China Entertainment 1997

While Cao Xuan was busy making World Cup promotional songs, Fanxing Company also formed a new department under his instruction——

Music Department!

In fact, this department existed before, but it was not formally established. It was basically Cao Xuan's private music team, and later contracted the production of some soundtracks and interludes for Fanxing Film and Television.

The official establishment of the music department this time also means that the original small team has changed from a shotgun to a new one. At the same time, Fanxing has officially opened music-related businesses and created and launched singers.

Regarding the music business, in fact, when Fanxing was founded, many people wanted Cao Xuan to do this, especially to enter the record industry. After all, Cao Xuan’s musical talent is obvious to all, and coupled with Warner’s resources, it is easy to create several Not a bad singer.

But at that time, Cao Xuan was not optimistic about the declining record industry. Instead, he chose to develop the film and television business and was able to make some achievements.

Now that Fanxing has launched a music department, first of all, Fanxing has grown to a certain scale and is capable of developing new businesses.

Cao Xuan originally chose film and television because he had limited resources at his disposal. He must concentrate his resources and not be greedy for too much. It was easy for him to make a choice between film and television with good prospects and records that were declining.

The second and most important reason is that the ring-tone era and the Internet era are coming, and the record industry is declining, but the overall music business environment is still growing, or even soaring.

As long as Fanxing has spare time, Cao Xuan doesn't mind making more money from music.

Even outside of the stars, Cao Xuan is already planning to establish a new music company that specializes in acquiring and operating song copyrights. Bende is cooperating with the three major telecommunications companies on the ringback tone business.

Within Fanxing, some singers can also be cultivated and launched. The investment is not high and the return rate is good.

Fanxing has already launched film and television + variety shows. Considering the overall development of the company, the music business should also be launched.

And with Cao Xuan's current size, he doesn't have to write songs for the newcomers himself. Even if he does, he can just pick a few songs to represent the main hits, and collect other songs directly from outside. The "inventory" shortage that he was worried about before is no longer is the problem.

After all, as time passes and conditions mature, Cao Xuan will not have trouble with money.

The director of Fanxing Music Department is named Ma Ning. He has previously worked as an executive in Warner, Sony and other companies, and has rich experience in management and distribution operations.

Wei Xixi, Cao Xuan's royal music producer, also officially joined the company as deputy director of the music department, in charge of production.

One of the two departments is in charge of distribution and operation, and the other is in charge of record or song production. The singer's management business belongs to the artist management department. Of course, the two departments have some overlapping rights, which will be communicated and dealt with in the future.

Regarding Fanxing's first batch of singers, the music department and artist management department have 5 indicators, mainly newcomers.

After signing a contract, songs will be promoted in the form of singles or EPs. If certain results and data are achieved, a tailor-made album will be produced and focused on training.

If the singles and EPs do not meet the requirements, we will consider the potential and the singer's specific situation and give them another chance or give up directly.

In this way, the cost of trial and error is limited. If you are ruthless enough, you can just sign more new people and try them one by one. As long as the ones who are successful can make back the money they lost, the ones who lose can give up hiding.

But Fanxing or Cao Xuan didn't want to be so cruel and tried to be a fine singer.

The threshold for signing contracts has been raised, focusing on selecting good prospects, and signing people according to the standards that can be cultivated, and it is better to lack than to overdo it.

In this way, as long as you sign a contract with Fanxing, you have a high chance of being able to get ahead. Even if you are not popular, you can still make a living in the industry. The company's singers will benefit from each other.

There is really no fate, and the good talent has not been promoted. Everyone can get together and part ways, so we can terminate the contract happily.

Don't show it, but also trap people in the company with contracts, wasting each other's time, ruining people's futures, and making it like a blood-sucking factory. Cao Xuan does not lack the two money, and there is no need to use his reputation.

Regardless of whether he is a singer or an actor, Cao Xuan has no intention of controlling his own artists.

You can leave at any time if you want, but the contract must be fulfilled. It doesn't matter if you leave when the contract expires. Liquidated damages and related compensation for early departure must be in accordance with the contract, and don't give him any trouble.

I won't block your future, and you don't let me suffer.

If the relationship is good, we will still be friends in the future. Even if you go out, you will still be Fanxing's old man. Fanxing will probably think of you no matter what resources he has in the future.

But Cao Xuan is not a good person who wants to trick him. If you live a comfortable life in the entertainment industry in the future, even if Cao Xuan doesn't have the ability.

Cao Xuan did not have any specific instructions regarding the singers to be signed by Fanxing, but he mentioned two promising ones.

Although Cao Xuan said that I was just hearing it and you should study it later, no one dared to take his words seriously.

Shortly after the music department was established, Ma Ning and several music department staff went to Shenzhen City in Guangdong Province and Urumqi City in Xinjiang Province respectively, and brought three people back to the capital a few days later.

…

Beijing, Baihua Recording Studio

This is the base where Cao Xuan has been frequenting since 1997. Most of his works were produced in this recording studio.

