopt English stage names or full foreign names, when it came to her own turn, she still couldn't help but find it surprisingly good.

There was no help for it; the social environment was just like this. Foreign monks are better at chanting scriptures, and domestic fans just buy into this.

Therefore, hating worship of foreign things is one thing, but returning to reality is another.

Avril hesitated: "Don't you think the name Avril... sounds very strange?"

The reason she used Zhao Yan as her stage name was mainly because the name Avril was often mocked by boys in class, who would often call her "AV, AV," which was very embarrassing.

Miss Luo Quan immediately understood, but didn't think it was a problem: "But this is the name on your ID card, what's so strange about it? Besides, you're singing punk rock; would you doubt your own name because of these things?

That would be too lacking in rock spirit, wouldn't it?"

For a rock fan, this statement had a damage value of MAX. Avril, who was still a bit coy before, now had no concerns at all.

"Okay, I'll change it when I get back!"

Miss Luo Quan smiled and said: "If you really feel awkward, you can also use English; just call yourself Avril."

"Why use an English name?" Avril was puzzled.

"Because you will be singing English songs in the future. Taking an English name is also better for breaking into the foreign market."

"Isn't singing in Chinese good?"

Miss Luo Quan shook her head: "Chinese rock is dead."

Don't look at the Lovemusic band's previous concert in China—the atmosphere was quite fiery, it made the trending searches, and caused a lot of discussion.

But it really didn't stir up any waves. The album released later only sold a mere 200,000 physical copies in mainland China. Digital album sales were a bit higher, but didn't exceed one million.

The rest all went to listen to pirated versions. If Miss Luo Quan really let Avril sing Chinese punk rock, it would be losing the sesame seeds to pick up the watermelon.

In the current Chinese music market, if you want to make money, don't count on singing Chinese rock. Work hard on managing female fans, and when the time comes, release any album, and you can easily earn a "small goal" (100 million).

Relatively speaking, the foreign music market is still quite vast. As the most widely used language in the world, English naturally has advantages over Chinese. Countries like the United States and the United Kingdom have good copyright awareness and are willing to spend money on songs. If there is work, there is absolutely no worry about sales.

As for China, it's better for Avril to "export to domestic sales"—first make a name for herself abroad, then sell the records back in China. It might sell even better than her "Love" did domestically.

After the general direction was set, Miss Luo Quan didn't have any special requirements for Avril at the moment, just to practice guitar and vocal music.

Avril, who was a music major, wouldn't slack off on these; she would practice even without Miss Luo Quan telling her.

Other things were just some things to pay attention to as an artist, such as speaking less on social platforms—the more you say, the easier it is to make mistakes.

Fortunately, Avril wasn't someone who particularly liked surfing the internet, and she hadn't had any disputes with anyone online. The time with Miss Luo Quan was just because the media was stirring up trouble, not her original intention.

After giving instructions, Miss Luo Quan returned to the dormitory and checked the time. There was still some time before breakfast in the US. Director Miller was probably sleeping soundly, so she wouldn't disturb him yet.

Opening Bilibili, Miss Luo Quan posted a status:

Something to officially announce tonight. (Dog head)

Countless fans swarmed in, and seeing this short status, they panicked.

"I've often seen the term 'official announcement' when celebrities announce their relationships."

"The shorter the message, the bigger the thing."

"Could it be that Miss Luo Quan found a boyfriend? No!"

"Although I knew this day would come sooner or later, now that it has really arrived, my heart hurts like a knife."

"Too sudden, I have no psychological preparation at all."

"That's right, it's an official announcement with me, hahaha, don't pull me, I'm not crazy, wooooooo…………"

"Didn't you all see that dog head? It's clearly Miss Luo Quan being playful to tease the fans."

"Didn't say it was an official announcement with a man. (Dog head)"

"I get a bit panicked when I see these two words. I hope it's not what I think it is."

Miss Luo Quan didn't expect the fans to react so strongly. She thought she was a "strength-based" artist, but in this regard, she seemed to be treated similarly to those idols.

What was the situation like when those popular fresh meat celebrities announced their relationships? Some fans were suicidal and couldn't accept reality; some fans started attacking the people dating the fresh meat; and some fans angrily turned into haters.

