Chapter 612: Warner's One-Man Rule Achieved

"I congratulate you on getting rich~

"I congratulate you on being brilliant~

"The best are welcome, the worst are dismissed

"Many courtesies never offend~~~"

Zhou Yi, who wrote the lyrics, couldn't hold it back himself; as he wrote, he couldn't help but hum along.

There was no way; the melody of these lyrics was truly etched into his DNA, impossible to forget even if he wanted to.

As one of the most widely sung pop songs within the global Chinese community, "Gong Xi Fa Cai" could literally pull together all pop album songs and still stand alone; the only ones that could stand alongside it were the re-lyricized "Gong Xi Gong Xi" and "Hao Yun Lai," which premiered on this year's Spring Festival Gala.

A truly divine song, fully embodying what it means for great vulgarity to be great elegance, not the kind forced upon people by head-pushing hype.

"What is this you wrote, a new song? Why do the lyrics look so festive? For the Spring Festival Gala?"

Cai Zuoyan, who had come to find Zhou Yi, curiously leaned over, glanced a few times, and asked: "Could it be that the news reports are true, that you're singing two songs at this year's Spring Festival Gala?"

With blessings like "Gong Xi Fa Cai," typically used only during the New Year, appearing frequently in the lyrics, it was hard not to let one's imagination run wild.

"You could say so. Why do you have time to come over today?"

Ignoring completely the arms already wrapped around his neck, Zhou Yi joked with a smile: "Aren't you filming? Brother Jackie Chan is almost driven mad by the budget; how could you still run out?"

For Jackie Chan, currently shooting the film "New Police Story" at high intensity, with the budget overrun gap widening, the most critical task was to finish the remaining scenes under closed management.

Because this film was the first produced by the company jointly established by Ying Huang and Jackie Chan, the main standout roles in the film were, unsurprisingly, their own people from both sides.

As a character with some highlights in terms of screen time in the film, Cai Zuoyan should logically not be able to leave the set at this point.

"That's because I have to thank you; who would dare neglect you, the Emperor of Mandarin Music?"

Since they had already been completely open with each other, Cai Zuoyan didn't hide anything: "You don't know; Brother Jackie Chan is now counting on your cameo to cover this part of the budget overrun; otherwise, this film will have a hard time breaking even at the box office, so they sent me to find you."

Because Jackie Chan insisted on practical stunts, the funding for just this one film had soared to 120 million Hong Kong dollars, and then, because they needed to hire Zhou Yi for a cameo, another huge sum had to be spent on his fee.

Even that didn't include the promotional and miscellaneous expenses needed before and after the film's release.

Relying solely on the Hong Kong and Taiwan markets would absolutely not recover these costs; everyone knew that. The mainland market—no, to be precise, the overseas rights market—was where Jackie Chan made his money.

Many people might have no concept of Jackie Chan's overseas rights market; let's put it this way: no one in the entire Chinese-speaking world can sell better than him.

Taking the so-called "Police Story Series" as an example, Jackie Chan would later have a flop called "Police Story 2013"; looking solely at box office and plot, it was undoubtedly a failure, and by then, Jackie Chan's reputation domestically had already reached Mount Riluoxi, becoming synonymous with bad films.

Yet even Jackie Chan during his low point, in the overseas rights market, saw the production company earn 30 million US dollars in rights revenue from just the single film "Police Story 2013."

Japan, India, Singapore, Turkey, the Middle East, Greece, and even Cyprus—countries that ordinary passersby might not even know where they are or what they do—Jackie Chan's film rights could still be sold.

Accumulating small amounts into large ones, earning 30 million US dollars globally before the film even premiered was something only Jackie Chan could achieve in the entire Chinese film and television industry.

This is also why, even by 2024, Jackie Chan still had a queue of investment companies lining up to hire him for films.

Favor is favor, money is money. The moment Jackie Chan's golden brand no longer rang true, and his mature overseas rights market could no longer sell, naturally, no investors or investment companies would seek him out again.

"New Police Story" was the same.

In terms of box office, the results across both sides of the strait and the two special administrative regions were not good. Because domestic audiences were not yet prepared to see a Jackie Chan who couldn't fight appear on screen, plus the plot flaws were simply too large to ignore.

But in terms of rights, this film's overseas sales rounds, riding on Jackie Chan's name, sold more than Zhou Xingchi's box office blockbuster "Kung Fu Hustle."

Now with Zhou Yi added, as a global top-tier star, the gimmick of Zhou Yi's first big-screen appearance could attract many people even overseas, naturally making rights buyers willing to pay higher prices.

"However, although I already knew that star power was a real thing, you taking 3 million US dollars for a cameo of less than 10 minutes seems a bit too outrageous."

Seeing Zhou Yi's casual posture with his legs crossed, Cai Zuoyan couldn't hold back.

Converted into Renminbi, it was over 25 million, higher than the box office of over 90% of domestic films this year; it was simply damn outrageous.