As Cao Xuan's reputation grows, Baihua Recording Studio has now become a holy place in Beijing's pop music scene, and many singers are proud to record songs here.

But it is a pity that in order to ensure Cao Xuan's creative status, this recording studio is often only open to Cao Xuan alone, or to friends recognized by Cao Xuan, such as Liu Huan, Wang Fei, Wei Wei and a few others.

The reason why Baihua Recording Studio attaches great importance to Cao Xuan is that at the end of last year, Boss Cao invested and directly acquired Baihua Recording Studio.

Even the equipment, staff and venue are all included.

In other words, Baihua Recording Studio is now regarded as the private property of Boss Cao. Of course, he can use it whenever he wants, and whoever wants to use it can use it.

If nothing unexpected happens in the future, this Baihua Recording Studio will also be the main recording place for starry singers.

After Cao Xuan took over Baihua Recording Studio, the interior and exterior decoration and related equipment of the recording studio were undergoing a series of upgrades, starting from the top in the mainland to the top international recording studios.

To be honest, together with the equipment and the yard, the value of Baihua Recording Studio is not much cheaper than that of Cao Shangfei, and may even exceed it in the future.

Cao Xuan was recording a song, but Ma Ning did not interrupt him. He led the three new members of the company around the recording studio and experienced the luxury of the top recording studios in China and even Asia.

Many of the equipment easily cost six to seven figures, and some even approached eight figures, leaving the three newcomers stunned.

Seeing the surprised people, Ma Ning felt very happy. He was also a little surprised when he first arrived.

There are recording studios that are more luxurious than Baihua. The recording studios at the headquarters of Sony and Warner have even better equipment in all aspects.

But they are one of the five major record companies in the world. To put it bluntly, this is Cao Xuan's private recording studio. Apart from being rich and powerful, he really can't find any other words to describe Cao Xuan's work.

"Don't be envious, you will also record songs here if you have the chance. This is opened by our boss."

Looking at the three people who were staring at the recording studio, Ma Ning smiled and joked, which immediately attracted the attention of the three people.

"Director Ma, do these belong to the boss? How much does it cost?"

"I don't know the specifics. Anyway, it should be at least 20 to 30 million. You can figure it out later when you get familiar with it."

Ma Ning didn't say much. He knew that Cao Xuan didn't like others talking about his net worth, so he simply changed the topic and pointed to some photos on the wall.

"Look, these are photos of Wang Fei, Liu Huan, Sun Yue, Yu Quan, Pu Shu, Sun Yanzi, Teacher Song, Teacher Peng, and Teacher Yan recording songs in the recording studio, and some of them are photos with the boss.

These are basically the clients of our recording studio. Ordinary singers may not have vacancies even if they want to come, and they can't even afford them. "

Since it is comparable to Asia's top recording studios, the fees are naturally not low. Even if some people charge a friendly price for Cao Xuan's sake, the price that is open to the outside world also prohibits ordinary singers.

The female singer among the three newcomers boldly asked the staff and found out that the price in this recording studio was 200~500, charged by the hour.

This is only the cost of the venue and equipment. There are additional charges for other services such as recording engineers, mixers, accompanists, etc.

Let's put it this way, singers enjoy a full range of services here, which costs at least 100,000+ in a month.

Not to mention ordinary singers, even second- and third-tier singers feel a little nervous when they look at the price.

If Cao Xuan, who just debuted in 1997, came here, let alone renting it, he would have to leave after asking for the price.

But this is not a random price. You get what you pay for. The price is expensive but the service is up to par. The equipment and professionals are indeed top-notch.

At least in the mainland, Cao Xuan bets that no other recording studio can match it, which means that although it is expensive, there are still some singers willing to pay for it.

For example, Wang Fei has been staying at Baihua Recording Studio during the recording stage in Beijing, and Zhang Tianwang from Xiangjiang has also been to Baihua and received great praise.

Zhang Yadong, Sanbao and other Beijing musicians even fell in love with Baihua Recording Studio. They were not happy to go to other places to record and arrange music. They even went to Baihua by name when accepting jobs.

This also means that the cost will be tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands more than the budget, which will cause many partners to scold them.

Ma Ning boasted wildly and made the three newcomers feel relaxed and happy. This was also his intention.

These three people are doing pretty well in the local area. Fanxing or Cao Xuan's signature accounted for a large proportion in allowing them to give up their local careers and come to the capital for development.

As a result, I came to the company yesterday because the music department had just been established. There were not many staff, and compared to other departments that were prosperous and strong, they seemed not to be taken seriously, and the three newcomers all murmured a little.

So Ma Ning specially asked them to come meet the boss, and at the same time show off Baihua Recording Studio to give them a peace of mind.

A few people were chatting when Zhang Chong waved to him from the recording studio. Ma Ning led the people over, looked at Cao Xuan who had just finished recording the song, and took the initiative to introduce the two parties.