There were already signs of this in the comment section, so Miss Luo Quan could only post another status:

"Actually, it's just that the company signed a newcomer. Everyone seems to be overreacting."

This time, there were even more comments from fans than before:

"I already pulled out my forty-meter-long blade; it's hard to put it back!"

"What, you still want to hack Miss Luo Quan?"

"How could I bear to hack her? But whoever dares to get close to her, I'll hack them!"

"That's right, I won't allow anyone to take her away!"

"Isn't that going a bit too far? No matter what, you can't interfere with her private life."

"Have you ever seen an idol have a good ending after announcing a relationship? (Eating melon)"

"But Miss Luo Quan has never claimed to be an idol. She is a singer. Everyone should care more about her work, not her life."

"I think everyone should be rational when chasing stars."

"That's what you say, but thinking that Miss Luo Quan will eventually become someone's wife makes me feel terrible."

"Wife Miss Luo Quan, I suddenly became excited~~"

"Old Cao Cao (a reference to a historical figure who liked other men's wives)."

………………

Although it was a misunderstanding, from the fans' comments, one could still see the fans' attitude: they treated her as an idol.

It's hard to say if it's good or bad, because subjectively, she won't be dating, so there's no need to worry about fans unfollowing.

But it's not just dating that triggers extreme fan emotions; other factors might also trigger extreme fan emotions.

Miss Luo Quan felt she needed to say something:

"I think idols giving fans beautiful longing is a good thing.

But idols can't be idols forever; they have their own lives. Fans shouldn't use their own will to influence idols. Rational star-chasing and mutual respect are the best way for idols and fans to get along."

The comments this time were much fewer than before. Although most supported Miss Luo Quan's statement, the number of comments was only two-thirds of the previous one.

It seems a considerable number of fans don't approve of so-called rational star-chasing. In other words, these fans already have the potential to become "sasaeng" fans—the same type as the fans who leaked her various living habits on Tieba before.

For such a situation, she herself didn't have any particularly good way to deal with it.

She could only hope that time would let these fans unfollow on their own and go bother other celebrities.

Fortunately, she wouldn't do anything to touch these fans' minefields in the short term, so there was no need to worry too much.

After this commotion, the matter of Avril signing was ignored by everyone. They all focused on Miss Luo Quan's official announcement, thinking she was dating. As a result, after Miss Luo Quan explained clearly, no one cared about the specific content of the announcement.

If she had known, she wouldn't have been so playful; just posting the news directly wouldn't have caused so much trouble.

Fortunately, this didn't cause any negative impact on Avril, and it did attract some attention after all.

However, she didn't have any particularly stunning works at the moment, so what she attracted were mostly "face fans." If she wants to get famous, she'll have to wait until the new album is released.

Wen Xia, upon seeing this news, immediately called to ask, only then finding out that her good friend had signed another artist today.

"Are you really planning to be a boss?" Wen Xia said half-jokingly on the phone.

Miss Luo Quan was full of ambition: "Yeah, what's the skill in getting famous yourself? I also want to make the artists I sign famous together—that's what's truly impressive!"

"Then if I go cold in the future, I'll come to you for retirement."

She didn't know if Wen Xia was joking, but regardless of whether it was a joke, given Wen Xia's current career trajectory, she was still far from "going cold." Moreover, with Miss Luo Quan around, she probably couldn't go cold even if she wanted to.

Anyway, Miss Luo Quan didn't take it seriously, but after Wen Xia's contract expired, she really had to consider whether to sign Wen Xia over.

The reason for considering it was that they were good friends after all. If Wen Xia was signed into the company, Wen Xia would be working for her in the future, and their status would always be different.

Perhaps they wouldn't care about this, but outsiders' comments would always change.

So this thought was currently just under consideration. Maybe in the future, Wen Xia would be like her and establish her own studio.

After handling today's matters, Miss Luo Quan calculated the time and sent the recorded music to Director Miller's email.

She didn't know if he was eating breakfast, but she had already finished dinner.

Five minutes later, Director Miller's reply arrived:

"Perfect! This is the BGM I wanted!"

As Miss Luo Quan expected, Director Miller was quite satisfied with this song. Next, she would also start producing the official version.

PS: Thanks to book friend L224 for the reward of book coins, thank you! ===== CHAPTER 317 =====