Looking at the script, the total screen time didn't even reach 10 minutes; this was even after Jackie Chan and his team expanded the plot just to let Zhou Yi's cameo appear on screen a bit longer; anyway, since it was a flashback appearing only at the end, it wouldn't affect the main plot of the film.

"If Jackie Chan wanted his fee, he alone could take the entire 120 million Hong Kong dollar budget of your film, and it still wouldn't be enough; Li Lianjie, starring in "Hero," voluntarily lowered his fee to a friendly price and still took 8.5 million US dollars."

"My taking 3 million US dollars for a cameo is already a friendly price among friendly prices."

Zhou Yi, putting away his paper and pen and standing up, placed his hand on the woman's shoulder and walked out with her.

If Jackie Chan hadn't helped him when he first entered the North American market with "Rush Hour 2," this friendly price would have been absolutely impossible to get; Zhou Jianhui would not have agreed to release him, even if Jackie Chan used the prospect of colliding with Jiang Wen to tempt him.

As they walked, Zhou Yi stopped outside the door of another recording studio—he saw someone very familiar.

"Ah Yi? Ah Sa?"

"Sister Sammi, what a coincidence; are you recording a song today?"

Cai Zuoyan, who also saw the person, waved and greeted Sammi Cheng, a member of the Warner Heavenly Palace who was gradually losing her voice in the music scene; Zhou Yi's hand remained on her shoulder without withdrawing, which made her mood even more joyful.

"Yes."

Sammi Cheng, who already knew the two of them had something going on, was not at all surprised; instead, she was somewhat delighted.

As everyone knows, since the Zhou Runfa incident back then, Zhou Yi has very, very rarely intervened in the album recordings of Warner's internal singers, and they themselves had no objections.

One must accept the consequences of a bet; they were all old hands.

To outsiders, this looked like punishment from Zhou Yi for them not siding with him back then, which was understandable.

He wasn't applying double standards; he treated everyone equally—in mainland Warner, Zhou Yi did the same; the Song Ke faction, which was at odds with Zhou Jianhui, similarly never received Zhou Yi's significance.

Only Wang Feng, who switched sides, received an opportunity; not only did Zhou Yi listen to his songs, but he also entered his recording studio.

And the new band F. I. R., signed by Warner in Taiwan, was a group that, as soon as they were good, received the opportunity to appear on the China-Korea Song Festival as a band, brought by Zhou Yi.

Nearby, Fang Datong, who was working behind the scenes on the album, immediately stepped forward and politely said: "Hello, Brother Yi, I am Fang Datong; just call me Datong."

"Fang Datong? I've heard people in the company mention you."

Zhou Yi pretended to have a sudden realization.

This wasn't insincere; after all, Fang Datong was somewhat famous within Warner and even in the Hong Kong music circle—as a behind-the-scenes music producer.

In 2000, he joined Warner with his own produced demo, but because his appearance didn't meet requirements and his vocal conditions were limited, he didn't get a debut opportunity and instead became a behind-the-scenes staff member at Warner (Hong Kong), responsible for music production.

Over a few years, he managed to build a bit of a reputation, but not much.

Of course, Fang Datong never forgot that he actually wanted to debut; while silently accumulating connections, he also continuously produced demos in hopes of moving Warner (Hong Kong) executives and getting him to debut.

He even considered debuting at Universal or Sony, but obviously, Sony, Universal, and EMI had no time to deal with him because his musical singing style was "too strange."

The rhythm and vocal style, harder to learn than Tao Zhe's R&B, would be difficult to break through in the Mandarin music scene; even if he made a name, he couldn't achieve massive popularity, destined to win critical acclaim but not commercial success.

"Sister Sammi, then we won't disturb your recording."

After the greetings, Cai Zuoyan feigned innocence and cheerfulness: "Brother Chenglong is still waiting for us."

"Alright, you get busy."

Zheng Xiuyun, who had wanted to repair the relationship and invited Zhou Yi into the recording studio, could only sigh helplessly in her heart, her face still full of smiles; only Fang Datong watched Zhou Yi's back as he chatted and laughed with Cai Zuoyan, the lenses of his glasses reflecting the light.

If one were to find someone in Warner who truly understood the industry, Zhou Yi was undoubtedly the best candidate.

Moreover, he believed Zhou Yi was absolutely capable of understanding his music, after all, his understanding of Western music genres was clearly superior to all domestic music producers.

If possible, he too wanted to join the Zhou Yi faction within Warner.

"You're right, what faction or not, next year Warner will become Zhou Yi's one-man show."

Taiwan, the Chen family residence.

Chen Zeshan, the Vice General Manager of Warner, gazed at the sunset outside the window, sighed, placed the contract documents in his hand on the desk, and stared at the man before him—

Cui Zhendong, President of Sony Music Greater China.

"When Zhou Yi rises to power, those attached to him will inevitably rise with him. Your position, Zhou Yi's manager Qian Jiang, is set in stone. So, rather than staying at Warner, it's better to come to our Sony; Wang Lihong, Cai Yilin, and Jay Chou, the three ace artists, can all be entrusted to you to manage."