"Boss, I don't need to introduce you. This is Daolang. He was previously the music director of Weilong Audio and Video Company in Xinjiang Province. These two are a crazy combination. The male is Zeng Yi and the female is Linghua."

"Hello everyone, I've heard this before."

Cao Xuan shook hands with the three of them respectively. Daolang was more reserved and didn't like to talk, while Zeng Yi and Ling Hua were more lively.

"Have you heard of us?"

"heard about it."

Cao Xuan nodded: "I also have many friends in the industry. Sometimes I talk about more distinctive musicians from various places. Someone mentioned you to me."

This was half true and half false. He had indeed talked about some singers from various places when chatting with people in the industry, but there were no Dao Lang and the other three. Cao Xuan knew them because of Golden Finger.

Daolang, a famous singer in the Mainland, is also one of the most popular singers in the Mainland. You can even remove one of them. At his peak, Xiao Zhou was no match for him in terms of sales.

This person could have become a big figure in mainland pop music, but for various reasons, he later semi-retired, which is a pity.

The Fa Nerve group was originally called Cool Fire, which was modeled after the Korean group Cool Dragon. Later, it was renamed Fa Nerve in order to attract people's attention. It even became a three-person group for a time, but finally withdrew.

But what they are most well-known for is their later name - Phoenix Legend.

There are probably several eras in the development of domestic saliva songs. It started with the normal record era, and later came the ring tones era, the online MP3 era, the square dance era and the short video era.

Not to mention the record era, except for the slightly lower momentum of MP3, Phoenix Legend has almost half of the market in the field of ring tones and square dancing. Later, it also successfully transformed into the short video era and still maintains sufficient attention.

No matter how much criticism it has received, Phoenix Legend has never gone out of style.

He can even lead in certain fields and dominate the national level, which is something that many king-level singers cannot do.

There is a joke in later generations that many people may not have heard all of Jay Chou's songs, but even if you don't pay attention to any song in Phoenix Legend, you can still hum a few lines just by listening to the rhythm.

This is the melody that has been infected into the soul bit by bit by countless loudspeakers in the streets and alleys, square dancing ladies, off-brand mobile phones, TV ring-tone advertisements, and some types of bastards tied to motorcycles to blast street speakers.

One of these three is the last glory in the mainland record industry, and the other is a ringback tones giant, and the two can achieve interoperability.

Phoenix Legend's record sales are not low, and Daolang's influence in the field of ringtones is also at the forefront.

Cao Xuan doesn't care about emerging pop singers, and none of them will be as popular as him. What he lacks are generals like Daolang and Phoenix Legend who can help him make money from the ring ring era.

Of course, the pop singer will not give up, and the remaining three spots are up to Ma Ning.

But so far, the three of them are what Cao Xuan values ​​the most personally. He heard that he was ready to sign a contract and made corresponding arrangements.

Daolang is an all-rounder who writes his own songs, so Cao Xuan doesn't have to worry about it. In the future, he can even ask Daolang to write songs for the company and take on some behind-the-scenes and production work.

Zeng Yi and Ling Hua are pure singers. Although they have their own characteristics, it may take a little effort to promote them. Cao Xuan wondered whether he should go out on his own and write a song "Flying Free" or "Above the Moon".

However, there is no rush in this regard. Let’s collect songs from the outside world first. If there are no good songs, it will not be too late for Cao Xuan to take action.

At the same time, Cao Xuan deliberately arranged for the three of them to serve as the lead singers in "I Love to Remember Lyrics", which can be regarded as a long-term opportunity to appear.

The next few signed singers also have similar arrangements. While accumulating fame through variety shows, they will then produce their own singles or EPs. When the time is right, they will start releasing them.

"I Love to Remember Lyrics" has already been aired, and the ratings have been pretty good. The three of them have also heard about it. They can't help but feel excited when they heard that they can appear on TV for a long time.

Variety show + single, luxurious behind-the-scenes configuration, sufficient funds, and a boss who is the number one person in the Chinese music industry.

The three of them all felt that they made the right bet this time when they came to Fanxing!

Before leaving, Cao Xuan stopped Zeng Yi and Ling Hua and said specifically: "Nervous is a bad name. There is no need to blindly attract attention."

Before the two of them could react, Ma Ning was the most eye-catching: "I also think this name is not good. Since we are in a new company, let's go for a good sign and let the boss give us a new name."

"Okay, boss, give us a new name."

Zeng Yi is not stupid either. Although he doesn't have many words in the group and is often "bullied" by Linghua, he is actually in a dominant position. He was Linghua's boss in his old unit before.

"Since it is a male and female group, they are one phoenix and one phoenix, creating a music legend, so why not change their name to Phoenix Legend."

Cao Xuan is addicted to name changing. He changed the name of Hua Shao before, but now he is thinking about the Phoenix Legend.

After Cao Xuan finished speaking, no matter what they thought in their hearts, everyone affirmed and appreciated the new name, including the taciturn Daolang, who all praised it.

The Phoenix Legend Group has been established since then!