CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 94: NEW ALBUM LAUNCH!

"Oh, alright then. By the way, a publishing house recently approached us regarding the physical publication rights for your book. We are currently in communication with them, and if all goes well, you should receive a substantial royalty payment soon!"

"Publication? Do I need to make an appearance?"

"No need for that. We’ll handle the communication directly. Once everything is settled, you’ll simply receive your share."

"Is that so? Well then, you guys handle it."

That blasted ’you guys handle it’! Authors in the past always had so many misunderstandings, and I, Qiu Ye, would have to explain a ton of things. This time, probably because I always felt this Mr. Nanmeng was a big shot, my attitude was a bit better, and I even prepared a lot of material, but he didn’t ask anything at all! It was as if the book wasn’t even his. It made me, Qiu Ye, incredibly frustrated.

"Um... alright then... For now, just these two things. If there are no other questions, I’ll hang up first, Mr. Nanmeng."

Chu Tian was just about to agree when he suddenly remembered something and quickly stopped her.

"Hold on a moment!"

"What’s the matter, Mr. Nanmeng?"

"It’s like this: I wanted to ask if the film and television adaptation rights for this book are in my hands."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Ye immediately perked up. Perfect! This was exactly what I prepared for. Finally, a chance to use it, or all that preparation would have been for nothing!

"Here’s how it is: when we signed the contract, all copyrights were handed over to our company for proxy operation, and the generated profits are split fifty-fifty, alright?"

"In other words, the copyright is jointly owned by both the company and you, but the management rights are with the company. Can you understand if I explain it that way?"

Chu Tian listened and roughly understood.

"Understood. So, it means they’re in your hands, then..."

"No, that’s not it. Our..."

Qiu Ye wanted to explain further, but Chu Tian didn’t give her the chance.

"Alright, you don’t have to explain; I get the gist. If I wanted to buy them, how much would they approximately cost?"

"What? You mean the film and television adaptation rights?"

"Yes, preferably including the animation and game adaptation rights bundled together. How much would that cost, roughly?"

"That... I might not be able to tell you directly. I’ll have to discuss it in detail with the company."

"Oh, that’s fine. You can consult them for me first. If the price is right, I might buy them."

"Understood. Then I’ll go and ask for you and get back to you later?"

"Okay, thank you!"

After ending the call, Chu Tian sighed.

When he had published the novel before, he was only focused on completing the mission and hadn’t considered the copyright aspect at all.

It was only when they started talking about the physical book rights that he suddenly remembered "Candle in the Tomb" itself was a major IP. It would be too pitiful if it were just lost for nothing or bought by someone else.

After all, I’m also in this industry. Even if I wouldn’t film it myself, at least keeping the rights would mean they could appreciate in value later. I could even be a producer to at least guarantee the quality. Although I didn’t write this book, I’m the one who brought it over. Even if I’m not deeply invested, I don’t want to see the painstaking work of a fellow countryman be ruined. It would be truly disgusting if some brain-dead idiot bought the rights and produced something subpar or completely misinterpreted.

「...」

After a day of fermenting online, as various details were revealed and different pieces of information were released, public opinion on the internet gradually began to pressure "The Sound of Nature."

The studio had already received several warnings. These included, but were not limited to, their announcements being blocked, comment sections being banned, account certifications being revoked, and a series of other shady maneuvers.

The situation on the music platforms wasn’t peaceful either. There were only two songs, distributed across six main platforms.

One was delayed, and two were directly blocked due to technical issues; either searches glitched and couldn’t find them, or there were problems with the audio previews.

The remaining few didn’t have any major issues, but various minor and major incidents still occurred.

If these issues occurred randomly, they might be accidents. But with them appearing so concentrated and in such large volumes, it was impossible to claim no one had tampered with things.

In the office, Li Chunhua was looking through the memo handed to her by her assistant while communicating with Xu Qingqiu.

"The situation is this, Qingqiu: your influence is still too low. Your impact on the market is minimal, and you don’t have much say, so any Tom, Dick, or Harry feels they can undermine you."

"So, the key is to first increase your influence. The best way is still through music platforms to get your music out there. It would be best if you could break out of your niche circle; only then can you have a greater say."

"This time, we cleverly caught them off guard. But if we wait for them to react, it’s hard to say who will win or lose."

After listening carefully, Xu Qingqiu thought for a moment before speaking:

"Sister Hua, do you mean I should release an album?"

"Yes, release an album! Now is your best time. Capitalize on this momentum and immediately start promoting the new album. Start with a teaser, then announce your progress regularly. As long as you maintain the buzz, at least your fans will know what you’re doing."

"This way, the more frequently your name appears, the higher your exposure will be. When your fame increases, many things will become much simpler!"

"But I just released new songs. Is it appropriate now?"

"Why wouldn’t it be appropriate? I’ve thought it all through for you. Start preparing now. Anyway, you already have the songs; you just need to record them. And how long can shooting a few MVs take? Are three months enough?!"

"Three months is definitely enough..."

Other things might be a challenge, but Xu Qingqiu was very confident when it came to singing. It wasn’t as if she had to write new songs from scratch, then polish, modify, and arrange them.

She already had the finished products in hand. Once the recording was done, that was basically it. Music videos were even simpler; forget three months, if they hurried, a week would be enough for those.

"Then that settles it, doesn’t it? Look, release the album over the next three months. You don’t have to release it all at once; you can even release one song at a time, consistently maintaining a high level of buzz."

"After releasing the album, holding a concert in three to six months will perfectly solidify your popularity. By then, your status as a Queen of Pop will be as unshakable as Mount Tai, and everyone, whether for resources or endorsements, will consider collaborating with you."

"The problem you’re facing now is that your commercial value is too low. Investors don’t see enough value in you, so when you’re being suppressed, no one speaks up for you or offers endorsements. Naturally, that means anyone can try to manipulate you."

"But once you have value, people will naturally look at you differently. After all, investors are profit-oriented. Do you understand?"

Li Chunhua spoke very bluntly, and Xu Qingqiu understood immediately. If Chu Tian were here, he would definitely be nodding in agreement.

He understood from his experiences in his past life: all that talk about being mature and steady, good men and good women, geniuses, and so on—it was all just an act, completely fake! If you have value and generate traffic, even if you’re a pile of dog shit, investors can market you as a beautiful flower. That’s just how brutally realistic it is! Once you have value and generate traffic, even the deepest grudges can be set aside. Perhaps former enemies will even greet you with a smile and treat you as an honored guest. Isn’t fawning over the popular and trampling on the fallen just the norm in this circle? Haven’t you seen those ’young masters’ who returned from training overseas? Or that certain talent show champion, or that chubby female singer with the powerful high notes, always gushing about their ’idol,’ right? Whether it’s aggressive hyping and promotion or shaking hands and making peace, isn’t it all about benefits in the end?

"Alright! Let’s get started then. I’ll immediately prepare to record the new album!"