Cui Zhendong, who had come to Warner with a hoe to poach talent, smiled slightly: "Believe me, EMI cannot offer you these conditions; the only young ace under their hand is Watching Xiao Yaxuan, and her relationship with Zhou Yi, I believe, needs no further explanation from me."

"As for Universal, they are already outdated."

After Little Edgar signed the contract with Zhou Yi in the US and began preparing the relevant matters, the situation regarding Zhou Yi's contract renewal was naturally investigated thoroughly by these international record companies.

In response, Chen Zeshan, who was outstanding in ability within Warner, became the best target for poaching by the major giants in the Greater China region.

EMI was the first to extend an olive branch, but since Yao Qian, who had been promoted, was still there, he could only remain Vice General Manager, and the ace artist Watching Xiao Yaxuan could not be entrusted to him, so he had to choose to give up.

Universal... had no ace artist worth a look; Chen Zeshan glanced at it and threw it in the trash.

Only Sony had the three ace artists Cai Yilin, Wang Lihong, and Jay Chou in hand, with the General Manager position within easy reach.

One had to admit, this contract was very tempting.

Cai Yilin need not be mentioned; if he turned around and went to Universal now, this desperate woman he had always favored would absolutely be willing to jump from Sony and follow him. But in that case, he would be somewhat isolated and weak.

Zhang Huimei's breach of contract penalty with Warner was too high; before the contract expired, he dared not poach her; Na Ying had gone home to fall in love and retired from the music scene.

Zheng Xiuyun and Guo Fucheng had switched to the film industry, with no heart to cultivate deeply in the music scene.

Sun Yanzi need not be mentioned; although their relationship was quite good, asking her to jump ship and betray Warner was somewhat like a fool's dream.

Counting it all up, the only one willing to go with him was Cai Yilin, who was eating from the bowl while looking at the pot; it was better to just jump directly to Sony, and Cai Yilin wouldn't even need to change.

"In that case, next year I ask for your guidance, President Cui."

"We pursue mutual benefit, President Chen."

Being able to poach Chen Zeshan, who was increasingly unhappy working at Warner, was undoubtedly a cause for celebration for Cui Zhendong.

Sony was not without marketing talent, but compared to Chen Zeshan, that group's abilities were not up to par.

Most importantly, he needed a "white glove."

As President of Sony Greater China, he had previously been on par with Zhou Jianhui of Warner and Zheng Donghan of EMI.

Have you ever seen these two presidents personally descend to stir up trouble against their rivals?

Some things he could do, but not say, because for a dignified president to descend into a public fight would be very shameful.

Senior executives can speak recklessly, General Managers can fight recklessly, but the president of a major group representing the face of the company cannot.

At this time, he needed someone who could be his mouthpiece, strictly execute and implement his ideas for him, and Chen Zeshan, with his strong subjective initiative, was exactly such a person.

Because Chen Zeshan was shameless enough.

For Wang Lihong and Jay Chou, he had already formulated the future public opinion development routes; that topic was somewhat shameless, after all, "guarding the family" didn't know what it was guarding.

As for the number one sister Cai Yilin... copying Japanese female singers like Namie Amuro and Ayumi Hamasaki would also require immense psychological resilience.

"Huh? What did you say? Brother Shan, you're leaving?"

Shanghai, the hotel where the cast of "Kung Fu Hustle" was staying.

Having finished filming for the day, with the production schedule already in countdown, Sun Yanzi received Chen Zeshan's farewell call, instantly froze in place, and even forgot to bite the green date in her mouth.

To be fair, although Chen Zeshan often forced her to travel all over the country, one had to admit that Chen Zeshan was actually very good to her, cared deeply about her career, and arranged everything in an orderly manner.

Although that strictness always made her complain bitterly.

"Yes, all good things must come to an end. After I'm no longer supervising you, remember not to be too lazy, don't waste this hard-won popularity of yours; how many people want it but don't have it?" Chen Zeshan, who could be described as both loving and "hating" Sun Yanzi, said with a smile.

"How could that be, Brother Shan, I am very diligent."

Sun Yanzi, unconsciously shrinking her neck, wiped the date on her pajama collar, chuckled, and said: "Then I wish Brother Shan a booming career in the future; from now on, we will be rivals."

On the evening of December 11, 2003, a major event occurred within Warner—

Chen Zeshan submitted his resignation letter and began the handover process, standing his final post;

Zhou Jianhui did not hesitate for a moment, merely saying two perfunctory words of formality before completing all procedures, incredibly fast.

Also on that same night, Fang Datong, a Warner staff member in Hong Kong, submitted his work in the company's internal music library, choosing to mail his painstakingly created new Demo to Zhou Yi, who was currently in Hong Kong at Warner, longing to join the Warner Zhou Yi faction.

The name of this demo, he named it "Sun Wukong".